January 20th was the official halfway mark of the Biden Administration’s first term. That might seem like a an odd time to discuss Presidential transitions, but with the justice department still prosecuting participants in the January 6th insurrection it’s never too soon to ask ourselves what lay ahead for 2024.

Our guest in this episode, David Marchick is Dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University, but until recently he was director of the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition and the host of its Transition Lab podcast. He is also the co-author of a fascinating new book The Peaceful Transfer of Power: An Oral History of America’s Presidential Transitions (UVA Press, 2022).

Whether it was the worst transition in our nation’s history—Buchanan to Abraham Lincoln or arguably the smoothest—The Bush 43 to Obama administrations—Marchick breaks down the good, the bad, and the ugly of Presidential transitions.

This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.

At the end of World War II, the United States had few laws protecting the environment. Just 30 years later, the Environmental Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act had been enacted, representing the urgency of, and widespread support for, environmental protections in those years. Douglas Brinkley, author of Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening (Harper Collins, 2022) joins Bob & Ben to discuss the story of environmentalism in the US from Kennedy to Nixon, and how ecologists and great thinkers such as Rachel Carson were able to channel public concern over the environment into policies that continue to benefit us today.

Dr. Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, a CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. You can hear our previous conversations with Doug in RTN episode 52 and episode 87.

You can hear our full unedited conversation w/ Douglas Brinkley by joining us on Patreon! Just click here or go to Patreon.com/TheRoadToNow to join!

This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher and Ben Sawyer.

This is part two of our conversation w/ Maximillian Potter & Richard Stayskal. For part 1, check out RTN episode # 257.

Since 1950, the Feres Doctrine has prevented active-duty members of the US Armed Forces from suing the government for wrongful injury or death that occurred outside of combat. In this episode we speak with journalist Maximillian Potter and decorated Green Beret Richard Stayskal to learn about the injustice many service members have endured, the reasoning behind the decision, and what can be done to help bring justice to those wrongfully injured while serving in the US Armed Forces.

Links to more information relevant to this episode:

Maximillian Potter, “Incident to Service, Vanity Fair, Dec. ‘22/Jan. ’23.

Khawam Law (the firm that is helping Richard Stayskal and other veterans fight for justice in Congress): https://www.khawamlaw.com/

This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher, Bob Crawford & Ben Sawyer.

Since 1950, the Feres Doctrine has prevented active-duty members of the US Armed Forces from suing the government for wrongful injury or death that occurred outside of combat. In this episode we speak with journalist Maximillian Potter and decorated Green Beret Richard Stayskal to learn about the injustice many service members have endured, the reasoning behind the decision, and what can be done to help bring justice to those wrongfully injured while serving in the US Armed Forces.

Links to more information relevant to this episode:

Maximillian Potter, “Incident to Service, Vanity Fair, Dec. ‘22/Jan. ’23.

Khawam Law (the firm that is helping Richard Stayskal and other veterans fight for justice in Congress): https://www.khawamlaw.com/

This is the first in a two-part series on the Feres Doctrine featuring Max Potter & Richard Stayskal. Part II aired as Road to Now #258 on Monday, January 8, 2023.

This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher & Ben Sawyer.