The Almost Presidents Podcast

After years of bloody, sectional foreplay, the American Civil War begins with a bang. The bloodiest conflict ever fought on American soil wreaks havoc across the fractured country in multiple theaters of the war. But for all the blood and treasure expended in the Civil War, as well as the legacy of it that is still felt in the modern era, the conflict forged many of the men who would have a major impact in the contested Election of 1876. We trace the lives of 3 of those men: -Almost President Samuel Tilden -Future U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant -Future President Rutherford B. Hayes * And don't think we forgot it's No Shave November! We devote a part of the episode to rating the war-time beards of Rutherford B. Hayes and U.S. Grant. -Hayes beard rating (starts around 26:00) -Grant beard rating (starts around 31:15) Follow us on social media to see pictures of the beards we rated on the pod! * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is ⁠thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com⁠. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

Just like every great superhero has an origin story, so too does every great politician (though perhaps with less action, Kryptonite, and/or a childhood vow to become a one man war on crime made in Crime Alley after Thomas and Martha Wayne were gunned down in a mindless act of violence). The origin story of Almost President Samuel Tilden is the story of the cultivation of a political mind that would prove to be a force to be reckoned with on the New York political stage. It is the story of a young Democrat who would stick with his party even through its most tumultuous and divisive days. And before long, the name Samuel Tilden would not just be known in New York, but to a nation about to be embroiled in the Civil War. Join co-hosts Ryan and Kevin as we recount for you the emergence of Democrat Samuel Tilden on the American political stage! * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

So far on Season 2 of The Almost Presidents Podcast, we've done our best to situate you in the historical time period within which Almost President Samuel Tilden would emerge as the Democratic candidate for President in the Election of 1876. But just who was Samuel Tilden? On this episode, Ryan and Kevin discuss the boyhood of Sam Tilden, a bright but sickly boy born into a politically active family with friends in high places. Friends such as VPOTUS then POTUS Martin Van Buren, who would emerge as a key mentor figure to a boy who reveled in the works of Thomas Jefferson at an age when most of us were reading Dr. Seuss! Our guest, high school history teacher and Martin Van Buren expert in residence Katie comes on the podcast to tell you all about such a pivotal man in Samuel Tilden's life and politics. * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

Congress reconvenes in December 1865. Immediately it becomes apparent that the same ideological differences that divided a nation are going to lead to fractures within Congress. The session starts with Congress rejecting many of its members, most of whom were Democrats and former Confederate legislators or military leaders. This leads to Republican dominance in both Houses of Congress. But just because one party controls Congress, does not mean members within that party can agree on a legislative agenda, especially the vision of America as presented by the Radicals within the Republican Party. These Radical Republicans would not only face disagreement from within their own party, but have to contend with President Andrew Johnson and a country holding together by just a thread. What would go on to become the Second Founding of America was not about to take place without fierce and murderous resistance. * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

In our ongoing series on Almost President Samuel Tilden, we talk about Andrew Johnson who set the stage for our Almost President by setting the stage for Reconstruction. In this episode we track President Johnson’s ever-changing views on slavery and his (unfortunately) unchanging views on white supremacy. We also talk about Johnson’s…interesting relationship to alcohol. And (very unfortunately) we talk about Johnson’s ascension to the presidency and all of the problems this would cause. How did Democrat Andrew Johnson come to be on Abraham Lincoln’s ticket? And how did he go from a staunch anti-segregationist to one of the most infamous supporters of white supremacy in American history. Find out in this episode! Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is ⁠⁠thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

Welcome to Season 2 of The Almost Presidents Podcast, a podcast about American politics told through the lens of the loser! * Season 2 of the podcast will be about Almost President Samuel Tilden and the Disastrous Election of 1876. On this episode, co-hosts Ryan and Kevin start things out at the end of the American Civil War. After Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Grant's Army of the Potomac at Appomattox Courthouse, the American Civil War is essentially over. But civil wars don't just end after the final shot is fired. A formerly divided country has to find a way to come together again, and embittered former-rebels, men like John Wilkes Booth, aren't about to accept defeat lying down. * A period of Reconstruction begins, but not just physical reconstruction of American cities and infrastructure decimated by years of gruesome warfare, but a reconstruction of hearts and minds on both sides, and that may be something that will take much more time, effort, and bloodshed to achieve... * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is ⁠thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com⁠. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

On this episode of the podcast, co-hosts Ryan and Kevin reflect on the first season of the podcast by discussing: -Starting a podcast about almost presidents -Doing a retrospective on the life and legacy of Robert F. Kennedy -Drawing out many of the "what if's" surrounding what might have happened had Bobby Kennedy's life not been cut short by an assassin -Attempting to envision what an RFK White House would look like in contrast to the Nixon White House America got in 1968 Join us for an informal, alternate history chat as we officially close out our 1st season! And just as an FYI, the podcast will be going on hiatus through May. We will still be releasing shows on related topics, but you can look forward to Season 2 coming to your ears in June 2023! * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is ⁠thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com⁠. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

In this final episode of Season 1 of The Almost Presidents Podcast, co-hosts Ryan and Kevin finish telling the story of Robert F. Kennedy's run for President in 1968 and its tragic conclusion.  * After winning the Indiana Primary in the wake of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, the RFK campaign moves on to primaries in Nebraska and Oregon. Facing off against Eugene McCarthy and Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Bobby is suddenly confronted by a decision he made as Attorney General unearthed by J. Edgar Hoover and Lyndon Johnson in order to damage him politically and hopefully take him out of the race.  * The campaign rolls into California with much fanfare, RFK assuming what some journalists have nicknamed his "fifth Beatle persona." When the votes are in, RFK and his campaign staff learn that he has won both the South Dakota and California primaries. Celebration ensues at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. But waiting patiently is the man who will soon put an end to Bobby Kennedy's life.  * Then, in the wake of RFK's assassination, a shocked America, many of whom joined him in his vision to "dream of things that never were and say, why not?" are left heartbroken and confused. What results is an outpouring of love and a lasting hope that America will one day become the land that Bobby dreamed it would be.  * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

Co hosts Ryan and Kevin talk about Bobby Kennedy's historic run for President in the 1968 Presidential Election in part 1 of an epic 2 part finale. After kickstarting his campaign in uproarious fashion in Kansas, Bobby faces down Democratic opponent for the nomination, Eugene McCarthy. Then, when current President LBJ withdraws from the race, both candidates have to rethink their campaign rhetoric while Bobby's campaign continues to play catchup as a result of entering the race late.  While in Indiana, RFK learns of Martin Luther King's assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. In response to this shocking and tragic event, Kennedy takes the stage and promotes peace, love, and understanding in the face of murderous hatred. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, riots break out across the country as Americans try to come to grips with the brutal slaying of yet another civil right champion.  Tune in in 2 weeks for the final episode in Season 1 of The Almost Presidents Podcast!  * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

Co-hosts Ryan and Kevin return to America and the Presidential Election shaping up there in 1968. An unpopular war abroad leads to an increasingly unpopular president at home. This leads directly to Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy entering the presidential race where he will have to face down the embittered incumbent, Lyndon Baines Johnson. McCarthy proves in the New Hampshire primary that a Democratic rival could come startlingly close to winning a presidential primary against an unpopular sitting president. Watching from the sidelines is Senator Bobby Kennedy. After a near costly amount of time deciding whether or not to run, Bobby enters the 1968 Presidential Race late and brings his campaign go a roaring start with compelling speeches delivered in Kansas. * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

In this episode of the podcast, Ryan and Kevin take you to the battlefields of Vietnam. Since the Vietnam War will become a central issue in the Election of 1968, we explore the conflict in terms of what it looked like on the ground, within the Johnson Administration, as well as on television, in the media, and on the streets of America.  Will the Vietnam War and Johnson's response to it bring down and forever tarnish the legacy of a president with so much legislative success? Who will a country divided on a conflict many viewed as un-winnable look to to lead them in 1968? Tune in as we explore all things Vietnam! (Apologies in advance for mispronouncing the Vietnamese city of Hue!) * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

In this episode of the podcast, Ryan and Kevin talk about Bobby Kennedy's journey to becoming the much loved Bobby of the 1968 Presidential Campaign Trail. This journey takes Bobby to Bedford-Stuyvesant, the Mississippi Delta, Delano CA, and Apartheid South Africa. In his travels, RFK brings much needed attention to domestic issues like poverty, mass starvation, and labor exploitation. Then, in truly historic fashion, Bobby accepts an invitation to Apartheid, South Africa. It is here where he makes perhaps one of the most memorable speeches of his life, the "Ripples of Hope" speech.  Throughout the closing chapters of his life, Bobby Kennedy created many ripples of hope and inspired many others to create their own ripples of hope. But despite the legacy he began creating in his lifetime, is Almost President Robert F. Kennedy the man to "sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance" in a country in the midst of so much turmoil?  * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

In this episode of the podcast, Ryan and Kevin talk about Bobby Kennedy's campaign for U.S. Senate. Arriving in New York in the wake of his brother's death, a conflicted and melancholy RFK enters the race for New York Senate. Facing off against the incumbent, Senator Kenneth Keating, Bobby finds himself involved in yet another campaign, but for the first time as its candidate. The campaign gets off to a slow start, with logistics problems and a candidate that seems at times like a poor impersonation of Jack. But before long, Bobby finds his stride, and with the help of some key endorsements and cold hard Kennedy cash, RFK takes the fight to Keating and unseats the incumbent in what would become a Democratic landslide in the Election of 1964.  * Then, with the '60's reaching a midway point and Lyndon Johnson winning a presidential election in his own right in dominating fashion, America enters into a Great Society. But is that "Great Society" truly Great for every American? Can even an experienced political operator like LBJ pass the Civil Rights Act JFK fought so hard for along with Civil Rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr.? And, also of great importance, what kind of President and man is the new resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Lyndon Baines Johnson? * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

In this episode of the podcast, Ryan and Kevin talk about the assassination of JFK, its ripple effect across America, and its devastating personal impact on his brother, Bobby Kennedy. In order to better understand how the death of a President impacted the average American, we welcome our first guest on the pod, Sue, a woman who was a young student growing up in New Jersey the year JFK's assassination shocked the world. Sue also opens up about the Kennedys in general, living through the race riots in Newark, NJ, and participating in duck and cover drills in school during the height of the Cold War. It's an interesting conversation you definitely don't want to miss.  Then, with JFK out of the picture and LBJ in the White House, an RFK in mourning is left to contemplate his role in a new presidential administration headed by a man with whom he shares a bitter hatred towards the other.  * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, tell a friend about us and make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!

In this episode of the podcast, co-hosts Ryan and Kevin talk all things Cuba! We start by breaking down the fiasco that was the Bay of Pigs invasion, which took place within the first 100 days of the Kennedy administration! This failed attack had a profound impact on Almost President Bobby Kennedy, leading to his hawkish stance on Cuba policy and his involvement in Operation Mongoose. * When Castro-led Cuba persists in its efforts to maintain a Communist government and friendly relations with Nikita Khrushchev and the Soviet Union, tensions nearly go nuclear when Soviet plans to place nuclear missiles in Cuba are discovered by the U.S. What follows are some of the most tense days in U.S. history as the Cuban Missile Crisis occurs. As the standoff goes down, always by JFK’s side and acting as his most trusted confidant is his brother, Bobby Kennedy. * And as the world watches the chaos, RFK secretly obsesses over plans to get the upper hand on Cuba. Plans that go so far as showering Cubans in toilet paper with the faces of Khrushchev and Castro on it to attempting to convince pious Cubans that Castro is the anti-Christ. * Lastly, we preview some of the chaos to come in a small country most people at the time couldn’t point to on a map: Vietnam. * Follow us on social media! Twitter: @AlmostPOTUSpod Instagram: Thealmostpresidentspodcast Facebook: The Almost Presidents Podcast Want to write into the podcast? Our email is thealmostpresidentspodcast@gmail.com. If you’re enjoying the show, make sure to subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode! If you feel like rating and leaving a friendly comment, we’d more than appreciate it!