Now & Then

"If you love an intelligent discussion about current affairs and how it relates to historical events, THIS IS YOUR PODCAST. I think this starts next week. Here is some info from the website... Vox Media Podcast Network and Cafe today announced the launch of Now & Then, a new weekly podcast hosted by historians Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman. Every Tuesday, Richardson and Freeman will explore current events in the larger context of American history, making sense of the week in news by looking back at resonant parallels. Now & Then is the first show to launch since Cafe, led and co-founded by former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara (also host of the popular podcast Stay Tuned), joined Vox Media last month. “Plunging into the past to understand the present is vitally important at a time of crisis,” says Freeman of the show. “Doing so with a friend and fellow historian (who shares my sense of humor) is a total pleasure.” Richardson adds: “At its most basic, history is about hanging out with good friends and telling stories about the past to make sense of the present. In Now & Then, Joanne and I are doing that... with doctorates and a modern twist.” Richardson is a professor of history at Boston College, the bestselling author of several books on the Civil War and reconstruction, and the writer of the breakout hit Substack newsletter “Letters From An American.” She’s a contributing writer at The Guardian and Slate, and previously co-hosted the NPR series Freak Out and Carry On with journalist Ron Suskind. Freeman is a professor of history and American studies at Yale University, specializing in the politics and political culture of revolutionary and early national America. An award-winning author, Freeman previously hosted the popular American history podcast BackStory, and is a frequent lecturer on America’s founding period. She’s one of the nation’s leading experts on Alexander Hamilton (and I'm out of characters)."

"Fascinating insights into current political events and historical context"