American Esoterica

Episode 15 - ALTERNATE ”TOM TOM” VERSION - Beard to Board

Lincoln grows a beard and forces a young lithographer to find a new way to make a lasting impact on American culture. NOTE: this episode comes in two forms, and this version is an alternate version featuring a few contributions from my two-year-old son. Enjoy!

Episode 14 - Bone to Pick

Founding Father Gouverneur Morris produced some of the lofty language that underpins our most sacred governing document, but we don't talk about him much, maybe because of his...unorthodox self-care methods. NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH. 

Episode 13 - As Good As A Wink

He fled the Bolsheviks and the Nazis. He married a Russian aristocrat. And he won the Kentucky Derby. Twice in a row. Why isn't there a biopic in the works?

Episode 12 - Big Mistake

You may be unlucky, but have you ever been "accidentally started two major wars" unlucky? Some origin stories are downright embarrassing.

Episode 11 - President for a Day?

Everybody dreams of being President for a day. Turns out, there's a chance one man actually may have been just that.

Episode 10 - A Secret About the Service

There's a kind of tragic poetry in the history and creation of the Secret Service, but protecting important politicians wasn't their first line of work. And that's a real shame for a few presidents. 

Episode 9 - The Night We Nuked Georgia

No foreign enemy has ever dropped a nuclear weapon on American soil. But we have, several times. At least they're all accounted for, right? 

Episode 8 - The Commonwealth vs. Abraham Lincoln

A young scofflaw named Abraham Lincoln has his first brush with the long arm of the law - and he likes it. 

Episode 7 - What the Law is

John Adams's Secretary of State had ONE JOB to do at the end of his term. And if he had done it, the entire system of checks and balances in American government may have turned out completely different. Come for the first real display of genuine partisan shenanigans, stay for the Supreme Court completing a journey of self-discovery just like in "Eat, Pray, Love." 

Episode 6 - Home is Where the War is

Sometimes history has a sense of poetic irony. Other times it just wants to mess with people. One such person found himself in the middle of not just one, but two major historical events, and it's a story that has to be heard to be believed.