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Talking History

Talking History is a 30 minute weekly radio program produced by the Organization of American Historians.  Join host Bryan Le Beau as he separates fact from fiction and myth from reality through interviews with nationally recognized historians and writers.

Whether it is the dramatic history behind the building of the first transcontinental railroad, or an intriguing examination of the American romance with Robert Kennedy, Talking History has something for everyone.

The show is available to more than 400 stations nationwide on the Public Radio Satellite System and internationally on the Voice of America Web page.

The Organization of American Historians is the largest learned society devoted to the study of American history.

After the White House: Former Presidents as Private Citizens





Presidents

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An interview with Max Skidmore who joins Talking History's Fred Nielsen to discuss the role played by America's former presidents. Skidmore is professor of political science at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and author of After the White House: Former Presidents as Private Citizens.

After that Michael Farquhar presents the ninth of a ten part series of readings adapted from his book, A Treasury of Deception: Liars, Misleaders, Hoodwinkers, and the Extraordinary True Stories of History's Fakes and Frauds.





The Crash of 1929





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In October 1929 what many people thought would be an unending period of prosperity in America came to an end. A decade of unbridled optimism gave way to the collapse of the stock market and its devastating effect on the national economy.

Talking History’s Fred Nielson, of the University of Nebraska, revisits the October 1929 stock market crash, which ushered in the Great Depression. His guest is Prof. Maury Klein of the Department of History of the University of Rhode Island, author of Rainbow's End: The Crash of 1929.

Commentary: Lewis Gould will join us to point out what he believes is wrong with the American presidency and how we might fix it.




Columbus Day





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Talking History's host Bryan Le Beau and Matthew Dennis continue their year-long look at the American Holiday Calendar. This time they discuss Columbus Day. Matthew Dennis is author of Red, White and Blue Letter Days: An American Holiday Calendar. And, we will continue our special series of readings from the unpublished manuscript, "Recollections of Field Hospital Service During the War of Secession," by T.V. Brown.




1491: America Before Columbus





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According to John Herron's guest this week, Charles C. Mann, the Americas before Columbus were very different from the commonly perceived unpopulated pristine wilderness awaiting Manifest Destiny.  He explains that new evidence presented in his book, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, suggests that before it became the New World, it was more populated and sophisticated than previously thought.  Mann is an award winning author and correspondent for Science and The Atlantic Monthly.

And Michael Farquhar joins us in the readings adapted from his book, A Treasury of Deception: Liars, Misleaders, Hoodwinkers, and the Extraordinary True Stories of History's Fakes and Frauds.





Henry Ford





Henry Ford

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Bryan Le Beau and his guest Steven Watts, discuss the life of Henry Ford and his role as the man who recognized American society for what it had become: one of abundance and consumerism. Steven Watts is the author of The Peoples Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century.





The Louisiana Purchase

Louisiana Purchase

 

 

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By a treaty signed on Apr. 30, 1803, the United States purchased from France the Louisiana territory, more than 2 million sq km of land extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains at the cost of about 4¢ per acre; The price was 60 million francs, about $15 million. The United States had suddenly and peacefully doubled its size.

Conducted by Fred Nielson, of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, this interview with Jon Kukla focuses on one of this largest land deals in US history -- the Louisiana Purchase. Jon Kukla is the author of A Wilderness So Immense: The Louisiana Purchase and the Destiny of America.