Lonely Midterm, 1970

The midterm election everyone is not talking about in this midterm season. Air Force One. Candidates in Fire Trucks. Culture War Weaponized. A TV Mess-Up. New Political Concepts and Midterm Election Awareness. Nixon’s first presidential midterm election (the election in which the House and Senate would be up for election) would turn out to be…

A History of Student Loans and Higher Ed Financing in the U.S.

College costs have been an issue since the founding of the Republic, as we discuss in this issue, And equally, the desire to provide education to young minds has been strong. What’s different about the era we live in is that college is closely associated with debt. Debt that cannot be removed by bankruptcy, and…

Nixon Versus Plywood, Ike and Gas, LBJ and Copper and Other Presidential Inflation Stories

Stories of Presidential inflation fighting and fund-raising that seem to have a similar ring to today’s events, in this episode. Nixon’s plans to cut housing costs by reducing prices on the key element of housing inspires timber companies but riles environmentalist. Johnson uses his air fleet to shuttle the right people around to get the…

Something Happened: Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 Run for President

Quirky Senator Eugene McCarthy (no relation to Joe who he debated against) agreed when no one else would to run a protest campaign against Lyndon Johnson. That was when something happened. The race for the Democratic Nomination in 1968 a complicated one, as one candidate would drop out and another die tragically. But for a…

Washington’s Ancestors, Coolidge’s Electric Horse and Other Stories

A hodge-podcast of bits of things. A bit about the Washington family, and ancestors he didn’t know that he had. And some follow ups from other casts. About that ‘Electric Horse’ that Coolidge used for exercise. And Lincoln deals with fake news like a pro. We are part of Airwave Media Network Interested in Advertising? sales@advertisecast.net

Nineteen Seventies Ephemera

PROGRAM ONE: Ford’s Bad Day – Dylan’s Troll – Howard Cosell’s Politics PROGRAM TWO: Skylab’s Fall – Nixon Shako Warriors – One Hit Wonder PROGRAM THREE: High School Riot – Art About Nutin’ PROGRAM FOUR: Austin Gets Weird – Global Cooling Article Controversy We are part of Airwave Media Podcast Network

Midterms: They Don’t Always Work Out Badly for Presidents (But Mostly They Do)

In the past 100 years, over 80% of the first term midterms went badly for Presidents, and their party lost seats.  But in a few cases they did not. And a few times when they did lose seats, the result was very little real change for their administration’s situation in Congress, or even a kind of win. A…

Whiskey, Ice and Federal-State Powers

The American system is one of divided and concurrent power. Where state starts and federal ends has not always been easy to clarify. A heat wave and a rebellion are among the many incidents that filled in the gaps. Most importantly, The Whiskey Rebellion went a long way to define federal and state powers. The…

That Time JFK Ran for Vice President

In 1956 JFK made his first attempt for an Executive Branch office. Thank God he didn’t win it, many thought afterward.

The Force That Could Not Be Stopped

The way Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. approached civil rights was not passive – it was in your face, give no “Fs” style as might be said today. He made some enemies but also got a lot done. In telling the story of Congress’s seating powers we tell two stories. One is his. The other is…

And To The Republic

A trip to DC inspires me. I try to talk about just about everything going on in this episode from midterms to J6 to Mara Lago to the Republic as it stands, to third parties in US politics, to former Presidents running to a town name in New York that I butchered. And in case…

Now, That’s The Right Way to Lose an Election

Samuel Tilden is visited by throngs of supporters who want him to proclaim from his balcony that he is President. His answer takes place in a closed meeting, but we are privy to the moment thanks to a political reporter’s account. William C. Hudson was able to witness the actions of that candidate when urged…

“We gotta go and never stop going” The Modern American Year of 1948

The Elvis before Elvis. Making stores out of jukebox technology. World human rights. What a concept? From sending simian astronauts (read monkeys) into space, to the writing of Jack Kerouac – his roadtrip to Cassidy which will beget On the Road begins this year. And of course, there’s Truman’s election surprise.. We scour the My…