Hey, it's Run here. And this week we wanted to revisit a conversation we had a few months ago

that feels pretty timely. It's with the historian Brenda Weinapple.

The author of the forthcoming book, The Impeatures, the trial of Andrew Johnson,

and the dream of a just nation. The Impeatures is now out. And it details the very first test of

what the founders decided would be the ultimate consequence for presidential misbehavior.

Presidential impeachment.

So presidential impeachment isn't a foreign concept for most of us. The last presidential

impeachment was in the 1990s with Bill Clinton. Throughout all of American history,

it's only happened two times. Well, almost three. The point is the country has rarely had to

tackle the question of whether to fire the president and what that would mean, partly because

it's really difficult to impeach a president. And that's by design. First, Congress has to

decide whether the president has committed an impeachable offense. In the Constitution, it's defined

as treason, bribery, or something called high crimes and misdemeanors. Which, like, what does

that even mean? Right. And figuring that out is just the first obstacle. Then the majority of the

House of Representatives must vote to impeach. And finally, it goes to the Senate. There's a trial

and two-thirds of that body has to vote to convict before the president can be removed from office.

So imagine trying this for the first time back in 1868 with President Andrew Johnson.

There was some intense drama. After the break, Andrew Johnson becomes the president in the midst

of a crisis. And then becomes the crisis himself.

Hi, this is Augusta Cayez calling from Honolulu, Hawaii, and you're listening to Thurline from NPR.

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Home and Stead Senior Care.

Bonnie, a Home and Stead caregiver, works to enhance the lives of her age and clients and their

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