Latest Episodes
The History of Coffee w/ Mark Pendergrast (#81 Rebroadcast)
September 6, 2021No comment
Most Americans drink coffee. Our love for coffee ties us to people and countries around the world, and to those who lived long before us. In this episode of The Road to Now, we speak with Mark Pendergrast, author of Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee & How It Changed the World and Beyond Fair Trade to find out coffee’s origins, its effects on global trade, and how a small cherry that originated on the other side of the planet became part of our daily life.
This is a rebroadcast of RTN #81, which originally aired on December 11, 2017.
This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.
Telling History through Journalism with Julian Rubinstein (#206)
August 30, 2021No comment
In this episode, Bob speaks with freelance journalist, Julian Rubenstein, author of The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021).
The book tells the story of anti-gang activist, Terrance Roberts, who shot a young gang member before a peace rally he organized. In telling the story of Terrance Roberts, Rubenstein also tells the history of black organizers from the civil rights era, the black power movement through to today’s black lives matter movement.
Rubenstein is a real journalist; he’s devoted many years of his life telling the story of Terrance and Denver’s North East Park Hill Neighborhood and he was the battle scars to prove it. In an age when so many people have trouble telling the difference between opinion journalism and objective journalism, the depth and scope of Julian’s tenacious reporting deserves recognition.
You can follow Julian Rubinstein on twitter at @Julian_Rubinste.
This episode was edited by Bob Crawford & Gary Fletcher.
The Road to Now is part of the Osiris Podcast Network.
The Mignonette & Everything Else w/ Neil Hanson (#55 Rebroadcast)
August 23, 2021No comment
Neil Hanson is one of the most interesting people we know. He’s written books on World War I, the Spanish Armada, and the fire that destroyed London in 1666. He once teamed up with history’s greatest treasure hunter to tell the story of retrieving over $100 million in gold from a sunken Soviet ship in the arctic. He’s been the owner of the highest Inn in all of Great Britain. And, in 1999 he published a book called The Custom of the Sea, which tells the story of a shipwrecked crew that was put on trial in London after resorting to cannibalism. The ship, which fell victim to forty-foot waves off the coast of Africa in 1884, was named the Mignonette, and Hanson’s book was so good that in 2004 it inspired an album by an up-and-coming group of musicians called The Avett Brothers.
How could someone turn a gruesome tale of cannibalism into an inspirational work of history? How do you track down the sources that allow you to answer so many questions about history? And how does one individual accomplish so much in one life? In this episode of The Road to Now, we get the answers in our conversation with Neil Hanson.
The is a rebroadcast of an episode that originally aired on April 24, 2017. This rebroadcast was edited by Gary Fletcher. 
The History of Student Debt w/ Ellie Shermer (#205)
August 16, 2021No comment
According to the US Department of Education, 45 million Americans collectively owe $1.7 billion in total student loan debt. While the weight of student loans has increased substantially in the 21st century, the history of student debt and the institutions that facilitate it is a much longer story than you probably expect. Ellie Shermer joins us to talk about her new book Indentured Students: How Government-Guaranteed Loans Left Generations Drowning in Debt (Harvard, 2021), why student debt may be bad for all of us, and what we might do to alleviate student debt and fix higher education moving forward.
Dr. Elizabeth Tandy Shermer is Associate Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago. Her previous books include Sunbelt Capitalism: Phoenix and the Transformation of American Politics (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015). You can follow her on twitter at @ETShermer.
This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.
How to Talk to a Science Denier w/ Lee McIntyre (RTN #203)
August 2, 2021No commentThe rejection of scientific expertise has been one of the most consequential social trends of the 21st century and, for those of us who remain committed to the scientific method, it may also be the most frustrating. After years being bombarded with evidence (and often having their intelligence insulted), science deniers seem even more committed to alternative explanations of the world and the leaders who promise to undermine science-based policy. How did we get here and how can we make things better? In this episode, we get answers to those questions from Dr. Lee McIntyre, who shares what he learned from studying the ways that science deniers see the world, how we can use those insights to fight that worldview, and why a little bit of good faith goes a long way in communicating with others. Dr. Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. His book How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason (MIT Press, 2021)
hits shelves on August 17, 2021.
(You remember that study that said confronting people with evidence that disproved their position only made them more convinced of their beliefs? It didn’t hold up in subsequent experiments. There’s more on that in this episode.)
This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.
Laughing at Stalin: The Politics of Humor w/ Jon Waterlow (#107 Rebroadcast)
July 26, 2021No commentBob and Ben speak with Jon Waterlow about his book It’s Only a Joke Comrade! Humor, Trust and Everyday Life Under Stalin and the role 
humor plays in helping humans make sense of the world in even the darkest times. Jon also shares his take on humor’s role in politics under Stalin and today, the process he went through to uncover these jokes, and how the artistic technique of crosshatching helps us understand what it was like to live under the Stalinist system. He also discusses his decision to forego publishing his book with an academic publisher and why he decided to leave a bright future in the academy to purse fulfillment elsewhere.
Dr. Jonathan Waterlow received his Doctorate in History from the University of Oxford and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at St. Anthony’s College (Oxford) and the University of Toronto. He is also the cohost of the Voices in the Dark podcast, which is available anywhere you get The Road to Now.
This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.
This episode is a rebroadcast of RTN #107, which originally aired on October 1, 2018.
A Tour Guide’s History of Los Angeles (#202)
July 19, 2021No commentMillions of people from across the globe visit Los Angeles every year, but only a lucky few have gotten a tour of the city from tour guides/stand up comics, Rivers Langley, Anna Valenzuela & Carter Glascock. In this episode, Ben speaks with Rivers, Carter and Anna about their favorite stories from Los Angeles’ history, what it’s like to work as a tour guide, and what makes a good (and bad) day at work.
Carter Glascock is stand up comic and co-host of The Goods From The Woods Podcast. His first album, The Crystal Pistol is available on Spotify and Apple Music. You can follow him on twitter at @carter_glascock.
Rivers Langley is a LA-based stand-up comedian and host of The Goods From The Woods Podcast. You can also find him announcing the matches at Wrestling Pro Wrestling. You can follow him on twitter at @RiversLangley.
Anna Valenzuela is a comic, writer and host of the podcast 12 Questions. whose appearances include Comedy Central’s Roast Battle. You can follow her on twitter at @annavisfun.
This episode was mixed by Rivers Langley and edited by Gary Fletcher.
Bonus Links:
How the American Dream Became Temporary w/ Louis Hyman (Rebroadcast of RTN 103)
July 12, 2021No comment
Coffee With The Avett Brothers (Expanded Rebroadcast)
June 28, 2021No commentThis is an expanded rebroadcast of episode 72, which originally aired on September 25, 2017. In this episode of The Road to Now, we sit down for coffee and conversation with Bob’s bandmates in The Avett Brothers for a discussion about art, technology, and challenges of creativity. We cover the historic relationship between genius and madness, the ways one’s self is reflected in what we create, and the how they’ve adapted to the changes that have come their way since they began playing music. The Avett Brothers was the nexus that brought Bob and Ben together in creating The Road to Now, so we’re really excited to bring it all together and share this conversation with our listeners. This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.
Featured Guests
Ravi Patel
Actor, Screen Writer/DirectorRavi Patel has appeared as an actor in several hit television shows, including Scrubs, Master of None and It’s Always Sunny in...
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Joe Kwon
The Avett Brothers CellistJoe Kwon was born in Korea, raised in High Point, and has traveled near and far. He's probably most known for playing cello in...
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Heather Cox Richardson
Professor of HistoryDr. Heather Cox Richardson is Professor of History at Boston College and the author of six books on US history. Her “Letters f...
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Dr. Louis Woods
University HistorianDr. Louis Woods is an Associate Professor of African-American History in the History Department at Middle Tennessee State Uni...
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