#86 William McKinley and the Republican Party with Robert Merry
The Road to Now
Benjamin Sawyer
4.8 • 628 Ratings
🗓️ 19 February 2018
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Republican Party has changed a lot since a few former Whigs started the party in the 1850s. Today, the party's legacy is usually defined in terms of well-known figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, but author Robert Merry thinks William McKinley deserves a lot more credit than historians and modern politicians have given him. In this Presidents' Day 2018 episode of The Road to Now, we talk with Robert Merry to learn more about McKinley's impact on the reconfiguration of the GOP in the late 19th century, and what it might teach us about the current transformation happening under Donald Trump.
Robert W. Merry is the editor of The National Interest and author of several books on American history, including President McKinley: Architect of the American Century (Simon & Schuster, 2017) and James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent (Simon & Schuster, 2010).
We're also excited to announce that we're a joining the Osiris Podcast Network, which is launching this week! Osiris' co-founders RJ Bee (CEO, host of Helping Friendly Podcast) and Tom Marshall (COO; lyricist & songwriter for Phish; host of Under the Scales podcast), have brought together a team of podcasts focused on music, art and culture, and we're excited to be part of it!
For more on this episode and The Road to Now, visit our website: www.TheRoadToNow.com
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Bob Crawford and is always joined by Dr. Ben Sawyer. Ben, how was your trip back from Mexico? |
| 0:19.0 | It was the worst trip ever because it was a trip back from Mexico. |
| 0:23.3 | It was so exciting to see how many people like the podcast and the positive feedback. |
| 0:28.3 | And, you know, the thing about podcasting is, we don't ever see you because we're on the other end of this microphone, |
| 0:34.1 | but getting to actually speak to people. |
| 0:36.0 | That was a really, really great experience. |
| 0:39.4 | And I think that made this podcast even more exciting than it already was. |
| 0:42.5 | Yeah, it helped me to really appreciate how lucky we are to do this. And we're lucky to do it because you guys are out there listening to us and encouraging us to continue. |
| 0:56.8 | So we will continue. |
| 0:58.7 | And I'm excited to announce today that we have become a part of the Osiris podcasting family. |
| 1:06.0 | Osiris is a podcast network started by RJB and Tom Marshall. |
| 1:12.1 | RJ is the host of the Helping Friendly podcast. |
| 1:16.2 | And Tom Marshall, you may know him as the lyricist for Fish. |
| 1:20.4 | And he also has several podcasts that he's a part of. |
| 1:23.3 | And the Osiris Network is affiliated and partnered with Relics Magazine. |
| 1:27.6 | So this is kind of a new beginning for the Road to Now and RTM productions, |
| 1:34.1 | and we're just really happy and thankful to be a part of Osiris. |
| 1:49.3 | RJ Tom, welcome to the road to now. |
| 1:51.0 | Hey, thank you very much. |
| 1:52.5 | Yeah, thanks, guys. |
| 1:53.3 | It's super exciting. |
| 1:57.7 | So what led you guys to create this podcasting network? RJ and I both have fish podcasts, his is called a Helping Friendly podcast and mine is called |
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