The Preamble

Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. On What We Spend, people from across the country and across the financial spectrum are opening their wallets—and their lives—...

When did the political parties change sides? Is America a democracy, or a constitutional republic? Sharon welcomes back political historian, author, and Professor Heather Cox Richardson to discuss her...

How can you tell if your news source is reliable? In this episode, Sharon talks with Vanessa Otero, founder of Ad Fontes Media and creator of the Media Bias Chart, about how to better evaluate the rel...

You may not be familiar with their names, but William and Ellen Craft were a determined enslaved couple who made their escape through disguise and performance, and in their success, defied the limitat...

We hear the word “reform” tossed around a lot when it comes to education, but what does it actually mean? And how does school segregation—both past and present—continue to shape our classrooms today? ...

We have a tendency to regard many of our U.S. Presidents as heroes, illuminating the ways in which they shaped our nation for the good, that we often gloss over their missteps. Historians piece togeth...

We're excited to bring you a beautiful episode of The Moth, The Rest is History.  In this hour, Henny Lewin, a young Jewish girl, is smuggled out of a Lithuanian ghetto during WWII, Musician Frank Alm...

Lady Bird, a whip-smart Southern woman, met Lyndon Johnson in Austin, Texas where he proposed to her at the end of their first date (she said no!). Eventually, the pair married and moved to Washington...

It's the trifecta of listener-favorite subjects: an American First Lady, World War II, and a secret adventure. Shannon McKenna Schmidt joins us to share about her new book, The First Lady of World War...

There’s a reason her book was just chosen for Oprah’s book club. Sharon McMahon talks with her friend Amy Griffin—venture capitalist and new author—to talk about her powerful memoir, “The Tell.” On th...