S8 Ep225: THE SCANDAL'S LEGACY AND POST-CIVIL WAR DIVORCE Colleague Barbara Weisberg. Weisberg discusses the scandal's legacy, noting that divorce rates spiked significantly after the Civil War, though the guilty party was legally forbidden to remarry. She explains

S8 Ep225: CONFESSION, DIVORCE, AND THE STRONG V. STRONG TRIAL Colleague Barbara Weisberg. Weisberg recounts Mary's confession of her affair and pregnancy to Peter. Although divorce was taboo in their social circle, Peter eventually sues to claim full custody of the

S8 Ep225: THE UNRAVELING OF THE STRONG MARRIAGE Colleague Barbara Weisberg. Weisberg details the unraveling of the Strong marriage as Mary grows restless at the Waverly estate. Amidst the onset of the Civil War, Mary begins an affair with Peter's brother, Edward, w

S8 Ep225: THE MARRIAGE OF PETER STRONG AND MARY STEVENS Colleague Barbara Weisberg. Weisberg introduces the marriage of Peter Strong and Mary Stevens, scions of wealthy New York families. Despite a storybook beginning, they move to Peter's mother's estate in Queens

S8 Ep225: MANIFEST DESTINY, FEMINISM, AND RACIAL COMPLEXITIES Colleague Alan Taylor. Taylor contrasts Jane McManus Cazneau, who coined "Manifest Destiny" and sought to expand slavery southward, with Jane Grey Swisshelm, a feminist abolitionist. He highlights the er

S8 Ep225: MEXICO'S CIVIL WAR AND THE MCLANE-OCAMPO TREATY Colleague Alan Taylor. Taylor describes the brutal civil war in Mexico between Conservatives and Liberals led by Melchor Ocampo, who sought to reduce Church power. To fund this war, Ocampo negotiated the McL

S8 Ep225: THE 1850s POLITICAL BREAKDOWN AND THE ROAD TO FORT SUMTER Colleague Alan Taylor. Taylor analyzes the 1850s political breakdown, from John C. Calhoun's defense of states' rights to Stephen Douglas's disastrous Kansas-Nebraska Act. He explains that while ra

S8 Ep225: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, TUBMAN, AND DIVERGENT ABOLITIONIST PATHS Colleague Alan Taylor. Taylor discusses the Underground Railroad's informal network and Harriet Tubman's repeated risks to rescue enslaved people. He contrasts Frederick Douglass's integra

S8 Ep224: cTRADE SEMINARS, HEALTH INSPECTIONS, AND A PROPER DESK Colleague Oliver Darkshire. The guest describes attending a trade seminar in York, noting that booksellers are typically reclusive rather than social. He recounts a health and safety inspection that l

S8 Ep224: SMOGS, DRACULAS, AND THE SHOP'S RESIDENT GHOST Colleague Oliver Darkshire. Oliver categorizes customers, such as "Smogs" seeking treasures and "Draculas" obsessed with specific themes. He discusses book runners, discovering moldy copies of Edwin Drood, an

S8 Ep224: APPRENTICESHIP AT HENRY SOTHERAN'S ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSHOP Colleague Oliver Darkshire. Darkshire describes his apprenticeship at Henry Sotheran's, noting the shop's silent atmosphere and his odd interview regarding trombone playing. He details the "higgledy-

S8 Ep224: ONCE UPON A TOME: A MISSION TO EVALUATE A REMOTE LIBRARY Colleague Oliver Darkshire. Guest Oliver Darkshire discusses his memoir, Once Upon a Tome, recounting a "mission" to a remote house to evaluate a library. After a difficult trek through woods, he di

S8 Ep223: AUSTRALIA'S SUMMER WEATHER FORECAST AND CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS Colleague Jeremy Zakis. Jeremy Zakis reports that while New South Wales is currently experiencing stormy weather, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts a catastrophically hot summer influenced by s

S8 Ep222: AUSTRALIA DOMINATES ENGLAND IN THE ASHES CRICKET SERIES Colleague Jeremy Zakis. Zakis analyzes the Ashes series, noting England's poor performance and failure to execute their aggressive "Bazball" strategy effectively. Conversely, Australia's consistent,

S8 Ep222: DALLAS MEETS A SLEEPY LIZARD; DESTRUCTIVE COCKATOOS RETURN Colleague Jeremy Zakis. Zakis describes a surprisingly friendly encounter between his dog, Dallas, and a "sleepy lizard," a reptile known to bite hard when threatened. Meanwhile, flocks of cockato

S8 Ep222: VENOMOUS SNAKES ON BEACHES AND A KOALA RESCUE Colleague Jeremy Zakis. Due to extreme heat and population growth, Eastern Brown snakes are appearing in unusual locations, such as inside surfers' bags on sandy beaches. Zakis also recounts a heartwarming sto

S8 Ep221: ELECTION NIGHT LANDSLIDE AND POLITICAL REALIGNMENT Colleague David Pietrusza. On election night, early returns from Connecticut signaled a massive victory for Roosevelt, contradicting the predictions of the Literary Digest straw poll. Roosevelt won a hist

S8 Ep221: THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL: CLASS WARFARE AND THE BLACK VOTE Colleague David Pietrusza. Alf Landon proved a poor campaigner, taking long vacations and delivering ineffective radio speeches. Conversely, Eleanor Roosevelt became a powerful surrogate, campaigning fo

S8 Ep221: THE REPUBLICAN FIELD AND THE SELECTION OF ALF LANDON Colleague David Pietrusza. The Republican Party sought a candidate to challenge Roosevelt, dismissing a return of Herbert Hoover and bypassing isolationist William Borah. They settled on Kansas Governor

S8 Ep221: THE POWER AND DECLINE OF WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST Colleague David Pietrusza. Media magnate William Randolph Hearst, who controlled a vast empire of newspapers and radio stations, shifted from a Roosevelt supporter in 1932 to a fierce critic by 1936. Hearst