Plodding Through The Presidents

We go behind the story that Howard just published in Smithsonian Magazine, digging into the forgotten origins of the story that William Howard Taft got stuck in a White House bathtub. Check out the article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/popular-lore-claims-that-william-howard-taft-got-stuck-in-a-bathtub-new-research-sheds-light-on-the-legends-forgotten-origins-180988386/ You can also hear Howard on these recent podcasts: The Big Fib: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-impeach-wisdom-when-telling-fibs-about-us-presidents/id1348469682?i=1000748336772 Talk That Pod: https://talkthatpod.net/episode-002-howard-dorre/ Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We kick off a season full of weird science and pseudoscience with a tale of two very different chairs in Philadelphia—George Washington’s “rising sun” chair and Benjamin Rush’s tranquilizer chair. Then we welcome Colleen Shogan, former archivist of the United States and CEO of the exciting new initiative In Pursuit, honoring America’s 250th. Check out the excellent essays from In Pursuit written about presidents and first ladies and written BY presidents and first ladies (and more) at inpursuit.org Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us this season for weird science! Deeply researched, deeply irreverent dives into the real—and pseudo—scientific beliefs of the early presidents and founders. Find out more at plodpod.com Consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our Season 6 finale, we welcome Jeffrey Rosen, author of “The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America” for a conversation about Hamilton and Jefferson’s nation-defining differences, and their shared fear of the "embryo-Caesar" Aaron Burr. Check out the fantastic resources at the National Constitution Center’s website at constitutioncenter.org. Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Howard joins fellow history podcasters Jerry Landry from Presidencies of the United States, Alycia from Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast, and Kenny Ryan Austin from [Abridged] Presidential Histories (and the new podcast Democricide) for their fourth annual Friendsgiving special for a discussion about history, podcasting, confounding presidents, and bringing back duels. Find out more at plodpod.com Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com Listen to [Abridged] Presidential Histories: https://aph.buzzsprout.com/ Listen to Democricide: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/democricide/id1820630367 Listen to Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast: https://www.civicsandcoffee.com/ Listen to Presidencies of the United States: https://www.presidenciespodcast.com/ Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Sign up for the Plodding Substack at https://plodding.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We welcome Geoffrey C. Ward, the writer behind The American Revolution documentary series and its companion book, for a conversation about the revolutionary characters he’s excited to bring into the spotlight, the iconic images of the Revolution, his long partnership with Ken Burns, and his fascination with Franklin Roosevelt. Find out more about The American Revolution film series at pbs.org and check out Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns’ gorgeous book The American Revolution: An Intimate History based on the film. Sign up for the free Plodding Substack newsletter at plodding.substack.com by 11/30/25 for a chance to win a copy of Joseph Ellis’s new book. Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com - including our John Adams "Facts are Stubborn Things" shirt! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We welcome the codirectors of the new documentary The American Revolution, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, for a conversation about what it took to bring this massive project to life. They share behind the scenes stories about the collaborative process with Ken Burns, the incredible voice cast, the Revolution’s fascinating characters, and their road to documentary filmmaking. Sign up for the free Plodding Substack newsletter at plodding.substack.com for a chance to win a copy of Ellis’s new book. Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We welcome Pulitzer Prize winning author Joseph Ellis to talk about his new book The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding, and what we can learn from the founders on the eve of America’s 250th birthday. Ellis also shares his disdain for “presentism” and his strong feelings about America’s present. Sign up for the free Plodding Substack newsletter at plodding.substack.com for a chance to win a copy of Ellis’s new book. Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did Eliza Monroe Hay, unofficial first lady and daughter of fifth president James Monroe, end up buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris? We welcome author Barbara VornDick to share her incredible story of researching Eliza, pushing back on her historically bossy reputation, and working to bring her home. Check out “Eliza's True Story: The First Biography of President Monroe's Eldest Daughter” by Barbara VornDick: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elizas-true-story-barbara-vorndick/1145846740 Latest information from the Bringing Eliza Home project: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Bringing-Eliza-Home-Project-61558069665312/ Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dig into the origins of the story that Thomas Jefferson once shot a man for treason on the White House lawn, made popular by the 2001 film Swordfish. Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dive into the real story of Theodore Roosevelt’s encounters with piranhas in the Amazon, his impact on the ferocious reputation of the fish, and how one fishmonger titan—Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod—turned a fish story into a whopper about a cow. Stick around for a piranha survival quiz that just might save your skin. Sources include Candice Millard’s excellent book The River of Doubt, Roosevelt’s Through The Brazilian Wilderness, and The Star-Ledger’s impressive investigative work on Axelrod. Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community for ad-free episodes and bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this story from the archives, we look at the haunting sounds and even more haunting history of Benjamin Franklin’s favorite invention: the glass armonica. For more information about Mayling Garcia visit maylinggarcia.com Learn more about William Zeitler at williamzeitler.com (William Zeitler’s music used with his permission.) Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dig into the stories behind two giant cheeses gifted to Presidents: First, the Mammoth Cheese presented to Thomas Jefferson in 1802 by Elder John Leland, and then an even bigger cheese made for Andrew Jackson. It’s a story of human ingenuity, religious freedom, chaos, and democracy. With a little old-school cheddar and sherry. Find out more at plodpod.com Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at https://plodding-through-the-presidents.dashery.com/ Visit the cheesemongers at MilkFarm in Los Angeles: https://milkfarmla.com/ Subscribe to our Substack: https://plodding.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inspired by the 50th anniversary of the film Jaws, we dig into the most notable encounters between presidents and sharks—from John Adams on the Atlantic to JFK in the Pacific. Then we look at the shark attacks in July 1916 in New Jersey that caused America’s first shark panic and forced Woodrow Wilson to declare a war on sharks. Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're excited to share an episode of the daily podcast History Dispatches, hosted by Matt and McKinley Breen, where Howard is the special guest talking about one of his favorite topics: Billy Possum, the stuffed toy that failed to dethrone the popular Teddy Bear. Smithsonian Article: "How a Stuffed Animal Named Billy Possum Tried—and Failed—to Replace the Teddy Bear as America’s National Toy" by Howard Dorre - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-a-stuffed-animal-named-billy-possum-triedand-failedto-replace-the-teddy-bear-as-americas-national-toy-180986072/ History Dispatches: https://historydispatches.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We look at how Artificial Intelligence is waging a sophisticated attack on historical sources—the very sources we depend on for our research—and why we can't count on the government to save us. Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We pin down the truth behind the tall tales of Abraham Lincoln’s reputation as a Hall of Fame wrestler credited with inventing the chokeslam. Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We look into the giant victory balls that kept on rolling during William Henry Harrison’s 1840 presidential campaign. Then we welcome Jerry Landry of the Presidencies of the United States podcast to talk about Harrison’s rise to fame and the most likely explanation for his death just one month into his term. Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch—including our William Henry Harrison: For A Good Time Not A Long Time shirt—at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dig into the eerie presidential death cycle known as Tecumseh’s Curse or the Zero-Year Curse. Tracing the origins of the legend to Native American revenge, planetary alignment, and even Satan, we look at the facts and fantasies behind this pattern—and how it had a real-life impact on the presidency. Find out more at plodpod.com and send your local lore to [email protected]. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dig into the truth and lore about the mysterious life and death of Sarah Shelton Henry, Patrick Henry’s wife—a woman who suffered from mental illness and was confined in the basement of their home in Beaverdam, Virginia. This local lore was suggested by our listener Klayr. An essential source in putting this episode together was the book "In Sickness and in Health: The Marriage of Patrick Henry and Sarah Shelton" by Mark Couvillon. Find out more at plodpod.com and send your local lore to [email protected]. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices