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#220: The President's Cabinet (Lindsay Chervinsky) Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

Once all members are confirmed, President Joe Biden's cabinet will be the most diverse group of advisers ever appointed. This team even includes Princeton's Cecilia Rouse, who currently awaits a Senate vote.

In this episode, historian Lindsay Chervinsky joins Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang to discuss Biden's senior leadership team, as well as the history of presidential cabinets. Chervinsky is author of a new book, "The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution."

Chervinsky is the scholar in residence at the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies at Iona College, a senior fellow at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, and a professorial lecturer at the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. She's a historian of Early America, the presidency, and the government, especially the president's cabinet.

#219: How War Shapes Us (Margaret MacMillan) Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

From World War I to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflict has long been a part of American history. These events have molded society and culture, producing effects that ripple through generations.

Author and historian Margaret MacMillan joins Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang in this week's episode to discuss how war is in our bones. She is author of the new book, "War: How Conflict Shaped Us" and a professor of history at the University of Toronto and emeritus professor of international history and the former Warden of St. Antony's College at the University of Oxford.

#218: How the Religious Right May Have Provoked the Insurrection (Katherine Stewart) Feb 04, 2021

Show notes

At the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, religious messaging echoed through the streets as Christian-right activists protested the 2020 presidential election. What role did the religious right play in the uprising at the Capitol? And will they continue to be emboldened despite President Donald Trump's departure?

Katherine Stewart joins Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang in this episode to discuss the religious right's rise to power and its role in the insurrection. She penned an op-ed last month for The New York Times on "The Roots of Josh Hawley's Rage," which the trio disentangle on the show.

Stewart has reported on the religious right for more than a decade. She is the author of "The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism."

#217: An Insurrection, an Inauguration & an Impeachment Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

January has been a politically charged month. Georgia flipped blue in two runoff U.S. Senate races, followed by a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. A week later, President Joe Biden was inaugurated, and now debates in the U.S. Senate continue to thunder as a second impeachment trial for Trump approaches. Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang unpack all that's unfolded so far this month in this week's episode.

#216: Presidential Legacies (Jonathan Alter) Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

People often wonder what a U.S. President's legacy will be — especially those who only serve one term in office — but the ways we remember Presidents can change over time. One such case is President Jimmy Carter who, to some, was considered the embodiment of a failed presidency. In retrospect, however, many of the ways in which President Carter governed were ahead of their time.

Author and journalist Jonathan Alter joins Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang in this week's episode to take a deep dive into President Carter's legacy. Alter is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and author who has written three books about American presidents. The latest is "His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life," published in 2020 by Simon & Schuster.

#215: All About JFK (Fredrik Logevall) Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

Today, many are examining leadership in American politics. Historians, biographers, and journalists are turning to the past to uncover how leadership, especially the presidency, has changed throughout the decades.

Among those is historian Fredrik Logevall, who recently published a book on President John F. Kennedy, titled "JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956." Logevall joins Julian Zelizer in this episode to dispel some of the myths surrounding John F. Kennedy, presenting a complex and sometimes vulnerable American leader.

#214: Georgia Senate Runoff Election Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang speculate on the Georgia Senate runoff election in this episode, which was recorded Jan. 5 — before the final outcome was known. They discuss what the results will mean for the U.S. Senate, Joe Biden's presidency, and the Covid-19 pandemic response. They also chat about how unusual and unprecedented this post-election period has been.

#213: Millennials in Politics (Charlotte Alter) Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

Anew generation in American politics is emerging as millennials are now taking up political offices. Emboldened and energized, these young leaders are challenging conventional party leadership in the hopes of moving beyond today's deeply embedded divisions.

Charlotte Alter joins Julian Zelizer in this episode to discuss this new generation of leadership, which she details in a new book: "The Ones We've Been Waiting For: How a New Generation of Leaders Will Transform America."

Alter is a national correspondent at TIME Magazine covering politics and social issues. She has covered the 2016, 2018, and 2020 campaigns, the Women's March and anti-Trump resistance, and the rise in activism around gun violence and climate change. Her coverage often has a special focus on women in politics, social movements, and youth activism.

*This episode was recorded on Oct. 26, 2020, as a virtual webinar sponsored by Princeton SPIA.

#212: Writing About the Trump Era (Carlos Lozada) Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

Donald Trump's presidency has undoubtedly changed American political history, which many authors — from historians to journalists — have tried to capture. In essence, books on presidencies are the first drafts of history, and those on President Trump provide a keen look into a truly unique administration.

One of those authors joins Julian Zelizer in this episode to discuss: Carlos Lozada MPA '97, who this year penned "What Were We Thinking: A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era." The book tells the story of how we understand ourselves in the Trump era, using the political ideas and debates at play in America today as its main characters.

Lozada is the nonfiction book critic for The Washington Post. He has won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism and the National Book Critics Circle citation for excellence in reviewing. Previously, he has served as the Post's economics editor, national security editor, and Outlook editor.

*This episode was recorded on Oct. 19, 2020, as a virtual webinar sponsored by Princeton SPIA.

#211: How Strong is American Polity? (Jack Balkin) Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

Presidents have a unique way of shaping polity, though government strength is also tested in other ways. Party polarization, money in politics, economic inequality, and other forces have all hindered the ability to govern.

American legal scholar Jack Balkin joins Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang in this week's episode to help walk through these "constitutional cycles." He explains how the rise and fall of parties, polarization and de-polarization, as well as episodes of "republic decay" and renewal have all shaped American polity over time. These are all subjects in his latest book: "The Cycles of Constitutional Time."

Balkin is Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School. He is the founder and director of Yale's Information Society Project, an interdisciplinary center that studies law and new information technologies. He also directs the Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression and the Knight Law and Media Program at Yale.

*This episode was recorded in September 2020.

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