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Plodding Through The Presidents

Plodding Through The Presidents

Howard & Jessica Dorre

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1 Creator

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1 Creator

Join history blogger Howard Dorre and his wife Jessica Dorre for a deep irreverent dive into lesser-known stories of the early American presidents. They dig into the myths, mysteries, scandals, and drama of the founders and their families, with a dash of marital banter.
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Top 10 Plodding Through The Presidents Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Plodding Through The Presidents episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Plodding Through The Presidents for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Plodding Through The Presidents episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Plodding Through The Presidents - Mary Hellen's Petticoat Magic

Mary Hellen's Petticoat Magic

Plodding Through The Presidents

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11/09/21 • 63 min

We explore the tragic stories of John Quincy Adams’s sons—George Washington Adams, John Adams II, and Charles Francis Adams—through the structure of their cousin Mary Hellen playing a real life game of "F*ck Marry Kill" with them.

Show notes, photos, and sources at plodpod.com

Consider joining our Patreon family (and our Season 3 patron party on November 14th) at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for bonus content and perks!

Check out our merch store at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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9 Listeners

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Plodding Through The Presidents - Benjamin Rush To Judgment

Benjamin Rush To Judgment

Plodding Through The Presidents

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11/16/21 • 70 min

In our third season finale, we look at confounding founder Benjamin Rush—his outstanding humanitarian accomplishments, his controversial bleeding and purging treatments during the Yellow Fever epidemics, and the dramatic trial where he sued newspaper publisher William Cobbett for accusing him of killing his patients.

Sources and more at plodpod.com but a special shoutout to the extremely helpful Law and Medicine in Revolutionary America: Dissecting the Rush v. Cobbett Trial, 1799 by Linda Myrsiades and Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father by Stephen Fried.

We'll be back in 2022!

Consider joining our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for bonus content and perks!

Check out our merch store at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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7 Listeners

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Plodding Through The Presidents - John & Abigail & Smallpox

John & Abigail & Smallpox

Plodding Through The Presidents

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02/11/20 • 41 min

We dig into the separate smallpox inoculations of John and Abigail Adams and the heartfelt and hilarious love letters this supercouple exchanged during their quarantines, along with some background on Lady Mary Montagu's bold introduction of the smallpox inoculation from Turkey to England.

(A note: This is our very first episode, and we were still finding our rhythm and voice. You're welcome to start here, but you might want to start with Season 2 or newer episodes for a better sense of how we've evolved!)

Sources:

Founders Online - letters between John & Abigail Adams

Time Magazine: How One Daring Woman Introduced the Idea of Smallpox Inoculation to England by Thomas Hager

The Story of Smallpox in Massachusetts by Samuel Bayard Woodward, M.D.

Inspired by my post "Love in the Time of Smallpox"

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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6 Listeners

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Plodding Through The Presidents - John Quincy Adams vs. The Internet

John Quincy Adams vs. The Internet

Plodding Through The Presidents

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03/03/20 • 40 min

We dive into the truth behind four popular stories about John Quincy Adams, including the inspirational "if your actions inspire others" quote, the pet alligator in the White House, the skinny dipping interview with reporter Anne Royall, and the expedition to the center of the earth to visit the mole people.

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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5 Listeners

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Plodding Through The Presidents - A Tale of Two Stepsons

A Tale of Two Stepsons

Plodding Through The Presidents

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02/25/20 • 40 min

George Washington and James Madison never had any biological children, but they each had a problem child stepson. We explore the lives of the "voluptuous" Jacky Custis and the debauchery enthusiast John Payne Todd and how they affected their famous stepfathers and mothers.

Sources:

My original (and unfairly harsh) article about Jacky Custis: George Washington's Disappointing Stepson

Letters between Jonathan Boucher and George Washington - Founders Online
Letter from James Madison to John Payne Todd - Founders Online
The Bad Boy: Payne Todd by William Seale
Payne Todd: Prodigal Son
You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe
Dolley Madison's Son Payne Todd: The Final Blow by Feather Schwartz
Mrs. James Madison: The Incomparable Dolley by Ethel Stephens Arnett

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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3 Listeners

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Plodding Through The Presidents - Jefferson's Broken Heart and Wrist

Jefferson's Broken Heart and Wrist

Plodding Through The Presidents

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02/11/20 • 44 min

We explore Thomas Jefferson's dangerous liaison in Paris with the talented artist Maria Cosway and her monkey-like husband Richard Cosway - a love story that resulted in two broken hearts, one permanently damaged wrist, and one epic 4000-word love letter written as a dialogue between Jefferson's head and heart.

(A note: This is one of our very first episodes, and we were still finding our rhythm and voice. If you're new to the podcast, you might want to start with Season 2 or newer episodes for a better sense of how we've evolved!)

Sources:

Founders Online - Jefferson's Head and the Heart letter to Maria Cosway

Mr. Jefferson's Women by Jon Kukla

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham

Jefferson and the Rights of Man by Dumas Malone

Jefferson: A Revealing Biography by Page Smith

John Adams by David McCullough

Richard Cosway, “The Macaroni Miniature Painter” from The Art Amateur, Vol. 8, No. 2 (January 1883)

Inspired by my post "Thomas Jefferson's Head, Heart, and Wrist"

I won't link directly to the "don't say I didn't warn you" painting of Leda and the Swan, but it's up to you if you want to Google Leda and the Swan by François Boucher 1740. (Don't do it.)

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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3 Listeners

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Plodding Through The Presidents - The Haunted Hermitage & The Stone Library Heist
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10/19/21 • 64 min

First, the Hermitage’s director of interpretation Bryan Gilley shares a historical haunting from Andrew Jackson’s home and a hair-raising experience of his own. Then, Adams National Historical Park curator Kelly Cobble describes the hauntingly beautiful Stone Library built to house John Quincy Adams’s books. And then we dig deeper into something Cobble mentioned – a 1996 heist at the Stone Library where the priceless Mendi Bible was stolen.

Show notes, photos, and sources at plodpod.com

Consider joining our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for bonus content and perks!

Check out our merch store at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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3 Listeners

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Plodding Through The Presidents - Andrew Jackson's Slut-Shaming Evolution

Andrew Jackson's Slut-Shaming Evolution

Plodding Through The Presidents

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03/10/20 • 54 min

In our Season 1 finale, we trace Andrew Jackson's feelings about women's honor from his early days as a rowdy outhouse-mover to his tragic relationship with his wife Rachel and finally to the Petticoat Affair – the scandal surrounding Margaret Eaton that nearly took down his entire administration.

We'll be back with more brand new episodes soon! Follow us on Facebook for updates.

Sources:

The Petticoat Affair: Manners, Mutiny, and Sex in Andrew Jackson's White House by John F. Marszalek
Life of Andrew Jackson by James Parton

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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3 Listeners

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Plodding Through The Presidents - The Scandalmonger's Revenge

The Scandalmonger's Revenge

Plodding Through The Presidents

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02/18/20 • 43 min

We dig into the rise and fall of James Thomson Callender, the pamphleteer who exposed the greatest sex scandals in early American history. His story is told through his attacks on Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.

Sources:
With the Hammer of Truth: James Thomson Callender and America's Early National Heroes by Michael Durey
Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton by Tilar J. Mazzeo
The Rise and Fall of Alexander Hamilton by Robert Hendrickson
The Reynolds Pamphlet – "The variety of shapes which this woman could assume was endless."

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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3 Listeners

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Plodding Through The Presidents - The Peacemaker and the Cradle Robber

The Peacemaker and the Cradle Robber

Plodding Through The Presidents

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12/08/20 • 66 min

In our Season 2 finale, we take on the single deadliest disaster to befall a presidential cabinet – the explosion aboard the USS Princeton in 1844. We look at four of the key players aboard and how they got there - President John Tyler, Secretary of State Abel Upshur, Captain Robert Stockton, and Julia Gardiner, "The Rose of Long Island" – and how this tragedy shook up Tyler's plans for love and Texas.

Show notes and sources at plodpod.com

Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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2 Listeners

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Podcast Q&A

Why did you start this show?

I realized I had gaps in my knowledge of American history, and I wanted to know more about how we got where we are today. I decided the best way to do that would be to read a biography of every US president in chronological order. I started blogging along the way, and I quickly abandoned the biographical journey, finding myself drawn to the founding era and its big personalities. After 6 years of blogging, I moved into podcasting with the essential addition of my wife Jess as cohost.

What do you hope listeners gain from listening to your show?

My goal is to entertain and inform both novices to history as well as professional historians by bringing something new to the conversation about every topic we discuss, whether that's through research or a novel comparison or angle. Most of all, I want listeners to have a good time listening to a compelling, well-researched story.

Which episode should someone start with?

Season 3 Episode 1 - Thomas Jefferson's Killer Ram

Which have been your favourite episodes so far?

S3 E1 - Thomas Jefferson's Killer Ram S2 E4 - Elizabeth Jefferson's Earthquake Drowning S4 E4 - The Rise and Fall of Billy Possum S4 E9 - The Resounding Will of Benjamin Franklin S4 E15 - The Shipwrecked Ring of John C. Calhoun

Which episode are you most proud of?

S4 E15 - The Shipwrecked Ring of John C. Calhoun. I'm really proud of how this one came together.

What is your vision for your show?

My vision for the show is for it to keep connecting with audiences. That's the most rewarding part of all of this. We've heard from folks who have been inspired to study history because of our show, and that's so damn cool to hear.

What is your favourite other podcast that isn't yours?

Criminal

How did you come up with the name for your podcast?

The name comes from the blog, where I was moving quite slowly through presidential biographies. The blog developed a small following and I wanted to build on that with the podcast, so we kept the name. Looking back on it, maybe leading with a word that means slow and boring wasn't the best decision.

Tell us a bit about yourself

By day I'm a project manager and by the rest of the time I'm working on this podcast or spending time with my family. I have a background in improv comedy from doing weekly shows for four years in college, and once upon a time I moved from Illinois to Los Angeles with hopes of becoming a screenwriter.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Plodding Through The Presidents have?

Plodding Through The Presidents currently has 71 episodes available.

What topics does Plodding Through The Presidents cover?

The podcast is about History, Improv, Comedy and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on Plodding Through The Presidents?

The episode title 'Mary Hellen's Petticoat Magic' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Plodding Through The Presidents?

The average episode length on Plodding Through The Presidents is 50 minutes.

How often are episodes of Plodding Through The Presidents released?

Episodes of Plodding Through The Presidents are typically released every 11 days, 22 hours.

When was the first episode of Plodding Through The Presidents?

The first episode of Plodding Through The Presidents was released on Jan 28, 2020.

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