For the Ages: A History Podcast

Latest Episodes:

River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile Mar 18, 2024

Show notes

In an exhilarating and, at times, harrowing account of exploration, survival, and betrayal, author and journalist Candice Millard joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss the story of two men’s search for the headwaters of the Nile River. Richard Burton, an intelligent, highly capable, and decorated soldier, and John Speke, an ambitious aristocrat and army officer, embarked on the treacherous journey together, soon developing a heated rivalry that would persist throughout their lives. Alongside them on their epic journey was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, a peerless guide who was formerly enslaved, and who played a vital role in this story.
Recorded on August 31, 2023

Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit & Glamour of an Icon, Part Two Mar 11, 2024

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Author and journalist Kate Andersen Brower rejoins David M. Rubenstein to continue their conversation on the legacy of the great Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor’s triumphs––her precocious rise to megastardom, her fight for fair and equal pay despite the sexism present in Hollywood during her lifetime, her advocacy for those with HIV/AIDS––as well as the difficulties she faced in her life––her eight marriages and her struggles with addiction––are all brought into clearer focus in service of painting a rich portrait of the American icon.
Recorded on March 24, 2023

Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit & Glamour of an Icon, Part One Mar 04, 2024

Show notes

Elizabeth Taylor, a legend of cinema known across the world, was one of the last great Classical Hollywood stars whose talent and beauty led her to universal renown. Beyond the artist, though, Taylor was a feminist trailblazer, a human rights advocate, and a fighter—someone who championed the needs of others and struggled bravely against problems of her own. Author and journalist Kate Andersen Bower joins David M. Rubenstein to delve into the first ever authorized biography of the twentieth century’s most famous movie star, bringing a new look at the life and legacy of Elizabeth Taylor.
Recorded on March 24, 2023

Creating a Confederate Kentucky: The Lost Cause and Civil War Memory in a Border State Feb 26, 2024

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Kentucky fought alongside the Union for the entirety of the Civil War, yet in the decades that followed, the state embraced many political and cultural traditions of the Confederacy, enacting Jim Crow laws and erecting monuments to embrace this adopted identity. In a fascinating conversation on identity and political myth-making, historian Anne E. Marshall breaks down how and why Kentuckians constructed this historically-revisionist narrative that shaped the trajectory of their state for the next 60 years.
Recorded on August 23, 2023

Mourning the Presidents Feb 19, 2024

Show notes

In an incisive analysis of national mourning following the deaths of presidents across US history, historian Lindsay Chervinsky joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss how such losses and the subsequent expressions of grief affected American culture and politics. Examining what can be learned from the ways we have grieved and remembered late presidents since the passing of George Washington in 1799, Chervinsky explores the way presidents continue to shape America even in death.
Recorded on August 7, 2023

The Age of Lincoln Feb 12, 2024

Show notes

The arc of Abraham Lincoln’s political career existed in the context of the ideologically tumultuous 19th century. From a period of cultural pessimism in the 1840s and 1850s alongside the Millerites’ prediction of a Second Coming, this period saw the rise of utopian philosophies, the intwining of slavery and Southern identity, the merging of Manifest Destiny with the concept of free-market opportunity, and a collapse of a common, middle ground. Distinguished historian Orville Vernon Burton joins David M. Rubenstein to paint a portrait of the five decades pivoting around Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, and his place within them.
Recorded on July 6, 2023

Coolidge Feb 05, 2024

Show notes

In the wake of a pandemic and amidst deep partisan divisions and a looming budgetary crisis, Calvin Coolidge faced monumental challenges when he assumed the presidency following the abrupt death of his predecessor Warren G. Harding in 1923. From the Boston Police Strike to the rapid social and economic changes of the Roaring Twenties, Coolidge’s political career spanned and was marked by continuous upheaval in American life. In conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Amity Shlaes explores the personal and political characteristics that define Coolidge’s career and legacy.

The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World, Part Two Jan 29, 2024

Show notes

Jonathan Freedland once again joins David Rubenstein to discuss the story of Walter Rosenberg, one of the few Jews to successfully escape Auschwitz. Following Rosenberg’s arrival in Auschwitz, this conversation dives into the details of the risky escape plan he hatched alongside Fred Wetzler, the dangers that met them outside the camp once they had escaped, and how Rosenberg and Wetzler attempted to alert the international community about what they had seen and experienced.

The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World, Part One Jan 22, 2024

Show notes

In April of 1944, Walter Rosenberg escaped from Auschwitz alongside Fred Wetzler, making them two of a very small number of Jews who were able to escape a concentration camp and make their way to safety during the Second World War. In the first of this two-part conversation, Jonathan Freedland and David Rubenstein discuss how anti-Semitism shaped Rosenberg’s life in the years leading up to the war, his eventual internment as a teenager in Slovakia, and how his plans to escape took shape once he landed in Auschwitz.

John Quincy Adams: His Presidency and Final Years Jan 15, 2024

Show notes

Biographer James Traub continues the story of John Quincy Adams. Drawing on the sixth US president’s diaries, letters, and writings, Traub discusses Adams’ ascendance to the White House, his numerous achievements and failures in office, his stewardship of American foreign policy, and his continuous dedication to a code of ethics beyond the desire for reelection.
Recorded on August 23, 2023

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