480. James 'Jed' Dobson

480. We talk to James 'Jed' Dobson on Samuel Clemens. Mark Twain wrote Life on the Mississippi, a memoir about his time as a cub river boat pilot. Twain's version of the Mississippi River has colored the way the nation looks at the river.

479. Katy Morlas Shannon, part 2.

479. Part 2 of our interview with Katy Morlas Shannon.Katy is returning to the podcast to talk about her new book, Antoine of Oak Alley: The Unlikely Origin of Southern Pecans and the Enslaved Man Who Cultivated Them. We also talk about here research into the portrait of Bélizaire and the Frey Children, which had the young black man Bélizaire painted out and then restored.

478. Katy Morlas Shannon, Part 1

478. Part 1 of our interview with Katy Morlas Shannon. Katy is returning to the podcast to talk about her new book, Antoine of Oak Alley: The Unlikely Origin of Southern Pecans and the Enslaved Man Who Cultivated Them. "The story of Antoine is emblematic of countless enslaved people whose lives and contributions have been overlooked. Antoine, the enslaved gardener of Oak Alley Plantation, was the first person to successfully propagate the pecan tree yet he exists only as a footnote in the bigger story of Oak Alley Plantation.

477½. Peyton Michelle

477½. This is a special political episode where we talk to Peyton Michelle. On July 12, 2020, Peyton became the first openly transgender woman to win political office in Louisiana, as Big Easy Magazine was the first to report.

477. Joe Abraham, Part 2

477. Part 2 of our interview with Joe Abraham about his book, Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths: From Alexander to Hitler to the Corporation. Right wing populists increasingly draw attention around the globe, but the attention is misdirected. The real problem is not the the authoritarian, but the authoritarian personalities who follow him.

476. Joe Abraham, part 1

476. Part 1 of our interview with Joe Abraham. Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths: From Alexander to Hitler to the Corporation. Right wing populists increasingly draw attention around the globe, but the attention is misdirected. The real problem is not the the authoritarian, but the authoritarian personalities who follow him.