Keith and Patrick are finally back together after a hiatus, and the topic is narratives in history: how to write them, why they matter, and how much we should be using them to understand the past. We dig into two specific examples, the fall of

9: 18th Century Mass Incarceration - Interview with Dr. Tawny Paul

Apr 24th, 2017 52m 27s

In May 2016, the Federal Reserve reported that 46% of Americans would struggle to find $400 for an emergency expense. Debt and precarity have become increasingly important political issues recently but middle-class financial uncertainty has a l

8: Southern California & The Religious Right - An Interview with Christina Copland

Apr 16th, 2017 59m 21s

During this past election many pundits claimed that Donald Trump's victory in the Republican primary meant the end of the religious right. Those predictions turned out to be wrong. In this episode, Keith interviews PhD candidate Christina Copla

7: How To Level Economic Inequality

Apr 7th, 2017 55m 21s

Economic inequality is an increasingly major topic of discussion. Patrick and Keith discuss an excellent book on the topic, "The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century," by the emine

6: Globalization, Part 2 - The Downsides of a Global World

Mar 17th, 2017 54m 24s

Globalization is one of the defining issues of our time, and it's often presented as an unalloyed positive. That's not the case. There are serious downsides as well, and in this episode, Keith and Patrick explore those negative manifestations.

5: Globalization, Part 1 - The Positive Sides of a Global World

Mar 9th, 2017 52m 12s

Globalization, the ever-increasing flows of money, goods, and people on a worldwide level, is one of the defining characteristics of our modern world. Where did it come from, how do historians talk about it, and why does it matter? Keith and Pa

4: Scandal In The Age Of Trump

Feb 22nd, 2017 1h 13m

Patrick and Keith are joined by their friend Stefan Smith (The_SAlexander on Twitter), a historian of scandal in the early modern period, to discuss scandal in the age of Trump and why he seems so immune to the kinds of issues that have brought

3: Settlement Patterns, Or Why Where You Live Matters

Feb 8th, 2017 1h 24m

Keith and Patrick break down the concept of settlement patterns, or how people sort themselves into communities of various size and scale, and why that matters to the economy, politics, and culture.

2: Political Breakdown and Crisis

Jan 19th, 2017 1h 25m

The United States is at a point of long-term political breakdown, as the paralysis of the legislative branch and hyper-partisanship combine to create an increasingly unworkable system. In this episode, Keith and Patrick look at the fall of the

1: The Narrative of Progress

Jan 7th, 2017 1h 14m

Historians Keith Pluymers and Patrick Wyman break down the narrative of progress, the idea that technology and social justice are bending toward improvement, from its origins to its function in President Obama's rhetoric in the present day. The