American History Too!

It's another episode of A-Z, and the lucky letter is J! On the menu this week: John Birch Society Jacobs, Harriet Jackson Japanese Internment Jazz Singer, The And many more! Thanks again for listening and we'll be back soon with our brand new series on the US and the Middle East! Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's our fifth episode of A-Z, where we take a letter from the alphabet and use it to take a journey through American History for 30 minutes. And on this occasion it's the letter T! Among the topics discussed on this episode: Truman Three Mile Island Sister Rosetta Tharpe Tupperware Tobacco We hope you enjoy and we'll back next with our final episode of the LBJ's America series. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this month's A-Z, we tackle the letter 'W' for 30 minutes, including discussion of: World War I & II Watergate The West Wing Victoria Woodhull And even, William Wallace. We hope you enjoy and we'll be back soon with the penultimate episode in our LBJ's America series. Cheers, Mark Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the third in our series of 30 minute discussions of random US history topics beginning with a letter of the alphabet.  Today - it's R! Republicans Rambo Red Scare Republican Motherhood  ...are just a few of things that we chew over. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the second of our episodes where we discuss a series of events, people, and places drawn at random that begin with a specific letter. And today's letter is H!   Fannie Lou Hamer Adolf Hitler  Jimi Hendrix  Hollywood and many, many more! We'll be back next month with another episode of A-Z! Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a new podcast! The idea is simple. We've written down loads of names/events/developments that relate to American History that begin with the same letter. They have been scrunched up in a hat, they are picked at random, and we have 30 minutes to discuss whatever comes out the hat. And today, we're all about the letter C! We discuss everything from Lewis and Clark to China, Civil Rights to the CIA. And much more! We hope you enjoy this new type of podcast. We plan to publish a new one every month alongside our main podcast. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following a delay thanks to strikes, illness, and a furious effort to finish writing a book, we're back with the final episode of our Lyndon Johnson's America series! We discuss the various legacies of Johnson, his Great Society, Civil Rights, Vietnam, and the long Sixties. And we also provide a preview of our NEW upcoming series - tune in to find out what we'll be discussing next! Thanks a lot for listening to this series and we look forward to bringing you the next one. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Books/Articles Mark McLay, 'Reflecting or reshaping?: Landmark anniversaries and presidential legacy'. In: Cullinane, M. P. and Ellis, S. (eds.) Constructing Presidential Legacy: How We Remember the American President (2019) Robert H. Wilson, Norman J. Glickman, and Laurence E. Lynn, Jr. (eds.), LBJ’s Neglected Legacy: How Lyndon Johnson Reshaped Domestic Policy and Government (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015). Bernard von Bothmer, Framing the Sixties: The Use and Abuse of a Decade from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2010) Kathleen Belew, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America (Harvard UP, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the penultimate episode of our LBJ's America series! On this episode we round out 1968, which sees Richard Nixon win the presidential election and be on his way to the White House. We chat about Nixon's record and how, after promising to bring the American people together, he ended up driving them further apart. Also, was LBJ really trying to be a hippie in his final years before dying 1973? We answer this question and much more. The final episode will dissect the legacy of LBJ's America and we hope you'll join us again. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the fourth installment of our series on Lyndon Johnson's America and we are into crisis mode.  We pick up the story in mid-1967 and discuss how Vietnam, racial violence, and a host of other contentious issues rise to the fore and overwhelm Lyndon Johnson, leading to his eventual withdrawal from office. Along the way we compare 1967/8 with today's political climate, discuss race riots, Tet, the media, the counterculture, second-wave feminism and much more.  Thanks again for listening. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Reading List Thomas Sugrue, The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit (2014) Amy Wedlow, Women Strike for Peace: Traditional Motherhood and Radical Politics in the 1960s. (1993) Daniel Hallin, The 'Uncensored War':The Media and Vietnam (1986) Christopher Gair, The American Counterculture (2007) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Part 3 of Lyndon Johnson's America and we arrive at the event which arguably shaped LBJ's presidency more than anything else - the Vietnam War. In this episode, we cover the early years of the conflict (1964-67) and discuss: - Why Vietnam? - Why does Johnson escalate in 1965? - What role do race and gender play during the Vietnam War? - The early anti-war movement - American strategic mistakes in Vietnam In next month's episode we'll examine The Downfall as Johnson's America comes apart as a result of events at home and abroad. Thanks again for listening! Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Reading List: Heather Stur, Beyond Combat: Women and gender in the Vietnam War era  (Cambridge University Press, 2011) Daniel Lucks, Selma to Saigon:  The Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War (University of Kentucky Press, 2014) Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, Hanoi’s War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012) Paul Thomas Chamberlin, The Cold War's Killing Fields: Rethinking the Long Peace (New York: HarperCollins, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the second episode of Lyndon Johnson's America, we encounter an optimistic America. A United States prospering and beginning to deal with its original sin of racism. We delve into civil rights victories and Johnson's pursuit of a Great Society. But we also discuss the rise of television, the British Invasion led by the Beatles, and America's pursuit of putting a Man on the Moon. This episode will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. Enjoy it, things are about to hit the proverbial fan.   Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(OUR APOLOGIES FOR THE SOUND QUALITY ON THIS EPISODE - ROGUE MICROPHONE ISSUE) We're back! And we're embarking on a six part series examining 'Lyndon Johnson's America'. Essentially, we're using the life and times of LBJ to examine and explore the United States over which he presided in the tumultuous 1960s. This episode, however, explores the ascent of Johnson up the political ladder, while simultaneously discussing a host of interesting events and developments between 1936-1963. We discuss the Cold War Consensus, the use of the Atom Bomb, the 'loss of China', the Kennedy-Johnson relationship, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and much more! In the next episode we'll be talking all about the Civil Rights Movement and the early success of Johnson's presidency. Moreover, as the series goes on, we'll get stuck into the societal and cultural developments that shook America in the 1960s.  Thanks for sticking with us after our hiatus and we'll be back regularly in your podcast feeds with both this series and our new A-Z podcast! Cheers Mark and Malcolm Reading list: Robert Caro, The Years of Lyndon Johnson series (Knopf, 4 Books) Mary Dudziak, Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000) Paul Thomas Chamberlin, The Cold War's Killing Fields: Rethinking the Long Peace (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2018) Audra J. Wolfe, Freedom’s Laboratory: The Cold War Struggle for the Soul of Science (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Episode 54 we're joined by Grainne McEvoy (@GrainneMcEvoy)  for a timely discussion of American immigration policy over the past 150 years.   In particular, we discuss two pieces of legislation that drastically changed the type of immigrants who would arrive in the United States, and thus shaped the face of America as it exists today.  We also discuss the idea of the 'Melting Pot', the effect of the Cold War, and the role that the Catholic Church have played in influencing immigration policy.   The clip that begins the episode is Lyndon Johnson's 1965 speech at the Statue of Liberty, where he signed the Immigration and Nationality Act that greatly liberalised US immigration policy.   Thanks again for listening and we'll be back in your feeds before Christmas! Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're back with a sequel to our bonus podcast on the 2016 election election whereby we breakdown the Midterm 2018 results, discuss the importance of Midterms in American History, and reflect on the implications of this year's results for the future. And, of course, we're joined by Paddy Andelic (@pkandelic) to help us along the way! We'll be back to our regular programming from here out, as later this month we'll return with a podcast on America's immigration history.   Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Episode 53 we're joined by the University of Oxford's Dan Rowe (@dan_rowe1) to discuss the reasons for the emergence of America's 'Rust Belt' - an area of the United States characterized by decline and struggle since the last third of the 20th century. Where is the Rust Belt? How do people who live there feel about the label and how have their lives been affected by the economic and social challenges that have befallen the region? Why did it decline and is it poised to recover? And finally, why did the Rust Belt emerge as the region of the infamous Obama-Trump voter? All this and much more on this month's podcast. We'll be back next month with a special look at the history of Midterm elections. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Episode 52, we're joined by Kings College London's Chris Parkes to discuss sex and sexuality in the first half of the twentieth century.   Chris guides us through how sexuality was understood at this time, why it became the policy of the federal government to discriminate against gay and lesbian Americans during World War I and World War II. We then shift focus to Sumner Welles, a diplomat and close adviser to Franklin Roosevelt, whose career was ruined when it was exposed he had solicited sex from men.  Finally, Chris passes on some tips for how LGBT topics can be included in university and school teaching. It's a truly fascinating insight into and understudied topic.  Thanks again for listening and we'll be back in September. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're back! After a delay to allow for holidays and research trips, on a bumper Episode 51, we are joined by two guests - York St John University's Stephen Robinson (@drSRRobinson) and the University of Essex's Miguel Hernandez (@MHernandezGdV) to work through one of the worst eras in American race relations.   We discuss why race relations were so awful, the career of Booker T. Washington, and the revival of the Second KKK. Finally, we discuss the current state of American race relations and if there is any legitimate comparison to contemporary America. Thanks again for listening and we'll be back again before the end of August with Episode 52! Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's our 50TH EPISODE! And for this exceptional landmark, we could think of no more appropriate topic to discuss than American Exceptionalism.  What does that term mean? Where does it come from? Does US exceptionalism differ from other kinds of exceptionalism? And what is the current state of American Exceptionalism now that it has a president, in Donald Trump, who has openly refuted the concept?  With the help of an exceptional guest  - Hilde Restad (Bjørknes College, @hilderestad, and co-host of Ceasefire podcast) - we answer all of these questions and much more in a wide-ranging discussion.   As always, thanks so much for listening and we look forward now to the next 50 episodes of American History Too! Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Episode 49 of American History Too! we're joined by the University of Manchester's Katie Myerscough (@katiemyerscough) to discuss her research into the Progressive Era and the role women played in shaping American cities at the turn of the 20th century. Think that this era saw women focus exclusively on Suffrage? Well, think again. We get stuck into whether or not there was actually a progressive movement, what it was, and how it succeeded. Katie then guides us through how women sought to shape their surroundings, all the while pretending not be political, so as not to draw the attention of male political figures.  Finally, with people - and women especially - turning to personal activism in the contemporary America, we discuss whether or not we are on the cusp of a new Progressive Era in the United States.   Thanks again for listening and we'll be back next month to discuss American Exceptionalism. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Episode 48, our resident Cold War expert, Malcolm, is in the hotseat to discuss whether we are in the midst of a new Cold War (drawing upon his recent contribution to this BBC article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43546340). Before we tackle the present day, we cover the old Cold War - what was it? when did it peak? who won? And what amount of credit does Ronald Reagan deserve for ending the long conflict?  We then turn our attention to the present day to consider the rise of Russia in the modern world and the role of Vladimir Putin.  Finally, Malcolm supplies his top three film and television recommendations for those wanting to understand the Cold War and its implications.   Thanks again for listening and we'll be back with a new guest next month. Cheers, Mark and Malcolm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices