S8 Ep275: PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT: A PRIVATE HERO GOES PUBLIC TO OPPOSE INTERVENTION Colleague H.W. Brands. The discussion focuses on Charles Lindbergh's decision to leverage his fame for radio airtime upon returning to the United States in 1939. Despite his dee

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John Batchelor

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4.5 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 3 minutes

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Summary

PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT: A PRIVATE HERO GOES PUBLIC TO OPPOSE INTERVENTION Colleague H.W. Brands. The discussion focuses on Charles Lindbergh's decision to leverage his fame for radio airtime upon returning to the United States in 1939. Despite his deep distrust of politics, Lindbergh felt compelled to speak out to prevent America from repeating the mistakes of World War I.

Transcript

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0:39.7	This is John Batchel, speaking with Professor H.W. Brands, his new book, America First, Roosevelt versus Lindberg in the Shadow of the war. It's the story of Lucky Lindberg, coming back to the United States in 1939, to assume the role of man who is
0:47.2	anti-war because of the experience of the first war, where tens of thousands of Americans were killed, and Europe went back to its thieving,
0:57.4	colonial empire exploiting ways. No improvement in democracy, no confidence that there wouldn't be
1:04.4	another war, as there is imminent in 1939. As Lindbergh returns, he takes to the radio and here the professor explains his thinking about
1:14.3	a private man going public.
1:17.0	H.W. Brands, Lindberg.
1:19.9	It's something that I wrestled with in writing this book because Lindberg says again and
1:24.2	again, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this, but he does it again and again.
1:28.0	So is he being perfectly honest with himself? Is there some aspect of the fame, the notoriety that comes from being Charles Lindbergg that he values?
1:39.3	Well, he certainly values it in the sense that it gives him a platform. He is, in essence, a private figure.
1:46.7	But when he calls up the mutual broadcasting system and CBS and other networks and says,
1:52.3	I want to give a radio talk, they give him airtime.
1:55.5	You know, an ordinary person couldn't do this, but Charles Lindberg could,
1:58.7	because there would be an audience.
2:00.5	And so the broadcast would attract because there would be an audience. And so
2:00.8	the broadcast would attract sponsors and would pay for itself. So he decides he needs to do this
	...

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