Ill Literacy: Books with Benson

Latest Episodes:

The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History (Guest: Edward Achorn) Sep 20, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Edward Achorn to discuss his book, The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History. They chat about what the scene looked like in Chicago at the GOP convention in 1860, Lincoln’s quiet strategy as a dark horse and the team that maneuvered him to the nomination, and the broader political landscape in America that fateful year.

Get the book here: https://groveatlantic.com/book/the-lincoln-miracle/

Show Notes:

The Epoch Times: Anita L. Sherman – “Book Review: ‘The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History’”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/bright/book-review-the-lincoln-miracle-inside-the-republican-convention-that-changed-history-5202713

Literary Hub: Edward Achorn – “How One Week in Chicago Changed Abraham Lincoln’s Life—and the Fate of the United States”
https://lithub.com/how-one-week-in-chicago-changed-abraham-lincolns-life-and-the-fate-of-the-united-states/

Wall Street Journal: Roger Lowenstein – “‘The Lincoln Miracle’ Review: How a Longshot Won”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lincoln-miracle-book-review-how-a-longshot-won-1c3b0574

State of the Schools: Unpacking Donald P. Nielsen's Roadmap for Educational Transformation Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

In this edition of the Heartland Daily Podcast, Tim Benson talks to successful entrepreneur and Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute Donald P. Nielsen about the updated version of his book Every School: One Citizen’s Guide to Transforming Education. Nielsen draws on his business career and two decades as a school activist to offer innovative solutions to the educational challenges facing our public school system. He argues that lasting change in American public education will only come at the state level, through state legislative action that empowers school administrators to make choices in the interests of their students.

Get the book here: https://www.discovery.org/store/product/every-school-2019/

Woke Proof Your Life (Guest: Teresa Mull) Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Teresa Mull, assistant editor of the Spectator World, to discuss her book, Woke-Proof Your Life: A Handbook on Escaping Modern, Political Madness and Shielding Yourself and Your Family by Living a More Self-Sufficient, Fulfilling Life. They chat about how what exactly “woke” means, how to avoid “toxic empathy”, and how to cultivate community and grow faith. They also discuss the three tenants to focus on when you feel trapped in a maze of woke culture.

Get the book here: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/how-to-woke-proof-your-life/

Show Notes:

Fox News: Christine Rousselle – “To 'woke-proof' your life, join a church, drop the tech and talk to people, says Pennsylvania writer”
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/woke-proof-life-join-church-drop-tech-talk-people-pennsylvania-writer

The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink (Guest: William Inboden) Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by William Inboden, executive director of the Clements Center for National Security and associate professor of public policy and history at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, both at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss his book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink. They chat about how Reagan waged the Cold War while also managing multiple crises around the globe, how and why Reagan remade the four-decade-old policy of containment to challenge the Soviets in an arms race that pushed them toward economic and political collapse, all while extending an olive branch of diplomacy as he sought a peaceful end to the conflict.

Get the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/617503/the-peacemaker-by-william-inboden/

Show Notes:

City Journal: Tevi Troy – “The Last Great President”
https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-last-great-president

The Critic: Angus Reilly – “The man who tamed the Russian bear”
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/march-2023/the-man-who-tamed-the-russian-bear/

National Review: Alvin S. Felzenberg – “The Strategic Vision behind Reagan’s Cold War Victory”
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2023/05/15/the-strategic-vision-behind-reagans-cold-war-victory/

Wall Street Journal: Matthew Continetti – “‘The Peacemaker’ Review: Ronald Reagan’s Cold War”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-peacemaker-book-review-ronald-reagans-cold-war-11669396368

Washington Free Beacon: Steven F. Hayward – “The Clear-Headed Ronald Reagan”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-clear-headed-ronald-reagan/

Washington Post: Geoffrey Kabaservice – “‘The Peacemaker’ holds up Ronald Reagan as the Cold War’s victor”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/02/24/reagan-cold-war-book-inboden/

Napoleon at Peace: How to End a Revolution (Guest: William Doyle) Jul 26, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by William Doyle, professor emeritus of history and a senior research fellow at the University of Bristol, to discuss his book, Napoleon at Peace: How to End a Revolution. They chat about how Napoleon ended the French Revolution by winning peace on the battlefield, repairing relations with the Catholic Church, and making himself monarch. This also discuss Bonaparte’s attempts to restore France’s colonial empire.

Get the book here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/N/bo184798345.html

Show Notes:

The Critic: Ruth Scurr – “The regal rise of le petit caporal”
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2022/the-regal-rise-of-le-petit-caporal/

Engelsberg Ideas: Katherine Bayford – “Napoleon: the revolutionary who made himself an emperor”
https://engelsbergideas.com/reviews/napoleon-the-revolutionary-who-made-himself-an-emperor/

Literary Review: John Adamson – “His Majesty the First Consul”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/his-majesty-the-first-consul

Times Literary Supplement: Alan Forrest – “The road to St Helena”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/napoleon-michael-broers-napoleon-at-peace-william-doyle-book-review-alan-forrest/

Oliver Stone's Film-Flam: The Demagogue of Dealey Plaza (Guest: Fred Litwin) Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Fred Litwin to discuss his book Oliver Stone's Film-Flam: The Demagogue of Dealey Plaza. They chat about what Oliver Stone has been up to on the JFK assassination conspiracy beat since his blockbuster 1991 film. They also chat about how much we should trust the Warren Commission report, what happened with Kennedy’s autopsy, the chain of custody of the bullet found at Parkland Hospital, and how the unsuccessful prosecution of Clay Shaw for Kennedy’s murder by New Orleans DA Jim Garrison was little more than homophobic persecution.

Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Oliver-Stones-Film-Flam-Demagogue-Dealey/dp/0994863063

On a Knife Edge: How Germany Lost the First World War (Guest: Holger Afflerbach) Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Holger Afflerbach, Professor of Modern European History at the University of Leeds, to discuss his book, On a Knife Edge: How Germany Lost the First World War. They chat about how Sly changed the face of black music, the impact and influence his music had on his peers, and the symbolism of the interracial and intergender Family Stone. They also discuss Sly’s prolific drug use and increasing paranoia and how everything came crashing down.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691165400/kennan

Show Notes:

The Critic: Ruth Scurr – “The regal rise of le petit caporal”
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2022/the-regal-rise-of-le-petit-caporal/

Engelsberg Ideas: Katherine Bayford – “Napoleon: the revolutionary who made himself an emperor”
https://engelsbergideas.com/reviews/napoleon-the-revolutionary-who-made-himself-an-emperor/

Literary Review: John Adamson – “His Majesty the First Consul”
https://literaryreview.co.uk/his-majesty-the-first-consul

Times Literary Supplement: Alan Forrest – “The road to St Helena”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/napoleon-michael-broers-napoleon-at-peace-william-doyle-book-review-alan-forrest/

Kennan: A Life Between Worlds (Guest: Frank Costigliola) Jun 20, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Frank Costigliola, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Connecticut, to discuss his new book, Kennan: A Life between Worlds. They chat about why George Kennan was one of the most important, and complex, figures in the history of American foreign policy, his diplomatic career in the Soviet Union, his rise to fame and preeminence, and his swift fall from power and influence. They also discuss how Kennan was impossible to classify and whether his diplomatic vision holds any lessons for today.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691165400/kennan

Show Notes:

Financial Times: Anatol Lieven – “Kennan: A Life Between Worlds — lessons for the containment of Russia”
https://www.ft.com/content/76231e54-063a-4366-acd1-cecd314c470e

First Things: Patrick Porter – “Cold War Contradictions”
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2023/04/cold-war-contradictions

Foreign Affairs: Fredrik Logevall – “The Ghosts of Kennan”
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/ghosts-george-kennan-lessons-cold-war

Foreign Policy: Michael Hirsh – “Is Cold War Inevitable?”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/01/23/cold-war-george-kennan-diplomacy-containment-united-states-china-soviet-union/

The New Republic: Patrick Iber – “George Kennan’s False Moves”
https://newrepublic.com/article/169557/george-kennans-false-moves

Times Literary Supplement: Harold James – “Kissing Stalin on the mouth”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/kennan-frank-costigliola-book-review-harold-james/

Washington Examiner: Damir Marusic – “The divided George Kennan”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-divided-george-kennan

The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe (Guest: Kevin R.C. Gutzman) Jun 13, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Kevin R.C. Gutzman, Professor of History at Western Connecticut State University, to discuss his new book, The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. They discuss the foreign policy, domestic, and constitutional agenda of the Virginia Dynasty, their successes and failures, and what the presidential administrations of these three Founders meant for the history of the country.

Get the book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250135452/thejeffersonians

Show Notes:

Law & Liberty (AUDIO): “The Jeffersonian Republic” (AUDIO)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/the-jeffersonian-republic/

U.S. National Archives: “The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe” (VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrUBnbZaZGY

Wall Street Journal: David O. Stewart – “‘The Jeffersonians’ Review: Virginia Dynasty
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-jeffersonians-review-virginia-dynasty-11671057455

Washington Free Beacon: Luke Thompson – “Reality Mugs a Founder”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/reality-mugs-a-founder/

Democracy Erodes From the Top (Guest: Larry M. Bartels) May 23, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Larry M. Bartels, University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Law and May Werthan Shayne Chair of Public Policy and Social Science at Vanderbilt University, to discuss his new book, Democracy Erodes from the Top: Leaders, Citizens, and the Challenge of Populism in Europe. They discuss the myth that there is a populist wave in contemporary European public opinion, and Bartels argues the real crisis stems not from an increasingly populist public but from political leaders who exploit or mismanage the chronic vulnerabilities of democracy.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691244501/democracy-erodes-from-the-top

Show Notes:

Salon: Paul Rosenberg – “What crisis of democracy? Scholar Larry Bartels says the real crisis is corrupt leaders”

https://www.salon.com/2023/04/02/what-of-democracy-scholar-larry-bartels-says-the-real-is-corrupt-leaders/

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