Howard Dorre

Bringing Eliza Home The long journey of an unofficial First Lady.

On October 23, after a long journey to rescue the reputation and remains of Eliza Monroe Hay, Barbara VornDick has something to celebrate.

Always a pleasure talking with @presidencies.bsky.social!

Andrew Jackson may have hated the “humbuggery” of Harrison’s “big balls,” but Jess and I enjoy digging into their impact before Jerry and I chat about Harrison’s bloated inaugural speech and the most likely cause of his untimely death.

The origins of this presidential zero-year death legend include stories of Native American revenge, planetary conjunctions, and even a little Satanic panic. Join us as we dig into it all on the hunt for the truth behind Tecumseh's Curse.

How a Stuffed Animal Named Billy Possum Tried—and Failed—to Replace the Teddy Bear as America's National Toy In 1909, wealthy widow Susie W. Allgood marketed a plush marsupial inspired by President William Howard Taft. But children thought the toy looked "too much like a rat," and it sold poorly

"Looked 'too much like a rat.'”

Today's article pick from Damn History, a free monthly newsletter for readers/writers of #popularhistory. Congrats to writer @plodding.bsky.social & @smithsonianmag.bsky.social!

Read/subscribe to Damn History: buff.ly/3CqxZ0z

www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-...

Mason Locke Weems )AKA Parson Weems) wrote a variety of moralistic biographies and lurid true crime, but nothing compares to his catty letters with his publisher Matthew Carey.

It's the epistolary equivalent of the Real Housewives and I am here for it.

Experience it with us at plodpod.com

How a Stuffed Animal Named Billy Possum Tried—and Failed—to Replace the Teddy Bear as America's National Toy In 1909, wealthy widow Susie W. Allgood marketed a plush marsupial inspired by President William Howard Taft. But children thought the toy looked "too much like a rat," and it sold poorly

I’m excited to share my new article about the audacious efforts to promote Billy Possum!

www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-...

I discovered your podcast fairly recently, and I’m trying to catch up. Thanks for all you and Jess do!

Thank you Steven!

The Skinny on John Quincy Adams's Skinny Dipping Interview The naked truth about JQA and reporter Anne Royall

No truth to this, but Anne Royall is super fascinating.

www.ploddingthroughthepresidents.com/2017/02/john...

Pretty sure the end of the video saying a lot of people have questioned this is a direct call out to me haha.

What was John Adams thankful for? In 1782 he wrote, “Thanks be to God, that he gave me stubbornness when I know I am right.”

Image: “John Adams If You Can” by John Cox

@plodding.bsky.social 's podcast Plodding Through the Presidents is highly endorsed.

The Podcast - Plodding through the Presidents Deeply researched, deeply irreverent history podcast exploring lesser-known stories of the early presidents, founders, and their families.

Are you looking to explore US presidential history with an irreverent and highly researched approach? Do you like possums and killer rams? Are you a fan of the Adamses? If so, then check out @plodding.bsky.social wherever you get your podcasts! #history #POTUS www.ploddingthroughthepresidents.com

To Cap, defined as "to take one's oath."

At one time, cap meant no cap.

from the 1785 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.

Thank you Bruce!! Right back atcha!

Thank you Jerry! (And who doesn’t like possums and killer rams?)

This right here is what I am talking about. Eliminating the Dept. of Education will deny children with disabilities like my daughter their right to an education. Private schools do not offer the support these kids need to succeed or even make through the day.

Great chat! This quote from Stewart really resonates:
“…people look at entrenched poverty in the cities and think that it is a product of culture and vice, and they look at entrenched poverty in whiter areas and think that they are victims of economic policies that they are not in control of.”

It was a great question and I’m so glad I could deliver!

Starting to think it wasn’t an accident.

So much love for these fellow history podcasters. This conversation ranged from broken-hearted election processing to hypothetical Agatha Christie-style presidential whodunnit escapism. Follow all of them! @civicspod.bsky.social @presidencies.bsky.social

Welcome new followers! I live in a weird niche of irreverent and sometimes deeply-researched historical content about the early American presidents, founders, and their families.

Want to know more about Billy Possum and Thomas Jefferson’s killer ram than you’ll find anywhere else? I’m your guy.

Plodding Through The Presidents is relaunching as an ongoing biweekly podcast, part of the Airwave Media network, on FEBRUARY 13—just in time for Presidents’ Day. In an election year.

Check out plodpod.com to subscribe and dive into our past bingeable seasons.

Music peaked in 2003. I don’t make the rules.

The #1 History podcast right now on the Apple charts is “Erased: The Murder of Elma Sands.” If you can’t get enough of Elma’s story, follow it with our deeply researched dive into the murder, trial, and boardinghouse full of suspects in our episode “Hamilton, Burr, and the Murder of Elma Sands.”

They're pious and aloofy
But sometimes also goofy
Loved their HBO movie
The Adams family

Their house is a museum
When people come to see 'em
They really are a te-am
The Adams family

Happy anniversary to John and Abigail, married on this day October 25 in 1764.

For a while at least (during the writers strike) Jeopardy interns have been digging up unused clues and airing them. Allegedly.

This one should’ve been flushed @kenjennings.bsky.social

www.ploddingthroughthepresidents.com/2018/02/john...

Cover photo for Plodding Through The Presidents podcast episode “The Mythology of Mary Ball Washington,” picturing her image hovering over the horizon of a landscape plagued by a lightning storm, with a horse running down a road and fast approaching the viewer.

#OTD in 1789, George Washington’s mother Mary Ball Washington died. For more than 200 years, she has been portrayed in extremes, from the sainted “Mother Mary” to a shrewish harpy intent on thwarting her son’s ambitions and draining him of his wealth. In this episode we dig into her dynamic legacy.