The Road to Now

by RTN Productions

Bob Crawford (The Avett Brothers) & Dr. Ben Sawyer (MTSU History) share conversations with great thinkers from a variety of backgrounds – historians, artists, legal scholars, political figures and more –who help us uncover the many roads that run between past and present. For more information, visit...

Insights from recent episode analysis

Audience Interest

Estimated Reach: 250,001+

Listeners across platforms

Podcast Focus

Categories: history · society

+1 more

Publishing Consistency

Frequency: Irregular

450+ episodes since 2016

Platform Reach

Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.

Most discussed topics

american history

ottoman empire

middle east

world war i

historical division

modern history

Brands & references

America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams from President to Political Maverick2

MTSU1

Strickland Scholars Program1

St Antony's College1

University of Oxford1

The Arabs: A History1

The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, 1914-19201

World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum1

Generic platforms filtered out.

High Confidence

Est. Listeners

250,001+

Based on iTunes & Spotify (publisher stats).

Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
25,001 - 50,000
Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
75,001 - 150,000
Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
15,001 - 40,000

Market Insights

This ShowCategory Avg

No category insights available.

📡

Platform Distribution

Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly

Total Followers

—

Total Plays

—

Total Reviews

—

YouTube

Subscribers

—

Views

—

Videos

—

Castbox

Followers

—

Plays

—

Reviews

—

Podcast App

Followers

—

Plays

—

Reviews

—

Podcast Republic

Followers

—

Plays

—

Reviews

—

TuneIn

Followers

—

Plays

—

Reviews

—

* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.

On the show

From 10 eps

Hosts

Ben

5 eps

Bob

4 eps

Ben Sawyer

2 eps

Recent guests

12 across last 10 eps

Eugene Rogan

1 ep

Tony Parker

1 ep

Bob

1 ep

Vanessa S. Williamson

1 ep

Erik Ewers

1 ep

Christopher Loren Ewers

1 ep

James M. Bradley

1 ep

Hans Zeiger

1 ep

Bob Crawford

1 ep

Monica Sandler

1 ep

Joe Spaulding

1 ep

J. Casey Soward

1 ep

Recent episodes

The Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East w/ Eugene Rogan

Apr 27, 2026

47m 31s

The History of Golf w/ Tony Parker

Apr 20, 2026

34m 43s

#366 A Trip to the Hermitage w/ Ben & Bob

Apr 13, 2026

36m 52s

#365 Taxes: An American History w/ Vanessa S. Williamson

Apr 6, 2026

1h 08m 35s

#364 Henry David Thoreau w/ Erik Ewers & Christopher Loren Ewers

Mar 30, 2026

53m 43s

🔗

Social Links & Contact

Official channels & resources

🌐

Official Website

📡

RSS Feed

Episodes

~1.0 per week

Avg length

53m 39s

34m 43s – 1h 25m 20s

Range

Sep 2020 – Apr 2026

Topics

american history, ottoman empire +47

Guests

Eugene Rogan +11 · last 10 eps

10 of 10

Date	Episode	Topics	Guests	Brands	Places	Keywords	Sponsor	Length
4/27/26	The Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East w/ Eugene Rogan✨	Ottoman EmpireMiddle East+4	Eugene Rogan	MTSUStrickland Scholars Program+4	—	Ottoman EmpireMiddle East+8	—	47m 31s
4/20/26	The History of Golf w/ Tony Parker✨	history of golfTiger Woods+3	Tony Parker	World Golf Hall of Fame and MuseumFedEx St Jude Classic Golf tournament	—	golf historyTiger Woods+3	—	34m 43s
4/13/26	#366 A Trip to the Hermitage w/ Ben & Bob✨	HermitageAmerican history+3	Bob	—	CubaMiddle Tennessee	HermitageAndrew Jackson+3	—	36m 52s
4/6/26	#365 Taxes: An American History w/ Vanessa S. Williamson✨	taxationAmerican history+3	Vanessa S. Williamson	Brookings InstituteUrban-Brookings Tax Policy Center+2	—	tax policyBoston Tea Party+3	—	1h 08m 35s
3/30/26	#364 Henry David Thoreau w/ Erik Ewers & Christopher Loren Ewers✨	Henry David ThoreauAmerican history+3	Erik EwersChristopher Loren Ewers	PBSKen Burns Presents: Henry David Thoreau	—	Thoreaudocumentary+5	—	53m 43s
3/23/26	Martin Van Buren: America's First Politician w/ James M Bradley✨	politicshistory+4	James M. Bradley	America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams from President to Political MaverickRTN Productions+1	—	Martin Van BurenDemocratic Party+3	History That Doesn't SuckRTN	1h 25m 20s
3/16/26	#363 What are America's Founding Principles? w/ Hans Zeiger✨	founding principlescivics education+4	Hans Zeiger	America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams from President to Political MaverickJack Miller Center	PhiladelphiaCaribbean	founding principlescivics+7	History That Doesn't SuckRTN	45m 19s
3/9/26	#362 America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams w/ Bob Crawford✨	John Quincy AdamsAmerican history+3	Bob Crawford	Zando PressAmerica's Founding Son : John Quincy Adams	—	John Quincy AdamsBob Crawford+4	—	53m 10s
3/2/26	#361 The Oscars: A History of the Academy Awards w/ Monica Sandler✨	Academy Awardsfilm history+3	Monica Sandler	Ball State UniversityAmerica's Founding Son	Los Angeles	OscarsAcademy Awards+5	—	58m 17s
2/23/26	#360 The Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame w/ Joe Spaulding and Casey Soward✨	American musicFolk Americana+3	Joe SpauldingJ. Casey Soward	Folk Americana Roots Hall of FameBoch Center+1	BostonWang Theater	Folk AmericanaRoots Hall of Fame+3	—	53m 02s