This week at In The Past Lane, the American History podcast, we look at the decades following World War II when the federal government passed civil rights laws and enacted social programs concerning public health, housing, education, transportation, and anti-poverty initiatives that aimed to provide … [Read more...]
Episode 117 How Activist Government in Post-War America Expanded Opportunity and Spread Prosperity
Episode 042 The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs since the 1960s
This week at In The Past Lane, the American history podcast, I interview historian Joshua Clark Davis about his new book, From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs. Davis takes us through a fascinating examination of 4 types of what he calls activist … [Read more...]
Episode 039 Ken Burns and Coming to Terms with The Vietnam War
This week I speak with America's most acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns, about his new project, The Vietnam War. This 10-part, 18-hour epic debuts on PBS on September 17, 2017. Vietnam has long been one of the most divisive events in recent US history. And yet, after making films on the two … [Read more...]
Episode 030 Presidents and the Media: The History of Political Spin
This week at In The Past Lane, we talk about the American presidency – specifically the history of how US presidents have endeavored to communicate their positions on key issues of the day. To use modern political parlance, it’s the history of “spin,” that important but sometimes tawdry business of … [Read more...]
Episode 029 Spies, Traitors, & Saboteurs: Civil Liberties in Times of National Crisis
This week, In The Past Lane is in Chicago to check out a cool history exhibition and speak with John Russick of the Chicago History Museum. The exhibition, "Spies, Traitors, and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America," was originally created by the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC in the … [Read more...]