Axelbank Reports History and Today

Axelbank Reports History and Today

Evan Axelbank

Episodes 198
Avg. Duration 52m
Activity Highly Active
Since Jun 2020
Latest Episode Feb 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every 2 Weeks
Format
Episodic
Consistency
87%
Hosting
feeds.buzzsprout.com

About This Podcast

"Axelbank Reports History and Today: Conversations with America’s top non-fiction authors and why their books matter right now" approaches our past and present in a way that makes anyone want to listen. National-award winning TV news reporter Evan Axelbank interviews writers of history and current events to explore how America works and how it has been shaped by both the powerful and the powerless. In conversational and engaging fashion, listeners learn about the most important events, themes and figures in American history. This podcast shows why we have no choice but to understand where we have been, to know where we are going.

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Recent Episodes

#197: Gloria Browne-Marshall - "A Protest History of the United States"

Feb 24, 2026 58m

From the publisher: "Exploring 500 years of protest and resistance in US history—and what the unsung heroes of social movements past can teach us about navigating our chaotic worldIn this timely new…

#196: Heather Ann Thompson - "Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage"

Feb 10, 2026 54m

From the publisher: "In this masterful, groundbreaking work, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Heather Ann Thompson shines surprising new light on an infamous 1984 New York subway shooting that would…

#195: Andrew Burstein - "Being Thomas Jefferson: "An Intimate History"

Jan 20, 2026 53m

From the publisher: "The deepest dive yet into the heart and soul, secret affairs, unexplored alliances, and bitter feuds of a generally worshipped, intermittently reviled American icon.Perhaps no…

#194: Richard Bell - "The American Revolution and the Fate of the World"

Jan 06, 2026 55m

It's almost the 250th anniversary of America's founding. Not only did the Revolution define the fate of the continent, Dr. Richard Bell argues it was a harbinger for the rest of the world. On this…

#193: Vaughn Joy - "Selling Out Santa: Hollywood Christmas Films in the Age of McCarthy"

Dec 23, 2025 52m

From the publisher: Christmas is not just a day or a frame of mind as Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) imparts in Miracle on 34th Street (1947); Christmas is also a vehicle for national mythmaking as an…

#192: Charles Ferguson - "Presidential Seclusion: The Power of Camp David"

Dec 09, 2025 50m

From the publisher: "The Presidential Retreat Camp David is shrouded in mystery, and rightfully so. The hidden retreat atop the Catoctin Mountains is the one place the President, First Family, and…

#191: Matthew Davis - "A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mt. Rushmore"

Nov 25, 2025 55m

From the publisher:"A comprehensive narrative history of Mt. Rushmore, written in light of recent political controversies, and a timely retrospective for the monument's 100th anniversary in…

#190: David Baron - "The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America"

Nov 11, 2025 50m

From the publisher:“There Is Life on the Planet Mars” ―New York Times, December 9, 1906This New York Times headline was no joke. In the early 1900s, many Americans actually believed we had discovered…

#189: Joseph J. Ellis - "The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding"

Oct 28, 2025 54m

From the publisher:An astounding look at how America’s founders—Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Adams—regarded the issue of slavery as they drafted the Declaration of Independence and the…

#188: Julia Azari - "Backlash Presidents: From Transformative to Reactionary Leaders in American History"

Oct 21, 2025 1h

From the publisher: "When Barack Obama won the White House in 2008, becoming the nation’s first Black president, the stage was set for Donald Trump’s eventual rise to power. Backlash Presidents shows…

#187: Howard Husock - "The Projects: A New History of Public Housing"

Oct 07, 2025 50m

From the publisher: As the US struggles to provide affordable housing, millions of Americans live in deteriorating public housing projects, enduring the mistakes of past housing policy. In The…

#186: Seth Wickersham - "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback"

Sep 23, 2025 45m

From the publisher: The quarterback: the American equivalent of royalty, long glamorized, mythologized, and worshipped. Still, long before the Super Bowl trophies, massive contracts, brand deals, and…

#185: Claudia Rowe - "Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care"

Sep 09, 2025 59m

From the publisher: "A compelling exploration of the broken American foster care system, told through the stories of six former foster youth. This powerful narrative nonfiction book delves into the…

#184: Jonathan Mahler - The Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986-1990

Aug 26, 2025 44m

From the publisher: New York entered 1986 as a city reborn. Record profits on Wall Street sent waves of money splashing across Manhattan, bringing a battered city roaring back to life.But it also…

#183: Iain MacGregor - "The Hiroshima Men: The Quest to Build the Atomic Bomb and the Fateful Decision to Use It"

Aug 12, 2025 1h

From the publisher: "An epic, riveting history based on new interviews and research that elucidates the approval, construction, and fateful decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.At 8:15 a.m.…

#182: James Bradley - "Martin Van Buren: America's First Politician"

Jul 29, 2025 49m

American politics has been dominated by two major political parties for large swaths of time. They raise money, put forward candidates at every level of government, get them elected, and - for better…

#181: J. Randy Taraborrelli - "JFK: Public, Private, Secret"

Jul 15, 2025 56m

From the publisher:"In this definitive portrait of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—one of America’s most consequential and enigmatic presidents—J. Randy Taraborrelli delivers a deeply researched and…

#180 - Fifth Anniversay Celebration with HW Brands - "A User's Guide to History"

Jun 24, 2025 55m

Happy fifth!! On this special edition of "Axelbank Reports History and Today," we are thrilled to chat with HW Brands to celebrate this show's fifth anniversary. Over the last five years, we have…

#179: Russell Shorto - "Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events that Created New York and Shaped America"

Jun 17, 2025 56m

From the publisher: "In 1664, England decided to invade the Dutch-controlled city of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. Charles II and his brother, the Duke of York, had dreams of empire, and their…

#178: Edda Fields-Black - "Combee: Harriet Tubman, The Combahee River Raid and Black Freedom During the Civil War"

Jun 03, 2025 56m

Harriet Tubman is well-known for being a conductor of the Underground Railroad. She helped dozens of people escape the slave-owning south through her bravery, wisdom and skill. But as Edda…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Axelbank Reports History and Today have?

Axelbank Reports History and Today has published 198 episodes since June 2020, covering topics in Arts, Books.

Is Axelbank Reports History and Today still active?

Axelbank Reports History and Today is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 52m.

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