Ranked #1
Barack Obama: The pursuit of identity
Barack Obama: The pursuit of identity
Political strategist David Axelrod and biographer David Maraniss discuss Barack Obama's search for identity -- and how t... Read more
30 Oct 2016
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56mins
Ranked #2
John F. Kennedy: We are all mortal
John F. Kennedy: We are all mortal
Robert Dallek, Michael Beschloss and Fredrik Logevall--three major Kennedy historians and biographers--join us on this w... Read more
28 Aug 2016
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47mins
Ranked #3
James Madison: Burning down the house
James Madison: Burning down the house
Though he's our first wartime president, James Madison is usually better remembered for his work on the Constitution rat... Read more
31 Jan 2016
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38mins
Ranked #4
James Monroe: The Forrest Gump of presidents
James Monroe: The Forrest Gump of presidents
In the latest episode of Presidential, we look at our fifth president's knack for being present at famous moments in his... Read more
7 Feb 2016
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40mins
Ranked #5
Herbert Hoover: Dealing with disaster
Herbert Hoover: Dealing with disaster
Herbert Hoover entered the White House with an array of high-profile experiences leading disaster relief. So why was his... Read more
31 Jul 2016
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39mins
Ranked #6
Andrew Jackson: The violence, the fight
Andrew Jackson: The violence, the fight
Barbara Bair, Steve Inskeep and Jon Meacham examine the tragedy of Andrew Jackson's personal life, the brutality of his ... Read more
21 Feb 2016
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46mins
Ranked #7
John Quincy Adams: The trait that broke a presidency
John Quincy Adams: The trait that broke a presidency
We're about to witness how the inability to compromise can tank any hope of being an effective president.
14 Feb 2016
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45mins
Ranked #8
Calvin Coolidge: A tale of two Coolidges
Calvin Coolidge: A tale of two Coolidges
Former politician Michael Dukakis, biographer Amity Shlaes and political scientist Robert Gilbert join Washington Post e... Read more
25 Jul 2016
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46mins
Ranked #9
Theodore Roosevelt: Exuberance
Theodore Roosevelt: Exuberance
Biographer David McCullough and historian Michelle Krowl take us inside the wild, unstoppable dynamism of Teddy Roosevel... Read more
26 Jun 2016
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42mins
Ranked #10
Abraham Lincoln: His hand and his pen
Abraham Lincoln: His hand and his pen
Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of 'Team of Rivals,' and Michelle Krowl of the Library of Congress guide us through Lincoln... Read more
24 Apr 2016
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55mins
Ranked #11
Woodrow Wilson: A complicated legacy
Woodrow Wilson: A complicated legacy
Racism, diplomacy, women's suffrage...historian John Milton Cooper and Woodrow Wilson House executive director Robert En... Read more
11 Jul 2016
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45mins
Ranked #12
Donald Trump: Division and union
Donald Trump: Division and union
In this final episode of the podcast, Library of Congress historians Michelle Krowl and Julie Miller return--along with ... Read more
9 Nov 2016
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56mins
Ranked #13
Warren G. Harding: Love and scandal
Warren G. Harding: Love and scandal
Steamy love letters. Jazz. Scandal. Psychics. Newspapers. The Hope Diamond. Historian Nicole Hemmer helps guide us throu... Read more
18 Jul 2016
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42mins
Ranked #14
Bill Clinton: The good and the bad
Bill Clinton: The good and the bad
David Maraniss, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on Bill Clinton, explores how Clinton's core character trai... Read more
16 Oct 2016
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48mins
Ranked #15
William Howard Taft: This chief, not that chief
William Howard Taft: This chief, not that chief
Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of 'The Bully Pulpit,' along with historian Michelle Krowl and Supreme Court reporter Rober... Read more
3 Jul 2016
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37mins
Ranked #16
George H. W. Bush: Restraint
George H. W. Bush: Restraint
Historians Jon Meacham and Jeffrey Engel discuss President Bush's unique form of presidential leadership--a vintage comb... Read more
9 Oct 2016
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51mins
Ranked #17
Martin Van Buren: The story of our two-party system
Martin Van Buren: The story of our two-party system
Martin Van Buren did much to create the political party establishments we have today. Experts Barbara Bair and Mark Chea... Read more
29 Feb 2016
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39mins
Ranked #18
Ulysses S. Grant: Lover, fighter, writer
Ulysses S. Grant: Lover, fighter, writer
Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs are considered the best ever written by a president. In this episode, Washington Post nonfict... Read more
8 May 2016
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43mins
Ranked #19
James Buchanan: The bachelor and the bloodshed
James Buchanan: The bachelor and the bloodshed
America is on the eve of civil war, and James Buchanan is alone in the White House as our first and only bachelor presid... Read more
18 Apr 2016
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39mins
Ranked #20
Rutherford B. Hayes: The most contested election
Rutherford B. Hayes: The most contested election
How does a vicious, close and disputed election spill over into a presidency? We examine the razor-thin election results... Read more
15 May 2016
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43mins