Pilgrims, turkey, and United States Presidents. What do these three things have in common? Thanksgiving. 

Interested to know more? Listen to find out the real history behind Thanksgiving.

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It has been a bit since we've done one of these but I wanted to step back and cover broadly everything we have covered in the last six months or more. We'll go over Henry the Navigator, Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Magellan, and more. 

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Today I sit down with historian and author Jay Cost and talk about his new book: James Madison: America's First Politician. Madison to me tends to be the forgotten Founding Father - at least since the epic revitalization of interest into Hamilton. But, as we talk about in this interview, Madison is so much more than just the "Father of the Constitution", as if that were not enough.

You can get the book HERE

Ponce de Leon and the fountain of youth... right? Not so much. Today we discuss the historical reality of Juan Ponce de Leon, which has nothing to do with fountains and much to do with Florida.

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Tis the season of bonus author interviews on Western Civ! This time, I sit down with Andrew Petegree and Arthur Der Weduwen to talk about a subject near and dear to us all: books. Specifically, the library. Their new book: The Library: A Fragile History, covers the history of the library from the Great Library of Alexandria all the way to our modern children's section. 

Buy the book HERE

Without Magellan, the remaining three ships still must find a way to get to the Spice Islands and back to Spain if they are to complete their mission. Under normal circumstances, this would be difficult, but a storm, a betrayal, and an angry Portuguese fleet make the prospect even more difficult. 

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Today I sit down with scholar Peniel Joseph and talk about his latest book, The Sword and the Shield, a new history of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X.

Buy the book HERE

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