Avi Woolf

Episode 62 (Stumbling Colossus, 38): Gilded Age America – Democracy? Republic? Something Else?

December 5th, 2023  |  48 mins 44 secs

Dr. Jay Cost discusses the challenges and questions America faced as a republic and democratic civil society during the Gilded Age.

Episode 61 (Stumbling Colossus, 37): And the Band Went Marching On

November 13th, 2023  |  48 mins 3 secs

Professor Bryan Proksch looks at the overwhelming popularity of marching bands in the Gilded Age - who played, what they played, why they rose and why they fell.

To read Professor Proksch's full documentary history, click here to buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Age-American-Bands/dp/1622776275

Episode 60 (Stumbling Colossus, 36): The Mail Must Get Through

October 4th, 2023  |  25 mins 19 secs

Professor Richard John discusses the development, challenges, and partisan and political politics of the federal government's most important service in the Gilded Age.

Episode 59 (Stumbling Colossus, 35): Growing Small Town America

September 27th, 2023  |  24 mins 35 secs

Prof. R. Douglas Hurt discusses the successes and challenges of farmers in the American Midwestern heartland.

Episode 58 (Stumbling Colossus, 34): Gustav Mahler's Musical New York

August 28th, 2023  |  31 mins 36 secs

Acclaimed American classical music historian Joseph Horowitz discusses the personalities and musical creativity that burst forth in Gilded Age America, with a focus on acclaimed composer and conducter Gustav Mahler.

Episode 58 (Stumbling Colossus, 33): Brother, Can You Spare A Dime (Novel)?

August 14th, 2023  |  38 mins 29 secs

Award winning author Matthew Kerns talks about the origins, popularity, mythology, and legacy of the dime novel, America's proto-comic book.

Episode 57 (Stumbling Colossus, 32): A Glorious and Terrible Aftermath – The Grand Army of the Republic and Civil War Veterans in the Gilded Age

July 3rd, 2023  |  37 mins 22 secs

Prof. Barbara Gannon breaks down the role of the largest Civil War veterans association in commemorating the past, helping veterans in the present, and its place in America's future generations.

Episode 56 (Stumbling Colossus, 31): Electing The Gilded Age Senate – Corrupt Bargain or Anti-Populist Bulwark?

June 26th, 2023  |  29 mins 57 secs

Professor Wendy Schiller discusses the good and the bad of how Senators were chosen before and after the 17th amendment to the constitution creating direct election of Senators.

Episode 55 (Stumbling Colossus, 30): Anthony Comstock’s Crusade Against Lust – Doomed Madness or Moral Heroism?

May 29th, 2023  |  40 mins 50 secs

I discuss the life and work of one of America's most energetic - and controversial - moralizing crusaders.

Episode 53 (Stumbling Colossus, 29): Protecting American Industry – Vital Lifeline or Political Racket?

May 1st, 2023  |  24 mins 30 secs

Prof. Douglas Irwin discusses the politics and economics of American trade policy in the Gilded Age.

Episode 52 (Stumbling Colossus, 28): Let's Put on a Show, or Gilded Age Vaudeville

April 24th, 2023  |  33 mins 16 secs

Cultural polymath Trav S.D. discusses the rise, fall, and importance of vaudeville as one of America's great forms of entertainment and enterprise.

Episode 52 (Stumbling Colossus, 27): Henry George: Prophet of American Modernity

March 28th, 2023  |  56 mins 45 secs

Lars Doucet discusses the history and practice of one of the great pioneers of governing ideas in the American Gilded Age.

Episode 51 (Stumbling Colossus, 26): The Ever Closing Frontier

March 20th, 2023  |  45 mins 24 secs

Western Historian Prof. David Wrobel discusses the ways in which Americans understood and shaped the American frontier, and how they reacted when they thought it physically "closed."

Episode 50: Why I Love History

March 14th, 2023  |  23 mins 48 secs

A conversation with myself about why I do this.

Episode 49 (Stumbling Colossus, 25): The Last Lincoln Republican?

February 13th, 2023  |  58 mins 44 secs

Dr. Todd Arrington discusses the life and lost potential of James Garfield, the assassinated President who won the 1880 election.

Episode 48: Everett Dirksen's Republicanism

February 6th, 2023  |  37 mins 7 secs

Dirksen Center Director Tiffany White talks about the personality and politics of one of the most pivotal Republican legislators of the 1950s and 1960s.