10 Podcasts About Historical Elections
Curated by Howard Dorre
This list of 10 podcasts about historical elections is curated by Howard Dorre, cohost of Plodding Through The Presidents.
Plodding Through The Presidents started as Howard’s blog about trudging through a biography of every U.S. president in order, highlighted by quirky photos of dioramas with presidential action figures. That project turned into an obsession with lesser-known stories of the founding era and led to Howard’s work debunking presidential myths being cited by Snopes.com and Smithsonian Magazine. In 2020 he made the jump to podcasting with his wife Jess as cohost.
Howard Dorre
It’s impossible to escape the fact that we’re coming up on another election, but it’s totally possible to escape into stories about elections of the past—where the mudslinging was just as bad but there was no cable news and a lot more canes.
This list has some binge-worthy podcasts and episodes about history, where you may find yourself both comforted and depressed by the idea that we’ve always been a deeply divided United States. And the best thing about historical elections? You get to hear how the story ends.
10 Podcasts About Historical Elections
Abridged Presidential Histories
Episode: Grover Cleveland's reelection revenge, an interview with Mark Summers
You’ll find election drama galore in most episodes of Kenny Ryan’s light-hearted podcast covering every president in chronological order. He does a solo episode for each president, followed by fascinating interviews with historians and authors. This episode digs into what it took for Grover Cleveland to become the only president to serve nonconsecutive terms.
Episode: Dirty Tricks: The Election of 1800
The premise of Civics and Coffee is simple: topics from American history covered in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. Subjects range from Dolley Madison to the Zodiac Killer, and self-professed history nerd host Alycia shares the highlights of them all in 15-minute episodes.
This episode is a great primer on the infighting, mudslinging, and backroom dealing behind the first election in US history, between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
Episode: Election of 1800
Once you’re caffeinated and ready for some longer conversations, you might want to check out The Thomas Jefferson Hour. Host Clay S. Jenkinson does double duty here. He discusses the early US and historic events with historians, and in his role as a historic interpreter he often portrays Thomas Jefferson, sharing insights on the past and the present from the third president’s perspective.
This episode, also about the notorious Election of 1800, features an in-depth conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Joseph Ellis.
Plodding Through The Presidents
Episode: Alexander Hamilton & John Adams: A Superabundance of Hate
Clearly, there was a lot going on during the Election of 1800, and this episode of our curator Howard Dorre’s podcast digs into one of the most personal battles—the epic feud between President John Adams and Alexander Hamilton. The things they said about each other were vicious, petty, and obscene. (There’s a reason John Adams didn’t make it into the musical.) This episode digs into the origins and details of their glorious mutual hatred.
Presidencies of the United States
Episode: Unprecedented Part I
If you’re ready to really get into the weeds, then Jerry Landry will take you there. He is diving deep, deep into the historic moments of each presidency, reveling in the major events that shaped the early United States. How deep does he go? He’s 170 episodes in and has barely scratched the surface of the administration of fourth president James Madison.
This episode, part of a special series, covers two historic elections—the hot mess of the Election of 1824 that put the nail in the coffin of the Era of Good Feelings, and Abraham Lincoln’s battle for reelection in 1864 in the middle of the Civil War.
American Presidents: Totalus Rankium
Hosts Rob and Jamie bring their hilarious British perspectives to the American presidents. Not only does this podcast cover each president’s election, but you’ll also get fascinating insights into their lives, personalities, accomplishments, and epic failures. Each two-part episode concludes with a rigorous ranking process to determine how the presidents stack up against each other.
American Elections: Wicked Game
If you’re looking for a podcast that focuses on presidential elections—every single presidential election in American history to date—then Wondery’s American Elections: Wicked Game was made for you. Hosted by Lindsay Graham (of American History Tellers and American Scandal) this series tackles each election in a single jam-packed episode.
Episode 285: Elections & Voting in the Early Republic
This gold standard of interview podcasts about early American history is hosted by Liz Covart and features a plethora of historians sharing their passions. In this episode, Liz is joined by historians Terrance Rucker and Marcela Miccuci for a lively conversation about the first federal elections in the new republic—what they looked like, who was eligible to vote in them, and why exactly the Constitution leaves so much about federal elections up to the states.
Episode: The Rise of Bully Politics
Historians Joanne Freeman and Heather Cox Richardson look at history’s echoes in the news today as a starting point to dig into the past. In this episode, they look at the Election of 1980 between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter and how the bullying there harkens back to the aggressive politics in the leadup to the Civil War.
Episode: Electoral College
You’re Wrong About looks at the past and how the ways we remember it might not match up to the reality, with subjects ranging from the O.J. Simpson Trial to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. In this episode hosts Sarah Marshall and former co-host Michael Hobbes are joined by New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie to talk about the history of the mechanism that determines our presidents.
This mix of casual and scholarly podcasts can help you escape from—and better understand—the political battles of today.
The fourth season of our curator Howard Dorre’s podcast Plodding Through The Presidents premiered October 25th and the first two episodes feature Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in the leadup to that monumental Election of 1800. You can find out more at plodpod.com or find Howard on Twitter @plodwithme.
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