History Author Show

  The New York Sun – ‘It Ain’t Over’ Documents Yogi Berra’s Amazing American Life – Dean Karayanis May 11, 2023 – Who was the greatest Major League Baseball catcher of all time? If the name Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra doesn’t spring to mind, have I got the movie for you. It’s the story of a kid from St. Louis and D-Day veteran whose life story has the power to uplift not just fans, but people from all walks of life. In this episode, our time machine welcomes aboard sports journalist Lindsay Berra, whose here to talk about the new documentary made about the life of her grandfather, New York Yankees legend Yogi Berra. The film is called “It Ain’t Over,” and if you grew up with Berra as just a pitchman, if you know him only from his Yogisims or the Hanna-Barbera rip-off cartoon Bear Who Shall Not Be Named, you are missing out on a chance to be inspired. For more on Yogi Berra’s service in World War II, check out the event I emceed at the at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, New Jersey, conducted in partnership with the Bob Feller Act of Valor Foundation. It was titled: Sacrifice & Courage — A Tribute to D-Day.  

  The New York Sun – Stephen F. Knott – Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy – Dean Karayanis March 21, 2023 – How did a man who worked at the JFK Presidential Library grapple with the 35th president’s legacy over his own lifetime to deliver portrait of the real man behind the myths of Camelot? In this episode, our time machine welcomes back Stephen F. Knott, author of “Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy.” We previously welcomed Mr. Knott onto the show way back in 2015 to discuss the book he co-authored with Tony Williams: “Washington & Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America.” Mr. Knott is a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and worked on Senator Ted Kennedy’s campaign in 1976. Find him at StephenFKnott.com or on Twitter and Facebook.

  The New York Sun – ‘Muppets in Moscow’ Recounts How Sesame Street Reached Red Square – Dean Karayanis December 19, 2022 – How did Kermit the Frog, Big Bird, and the rest of the Sesame Street expand their neighborhood to Moscow after the collapse of the USSR? In this episode, we meet the woman who adapted a beloved American TV show for an audience newly freed from behind the Iron Curtain. TV producer and filmmaker Natasha Lance Rogoff who brings us, “Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia.” It’s the true story of the Soviet Union tearing down its walls and a reborn Russia opening its doors to the best the West had to offer — despite assassinations, armed attacks, and even the kidnapping of Elmo at the barrel of AK-47s. Visit her at NatashaLanceRogoff.com, where you can navigate through to her social media accounts on all the major platforms, including @LanceRogoff on Twitter.

  October 24, 2022 – Something special this week for the season of pumpkins, ghosts, and Candy Corn: A YouTube feature on what Hollywood gets right and wrong about yesterday called History Author Showtime. It’s a video breakdown of the 1975 movie, “The Legend of Lizzie Borden,” starring Elizabeth Montgomery, who you may remember as Samantha Stevens from “Bewitched.” I often ask authors what they think of the film or TV portrayals of the past, and for this week, I pulled some soundbites from Cara Robertson, who I interviewed about her book, “The Trial of Lizzie Borden.” “The Legend of Lizzie Borden” was her favorite portrayal of the tried-but-not-convicted alleged murderess. I’ve previously published Showtime breakdowns of AMC’s “The Americans,” which featured former KGB agent Jack Barsky, who I interviewed about his book, “Deep Under Cover. My Secret Life & tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America.”   I also covered “The Dummy,” a 1962 episode of The Twilight Zone. Anne Serling, author of “As I Knew Him: My Dad Rod Serling” had a surprising and amusing recollection of the infamous ventriloquist dummy used in show that I just felt deserved to be highlighted.   Thank you for subscribing at YouTube.com/@historyauthorshow to support more time travel adventures.

  Featured in The New York Sun – Biden’s Tumble at Air Force Ceremony Stands Out in Long List of History’s Presidential Pratfalls – Dean Karayanis September 26, 2022 – How did Franklin Delano Roosevelt win reelection with 46 of the 48 states in 1936, despite America being in the throes of the Great Depression? In this episode, legendary historian David Pietrusza to discuss his new book, Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR’s 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal. Enjoy his previous appearances in our archives where we discuss his books: TR’s Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, the Great War, and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents 1932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR ― Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny Too Long Ago: A Childhood Memory. A Vanished World Find our guest @DPietrusza on Twitter or DavidPietrusza.com. Special thanks to Mike Purdy for submitting a video question for this interview. He appeared on the History Author Show to discuss his book 101 Presidential Insults: What They Really Thought About Each Other and What It Means to Us. He’ll be back to talk Presidential Friendships: How They Changed History.

  Featured in The New York Sun – After 77 Years, Hiroshima Bombing Stands Up to Second-Guessing – Dean Karayanis August 22, 2022 – What if you were a Midwestern haberdasher-turned-senator, who served just three months as vice president, before finding yourself thrust into the Big Chair, charged with winning World War II? In this episode, our time machine welcomes aboard journalist Jeffrey Frank who brings us, The Trials of Harry S. Truman: The Extraordinary Presidency of An Ordinary Man, 1945-1953. Jeffrey Frank is the best-selling author Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage. He has published four novels, among them the Washington Trilogy — The Columnist, Bad Publicity, and Trudy Hopedale — and is the coauthor, with Diana Crone Frank, of The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen: A New Translation from the Danish, which won the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Prize. He was a senior editor at the New Yorker, the deputy editor of The Washington Post’s Outlook section and is now a contributor to major publications nationwide. Visit him at JeffreyFrank.com, or on Facebook and @JeffreyAFrank on Twitter. Special thanks to Sally Mott Freeman for offering her insights in a video question for this interview. You can check out our conversation about her excellent book, The Jersey Brothers: A Missing Naval Officer in the Pacific and His Family’s Quest to Bring Him Home.

  July 25, 2022 – How did the worlds of hip-hop and boxing unite, blending together music, race, sports, and politics? In this episode our time machine welcomes back Dr. Todd D. Snyder who brings us Beatboxing: How Hip-Hop Changed the Fight Game. We previously caught up to discuss his previous book: Bundini: Don’t Believe the Hype. Meeting Muhammad Ali’s hype man, Drew “Bundini” Brown, was an experience that really stuck with me, in a way that made me scared to think I might never have known a thing about him, if not for today’s guest. Todd D. Snyder, an Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Writing at Siena College in Albany, New York, who grew up in West Virginia as the son of a boxing trainer. He’s excellent at divining the poetry in rap and how it developed this symbiotic relationship with the sweet science. His previous books include 12 Rounds in Lo’s Gym: Boxing and Manhood in Appalachia. Visit him at HillbillySpeaks.com, or on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

  June 27, 2022 – How did revolutions in the two great English-speaking nations — the United States and the United Kingdom — give birth to the American Constitution, and what does its creation have to tell us about the challenges we face over 200 years since its ratification? In this episode, we dig into those questions, traveling back to when it all started with James D. R. Philips, a lawyer and visiting lecturer at the University of Sydney’s Law School in Australia. His book is Two Revolutions and the Constitution: How the English and American Revolutions Produced the American Constitution. In the interview we discussed the dispersion of power that makes the U.S. government almost coup-proof, as well as the New York Sun column where I quoted James Philips: It’s Dangerous for January 6th Hearings To Portray Our Republic as a Fabergé Egg. Visit our guest at JamesPhilips.net, or on Twitter and Facebook.