Now & Then Podcast To Use The Past To Examine The Present

 
Why do we study history? That question is usually asked by business or science majors. Quite simply, studying how things worked back then, enables us to better understand how things work now. Also, how can we know where we stand now if we cannot compare today to yesterday.

With that historical necessity in mind, the Vox Media Podcast Network and Cafe has announced the launch of Now & Then, a new weekly podcast hosted by historians Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman.

Every Tuesday, Richardson and Freeman will explore current events in the larger context of American history, making sense of the week in news by looking back at resonant parallels. Now & Then is the first show to launch since Cafe, led and co-founded by former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara (also host of the popular podcast Stay Tuned), joined Vox Media last month. 

“Plunging into the past to understand the present is vitally important at a time of crisis,” says Freeman of the show. “Doing so with a friend and fellow historian (who shares my sense of humor) is a total pleasure.” Richardson adds: “At its most basic, history is about hanging out with good friends and telling stories about the past to make sense of the present. In Now & Then, Joanne and I are doing that... with doctorates and a modern twist.”

Richardson is a professor of history at Boston College, the bestselling author of several books on the Civil War and reconstruction, and the writer of the breakout hit Substack newsletter “Letters From An American.” whose breakout hit Substack newsletter “Letters From An American” was lauded in the New York Times for “offering something you can’t find in the mainstream media,” She’s a contributing writer at The Guardian and Slate, and previously co-hosted the NPR series Freak Out and Carry On with journalist Ron Suskind.

Freeman is a professor of history and American studies at Yale University, specializing in the politics and political culture of revolutionary and early national America. An award-winning author, Freeman previously hosted the popular American history podcast BackStory, and is a frequent lecturer on America’s founding period.

She’s one of the nation’s leading experts on Alexander Hamilton, and serves on the board of the National Council for History Education, the Library of America, and the International Center for Jefferson Studies.

 

Vox has avoided the pitfalls of some podcast networks that equate vitality with an ever-expanding of podcasts, often with a dubious regard for quality and listener demand.

Vox typically develops podcasts carefully with the sense that they are nurtured and molded with the listeners in mind. In effect, Vox develops podcasts that are "ear worthy."

Listen to the show trailer here, and follow Now & Then on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.