Best Michael Barragan Podcasts (2025)

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Interviews with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox; Republican Senator James Lankford; Democratic Rep. Sarah Elfreth and Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley 41:19

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4d ago41:19

41:19

On CNN’s State of the Union, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox joins Dana Bash on the latest in the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s assassination, as well as his appeal to Americans to turn away from political violence. Then, Republican Senator and pastor James Lankford joins Dana to discuss the rise in political violence and what responsibility lawmakers ha…

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Interviews with Florida Surgeon General Joe Ladapo; Doctor Paul Offit; White House Border Czar Tom Homan 44:43

12d ago44:43

44:43

On CNN's State of the Union, Jake Tapper presses FL Surgeon General on him not conducting any study before calling to lift vaccine mandate. Doctor Paul Offit responds. And White House Border Czar Tom Homan says sanctuary cities across America will be seeing immigration raids this week. Our panelists Rep. Kim Schrier, Scott Jennings, Xochitl Hinojos…

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Interviews with White House Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka; Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar; Ambassador Cindy McCain 43:56

19d ago43:56

43:56

On CNN’s State of the Union, Brianna Keilar and White House Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka spar over right-wing claims about the prevalence of mass shootings by transgender people. Next, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar joins to respond and discuss how her community is dealing with the aftermath of the Minneapolis school sho…

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Philis Barragán-Goetz, "Reading, Writing, and Revolution: Escuelitas and the Emergence of a Mexican American Identity in Texas" (U Texas Press, 2020) 52:04

22d ago52:04

52:04

Debates about Ethnic Studies in K-12 and Higher Education have highlighted the importance of culturally inclusive pedagogy in schools. Despite discussions about Ethnic Studies, there is a more extended history of Mexican-origin people pushing for culturally responsive education. In Reading, Writing, and Revolution: Escuelitas and the Emergence of a…

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Interviews with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel 41:36

26d ago41:36

41:36

On CNN's State of the Union, Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries discusses with Dana Bash New York's redistricting plans, the party's loss of voters, and the President reviewing exhibits within the Smithsonian museums. Former Chicago Mayor and U-S Ambassador Rahm Emanuel slams President Trump's new plans to send troops into Chicago and reacts t…

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Uzma Quraishi, "Redefining the Immigrant South: Indian and Pakistani Immigration to Houston During the Cold War" (UNC Press, 2020) 1:10:04

20d ago1:10:04

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In Redefining the Immigrant South: Indian and Pakistani Immigration to Houston During the Cold War (University of North Carolina Press), Uzma Quraishi (Sam Houston State University) follows the Cold War-era journeys of South Asian international students from U.S. Information Service reading rooms in India and Pakistan, to the halls of the Universit…

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Marlee S. Bunch, "Unlearning the Hush: Oral Histories of Black Female Educators in Mississippi in the Civil Rights Era" 1:04:21

21d ago1:04:21

1:04:21

In Unlearning the Hush: Oral Histories of Black Female Educators in Mississippi in the Civil Rights Era (University of Illinois Press, 2025), Dr. Marlee Bunch shared her research on Black female educators in Mississippi during the Civil Rights era and discussed how their experiences and wisdom continue to inform contemporary teaching practices and …

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Interviews with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff; Former Vice President Mike Pence 41:26

1M ago41:26

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On CNN’s State of the Union, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff joins Jake to discuss what he says was “substantial progress” in the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Then, Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence joins Jake to react to Trump rolling out the red carpet for Putin. Next, CNN Political Commentators Bakari Sellers, Brad Todd, Kristen Soltis An…

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Christopher M. Reali, "Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals" (U Illinois Press, 2022) 39:23

1M ago39:23

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The forceful music that rolled out of Muscle Shoals in the 1960s and 1970s shaped hits by everyone from Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin to the Rolling Stones and Paul Simon. Christopher M. Reali's in-depth look at the fabled musical hotbed examines the events and factors that gave the Muscle Shoals sound such a potent cultural power. Many artist…

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Harriet Jacobs, "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" (Norton, 2025) 1:12:40

25d ago1:12:40

1:12:40

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is the stirring autobiography of Harriet Jacobs, a mother and fugitive, detailing her harrowing escape from enslavement, seven years hiding in an attic crawl space, and the racism she faced in freedom. Forgotten for decades after its original, 19th century publication, Jacobs’ story was so harrowing and so brav…

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Matthew R. Sparks and Olivia Sizemore, "Haint Country: Dark Folktales from the Hills and Hollers" (UP of Kentucky, 2024) 42:20

1M ago42:20

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Matthew Sparks and Oliva Sizemore join Jana Byars for a fun, chilling, and thoughtful discussion about about Haint Country: Dark Tales from the Hills and Hollers (University Press of Kentucky, 2024). The hills of the Appalachia region hold secrets—dark, deep, varied, and mysterious. These secrets are often told in the form of eerie, thrilling, and …

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CNN Goes on the Road with Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders; Interview with US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker 42:28

1M ago42:28

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On CNN’s State of the Union, Dana Bash travels to Wheeling, West Virginia for an exclusive interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders. They discuss his push to bring his progressive message to red states, the Democratic Party’s struggles with working-class voters, the escalating showdown over redistricting in red and blue states, the situations in Ukraine …

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Stephanie McCurry, "Women's War: Fighting and Surviving the Civil War" (Harvard UP, 2019) 1:12:50

1M ago1:12:50

1:12:50

In Women's War: Fighting and Surviving the Civil War (Harvard UP, 2019), the award-winning author of Confederate Reckoning challenges the idea that women are outside of war, through a trio of dramatic stories revealing women's transformative role in the American Civil War. We think of war as a man's world, but women have always played active roles …

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Meredith McCarroll, "Unwhite: Appalachia, Race, and Film" (U Georgia Press, 2018) 1:02:14

1M ago1:02:14

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If you mention Appalachia to many people, they may immediately respond with the "Deliverance" dueling banjos theme. Unfortunately, this is an example of how the region is stereotyped and misunderstood, particularly in films. In her book, Unwhite: Appalachia, Race, and Film(University of Georgia Press, 2018), Meredith McCarroll, Director of Writing …

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EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin; Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Former BLS Commissioner William Beach 41:27

2M ago41:27

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On CNN’s State of the Union, after President Trump abruptly fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics over a weak jobs report, her predecessor William Beach – also appointed by Trump – tells Kasie Hunt Trump’s actions are “groundless” and “damaging.” Then, Kasie presses EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin over his push to gut the government’s abili…

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Arianne Edmonds, "We Now Belong to Ourselves: J. L. Edmonds, the Black Press, and Black Citizenship in America" (Oxford UP, 2025) 49:46

2M ago49:46

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At the turn of the twentieth century, the Black press provided a blueprint to help Black Americans transition from slavery and find opportunities to advance and define African American citizenship. Among the vanguard of the Black press was Jefferson Lewis Edmonds, founder and editor of The Liberator newspaper. His Los Angeles-based newspaper champi…

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Michael Vorenberg, "Lincoln's Peace: The Struggle to End the American Civil War" (Random House, 2023) 1:34:56

2M ago1:34:56

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More than a century and a half after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, historians are still searching for exactly when the U.S. Civil War ended. Was it ten weeks afterward, in Galveston, where a federal commander proclaimed Juneteenth the end of slavery? Or perhaps in August of 1866, when President Andrew Johnson simply declared “the i…

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Rep. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, WH Budget Director Russel Vought and Dem. Sen. Mark Kelly 44:05

2M ago44:05

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Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin discusses the Epstein controversy with Jake Tapper and what it will take for the Trump administration to move on from the crisis. White House Budget Director Russ Vought tells Jake Tapper about plans for another recissions package and the tools the administration might use to achieve spending cuts. Democratic Sen…

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Charlotte Bentley, "New Orleans and the Creation of Transatlantic Opera, 1819–1859" (U of Chicago Press, 2022) 47:39

2M ago47:39

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Jazz is the music that many people associate with New Orleans. But before there was jazz in New Orleans there was opera. It was the only city in the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century with a resident opera company that produced the latest European works. In New Orleans and the Creation of Transatlantic Opera, 1819–1859 (U…

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Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, US hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke 42:44

2M ago42:44

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On CNN’s State of the Union, Jake Tapper presses Senator Amy Klobuchar on why Democrats didn't release the Epstein files during the Biden Administration, Congressman Tim Burchett says Trump's call to release grand jury material in the Epstein case is a "good start." US hostage envoy Adam Boehler discusses the Trump administration’s prisoner exchang…

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Ahmad Greene-Hayes, "Underworld Work: Black Atlantic Religion Making in Jim Crow New Orleans" (U of Chicago Press, 2025) 1:01:38

2M ago1:01:38

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A rethinking of African American religious history that focuses on the development and evolution of Africana spiritual traditions in Jim Crow New Orleans. When Zora Neale Hurston traveled to New Orleans, she encountered a religious underworld, a beautiful anarchy of spiritual life. In Underworld Work, Ahmad Greene-Hayes follows Hurston on a journey…

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Jeremy Black, "The Civil War" (Saint Augustine's Press, 2025) 29:13

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The American Civil War may have been more consequential to American history (and its global supremacy) than its Revolutionary War and participation in all other world wars. The influence of this war is not just reduced to the victory of the north and its economic infrastructure, but the fact of Union success ushered in the notion of 'what it means …

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White House Border Czar Tom Homan, California Sen. Alex Padilla and Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales 42:46

2M ago42:46

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On CNN’s State of the Union, Dana Bash presses White House Border Czar Tom Homan over Trump’s immigration crackdown amid chaotic ICE raids in California. Next, California Sen. Alex Padilla sits down with Dana to respond. Then, Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales joins Dana amid growing calls for accountability after the deadly floods in his state. Finally, CN…

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Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth, "Finding the Singing Spruce: Musical Instrument Makers and Appalachia's Mountain Forests" (West Virginia UP, 2023) 1:08:24

2M ago1:08:24

1:08:24

2023 Weatherford Award Finalist, Nonfiction How can the craft of musical instrument making help reconnect people to place and reenchant work in Appalachia? How does the sonic search for musical tone change relationships with trees and forests? Following three craftspeople in the mountain forests of Appalachia through their processes of making instr…

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear 41:49

2M ago41:49

41:49

On CNN’s State of the Union, Dana Bash speaks with Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro about the deadly floods ravaging his state. Then, Dana sits down with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to discuss President Trump’s sweeping domestic policy legislation. They also discuss what will happen when Trump’s 90-day pause on tariffs ends later this week. Next, Ken…

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Julia Brock, "Closed Seasons: The Transformation of Hunting in the Modern South" (UNC Press, 2025) 51:23

3M ago51:23

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In a unique and personal exploration of the game and fish laws in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi from the Progressive Era to the 1930s, Julia Brock offers an innovative history of hunting in the New South. The implementation of conservation laws made significant strides in protecting endangered wildlife species, but it also disrupted traditional…

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John Bardes, "The Carceral City: Slavery and the Making of Mass Incarceration in New Orleans, 1803-1930" (UNC Press, 2024) 46:57

2M ago46:57

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The Carceral City: Slavery and the Making of Mass Incarceration in New Orleans, 1803-1930 (UNC Press, 2024) reveals that Americans often assume that slave societies had little use for prisons and police because slaveholders only ever inflicted violence directly or through overseers. Mustering tens of thousands of previously overlooked arrest and pr…

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Rep. Sen. Katie Britt and Dem. Sen. Mark Warner 41:31

3M ago41:31

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On CNN's State of the Union, Jake Tapper speaks to Republican Senator Katie Britt about the President's domestic policy agenda as it nears its final vote in the Senate. Democratic Senator Mark Warner slams Republicans for supporting this bill while also what he knows about the state of Iran's nuclear program. Finally Republican Rep. Riley Moore, De…

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Bryan D. Jones, The Southern Fault Line: How Race, Class, and Region Shaped One Family's History" (Oxford UP, 2025) 58:29

3M ago58:29

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The Southern Fault Line: How Race, Class, and Region Shaped One Family's History (Oxford University Press, 2025) explores the under-appreciated division in the South between the oligarchic rule of plantation owners and industrialists on the one hand, and the more democratic mindset of the mountain-dwelling small farmers on the other. These two mind…

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Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Dem. Sen. Adam Schiff and Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton 42:30

3M ago42:30

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On CNN's State of the Union, Kasie Hunt speaks to Israeli President Isaac Herzog about the aftermath of the U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff speaks about the congressional response to President Trump’s order to strike Iran arguing the action was "not constitutional." And Trump's former National Security Adv…

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Kathryn L. Beasley, "The Proof Is in the Dough: Rural Southern Women, Extension, and Making Money" (University of Georgia Press, 2025) 1:11:22

3M ago1:11:22

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The Proof Is in the Dough: Rural Southern Women, Extension, and Making Money (University of Georgia Press, 2025) examines how rural white and African American women in Alabama and Florida used the Cooperative Extension Service's home demonstration programming between 1914 and 1929 as a means to earn extra income. Kathryn L. Beasley explores an area…

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Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Former Vice President Mike Pence, California Sen. Alex Padilla and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass 45:57

3M ago45:57

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On CNN’s State of the Union, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar joins Dana Bash to react to the shocking assassination of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband, as well as the manhunt for the suspect behind the attack. Then, former Vice President Mike Pence joins Dana to discuss the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Dana also presses…

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Rep. Nanette Barragán, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Markwayne Mullin and Sen. Ron Johnson 43:56

3M ago43:56

43:56

On CNN’s State of Union, Democratic Rep. Nanette Barragán sits down with Dana Bash to react to President Trump’s stunning decision to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to quell immigration protests in her district and elsewhere in Los Angeles County. Then, Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders joins Dana to react to the breaking news and lay out …

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White House Budget Director Russ Vought, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chris Murphy 45:03

4M ago45:03

45:03

On CNN’s State of the Union, Dana Bash sits down for an exclusive interview with the man seen as the architect behind President Trump’s scorched-earth effort to upend the federal government, White House Budget Director Russ Vought. Then, House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries joins Dana to detail his party’s plan to counter Trump’s agenda, as…

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Victoria Bynum, "Deep Roots, Broken Branches: A History and Memoir" (UP of Mississippi, 2025) 53:56

4M ago53:56

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Historian Victoria Bynum turns now to her own history in this multigenerational American saga spanning from 1840 to 1979. Through meticulous historical research, personal letters, diaries, and the unpublished memoir of Mary Daniel Huckenpoehler, the author’s maternal grandmother, Bynum examines five generations within the broader context of the nat…

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Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. Ron Johnson and Sen. Michael Bennet 40:58

4M ago40:58

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On CNN’s State of the Union, Jake presses House Speaker Mike Johnson on the impact the GOP tax and spending bill will have on the national debt and on Medicaid. Next, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson joins Jake to detail his concerns about the bill and his threat to sink it unless there are steeper spending cuts. Then, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet joi…

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Frank X Walker, "Load in Nine Times: Poems" (Liveright, 2024) 1:21:30

4M ago1:21:30

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For decades Frank X Walker has reclaimed essential American lives through his pathbreaking historical poetry. In this stirring new collection, he reimagines the experiences of Black Civil War soldiers—including his own ancestors—who enlisted in the Union army in exchange for emancipation. Moving chronologically from antebellum Kentucky through Reco…

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Rep. James Clyburn, David Axelrod and Van Jones 41:58

4M ago41:58

41:58

On CNN’s State of the Union, Jake Tapper sits down with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to discuss Trump’s tariff policy, efforts to negotiate trade deals, and plans for the US to accept a luxury jet from Qatar. Then, Jake presses Democratic Rep. James Clyburn over his past support for Joe Biden’s re-election campaign amid new reporting about Bide…

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Carrie Helms Tippen, "Unpalatable: Stories of Pain and Pleasure in Southern Cookbooks" (UP of Mississippi, 2025) 1:14:09

4M ago1:14:09

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The cookbook genre is highly conventional with an orientation toward celebration and success. From glossy photographs to heartwarming stories and adjective-rich ingredient lists, the cookbook tradition primes readers for pleasure. Yet the overarching narrative of the region is often one of pain, loss, privation, exploitation, poverty, and suffering…

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Jennifer Lynn Gross, "Sisterhood of the Lost Cause: Confederate Widows in the New South" (LSU Press, 2025) 57:34

4M ago57:34

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Historians have thoroughly documented the vast devastation of the Civil War. In the attention they have paid to aspects of that destruction, however, one of the most obvious ramifications appears routinely overlooked—Confederate widowhood. Dr. Jennifer Lynn Gross’s Sisterhood of the Lost Cause: Confederate Widows in the New South (LSU Press, 2025) …

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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Dem. Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver, and Rob Menendez, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu 46:33

4M ago46:33

46:33

On CNN’s State of the Union, Dana Bash presses Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for details on Trump’s trade negotiations with China and the impact tariffs are having on Americans. Then, Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver, and Rob Menendez join Dana to respond to the Trump administration’s threat that they could be arrested af…

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Dem. Sen. Mark Warner, Rep. Sen. Ron Johnson and Stephen A. Smith 41:29

5M ago41:29

41:29

On CNN’s State of the Union, Jake sits down with Democratic Sen. Mark Warner to discuss Trump’s shake-up of his national security team. Then, Jake asks Republican Sen. Ron Johnson about a growing lead crisis in Milwaukee, as well as Americans’ unease over Trump’s handling of the economy. Next, Stephen A. Smith joins Jake to discuss whether he is co…

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No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice 53:43

5M ago53:43

53:43

When it comes to Confederate monuments, there is no common ground. Polarizing debates over their meaning have intensified into legislative maneuvering to preserve the statues, legal battles to remove them, and rowdy crowds taking matters into their own hands. These conflicts have raged for well over a century—but they've never been as intense as th…

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Frederick Knight, "Black Elders: The Meaning of Age in American Slavery and Freedom" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) 1:11:03

5M ago1:11:03

1:11:03

Would there have been a Frederick Douglass if it were not for Betsy Bailey, the grandmother who raised him? Would Harriet Jacobs have written her renowned autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, if her grandmother, a free black woman named Molly Horniblow, had not enabled Jacobs’ escape from slavery? In Black Elders: The Meaning of Ag…

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins 44:23

5M ago44:23

44:23

On CNN’s State of the Union, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joins Dana Bash for a wide-ranging interview on Ukraine peace talks, Trump’s handling of immigration and the economy, Schumer’s future as a leader in his party, and rising antisemitism in America. Next, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joins Dana to discuss the continued economic…

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Sen. Chris Van Hollen, House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer and Sen. Amy Klobuchar 42:04

5M ago42:04

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On CNN’s State of the Union, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen joins Dana Bash to discuss his trip to El Salvador to meet with deported migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Then, Dana presses House GOP Whip Rep. Tom Emmer on Trump’s standoff with the courts over his immigration policies. After, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar tells Dana that she believes the…

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Kevin Hassett and Sen. Elizabeth Warren 42:22

5M ago42:22

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On CNN’s State of the Union, Jake Tapper presses National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett over the confusion and turmoil caused by Trump’s tariff rollout. Then, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren joins Jake to discuss how Democrats should respond to Trump’s economic chaos. Finally, CNN Political Commentators Brad Todd and Ashley Allison, Repu…

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Lesley J. Gordon, "Dread Danger: Cowardice and Combat in the American Civil War" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 39:47

5M ago39:47

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Those who fought in the Civil War were expected to overcome their fear of injury or death as they charged into a hail of bullets. Soldiers could expect erupting artillery shells or Minié balls to maim or tear their bodies apart. The 11th New York Fire Zouaves and the 2nd Texas Infantry were no different. They charged into battle with high, perhaps…

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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Gov. Tim Walz 44:47

6M ago44:47

44:47

On CNN’s State of the Union, Jake Tapper presses Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins for clarity on Trump’s sweeping tariffs as the economic fallout grows. Then, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz joins Jake to respond and to weigh in on what he thinks Democrats’ strategy needs to be to counter Trump. Finally, CNN Senior Political Commentator David Urban, C…

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Megan Hunt, "Southern by the Grace of God: Religion, Race, and Civil Rights in Hollywood's American South" (U Georgia Press, 2024) 47:29

6M ago47:29

47:29

On this episode of the New Books Network, Dr. Megan Hunt joins us to talk about her recent book, Southern By the Grace of God, which was published in 2024 by the University of Georgia Press. Lke the media coverage of the civil rights era itself, Hollywood dramas have reinforced regional stereotypes of race, class, and gender to cleanse and redeem t…