Note: Gerry Adams will be giving a public talk in the Civil Rights Room of the Nashville Public Library on Saturday, November 3rd at 10:00am. The talk is open to the public and Gerry invites you to come say hello! For more information, contact Greg O’Loughlin at 615-887-7547 or oloughlin@gmail.com.

Gerry Adams has dedicated most of his life to finding an end to the conflict that has engulfed Northern Ireland since his youth. As the President of Sinn Féin, he played a crucial role in facilitating the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which brought about an end to a three decade-long period of violence known as “The Troubles.” In doing so, he built connections with civil rights leaders from around the world, including Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela, and learned some valuable lessons about the humanity that connects all people regardless of their race, religion or national origins. In this episode of The Road to Now, Gerry shares his story of struggle and how he found a road to peace at a time when few believed it was possible.

Also joining us on today’s episode is Ben’s friend and colleague, Dr. Mark Doyle, who was kind enough to help explain the history of Northern Ireland and why Gerry Adams was such a crucial figure in that country’s history. Mark specializes in Irish history at Middle Tennessee State. His most recent book, Communal Violence in the British Empire: Disturbing the Pax (Bloomsbury, 2016) was joint winner of the 2017 Stansky Book Prize for the best book on British Studies since 1800.

To learn more about Gerry Adams, pick up his autobiography, Before the Dawn. His new book of recipes, The Negotiators Cookbook, is out soon, and you’ll know why it’s worth picking up when you listen to the episode!

A special thanks goes to Greg O’Loughlin for putting us in touch with Gerry and facilitating this interview!

The Road to Now is part of the Osiris Podcast Network. For more on this episode, including links to more information on Gerry Adams and Mark Doyle, visit our episode page.

RTN Theology now is now on its own podcast feed! Subscribe anywhere you get The Road to Now for RTN Theology episodes 12-19 and more!

Discussing the relationship between faith and the public sphere has been a part of America’s story since its beginning. Over the past decade, the presence of Christian faith in public policy and politics has been questioned and challenged in new and unique ways. How are citizens, Christian and non-Christian alike, to respond to issues of faith in politics? Join former Obama staffer Michael Wear and Josiah C. Trent Professor of Medical Humanities at Duke University Farr Curlin for a conversation moderated by musician and The Road to Now podcast host Bob Crawford to hear Christian perspectives on these enduring questions.

Recorded live at the Center for Christianity and Scholarship at Duke University in collaboration with the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy.

The Road to Now is part of the Osiris Podcast Network. For more on this and all our other episodes, visit our website: www.TheRoadToNow.com.

Bob and Ben speak with Jeffrey Engel about the history of Presidential impeachment and how understanding the past can inform the debates surrounding the impeachment of current and future Presidents. Jeff explains the reasons the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 chose to enshrine impeachment in the Constitution, how the process works, and what they meant by “other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” (it turns out that last part isn’t as vague as you might think). He also talks about the reasons for the impeachments of Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, why Richard Nixon was so close to being removed from office when he resigned on August 9, 1974, and why Nixon and Clinton’s decisions in the face of impeachment might have a lasting effect on American politics today. Jeff’s new book Impeachment: An American History, which he co-authored w/ Peter Baker, Jon Meacham, and Timothy Naftali is out from Modern Library on October 16, 2018.

Dr. Jeffrey A. Engel is an award-winning American history scholar and director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. He is an expert on the U.S. presidency and American diplomatic history. You can follow him on twitter at @JeffreyAEngel.

This episode was recorded on October 9, 2018 and was edited by Gary Fletcher. A special thanks to Dr. Brandon Miller of SMU’s Department of History for connecting us with Jeffrey Engel.

Henry & Rupert Stansall (aka The Ruen Brothers) began their musical careers playing in the Working Men’s clubs of Scunthorpe in Northern England at a time in life when most of us were only beginning to discover music. In the almost two decades since, their road has led them to London, Los Angeles, and finally to Brooklyn, NY, where they currently reside. In between, the duo now known as The Ruen Brothers has covered thousands of miles, playing for tens of thousands of people. Along the way, they’ve been celebrated by the BBC, signed by Dolphus Ramseur, and recorded an album with famed producer Rick Rubin. In today’s episode, Ben Sawyer speaks with Henry and Rupert about how they discovered the music that influenced their sound, the victories and losses that come with abandoning the security of home for the uncertainty of the outside world, and the lesson they’ve learned about what matters in building a successful career in music.

The Road to Now is part of the Osiris Podcast Network. For more on this episode and all others, visit our website: www.TheRoadToNow.com

Henry & Rupert Stansall (aka The Ruen Brothers) began their musical careers playing in the Working Men’s clubs of Scunthorpe in Northern England at a time in life when most of us were only beginning to discover music. In the almost two decades since, their road has led them to London, Los Angeles, and finally to Brooklyn, NY, where they currently reside. In between, the duo now known as The Ruen Brothers has covered thousands of miles, playing for tens of thousands of people. Along the way, they’ve been celebrated by the BBC, signed by Dolphus Ramseur, and recorded an album with famed producer Rick Rubin. In today’s episode, Ben Sawyer speaks with Henry and Rupert about how they discovered the music that influenced their sound, the victories and losses that come with abandoning the security of home for the uncertainty of the outside world, and the lesson they’ve learned about what matters in building a successful career in music.

The Road to Now is part of the Osiris Podcast Network. For more on this episode and all others, visit our website: www.TheRoadToNow.com

Bob and Ben speak with Jon Waterlow about his new 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. Our intro also features Solomon Sawyer's world podcast debut. Solomon is Ben Sawyer's son. He is 3 years old.

The Road to Now is part of the Osiris Podcast Network. For more on this episode and all others, visit our website: www.TheRoadToNow.com.