It’s Christmas time and this week we’re resharing the original RTN Christmas Classic!
Christmas expert James Cooper joins Bob and Ben to explain how Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and other Christmas traditions made their way into popular culture. He also shares stories of lesser known traditions, such as setting fire to the giant Swedish straw goat known as the Gävlebocken!
You can find out more about the history of Santa Claus and Christmas at James Cooper’s website WhyChristmas.com
This is a rebroadcast of RTN #82, which originally aired on December 18, 2017. This reair was edited by Ben Sawyer.
Dr. Eric Smoodin, film historian at the University of California- Davis and author of Regarding Frank Capra: Audience, Celebrity and American Film Studies, 1930-1960, joins Bob and Ben for the history of the people, the industry, and law that made Frank Capra’s 1946 film It’s A Wonderful Life into one of America’s quintessential Christmas films.
This is a rebroadcast of episode 292 which originally aired on December 11, 2023. This reair was edited by Ben Sawyer.
Journalist Michael Tackett joins Ben & Bob to discuss his new book The Price of Power: How Mitch McConnell Mastered the Senate, Changed America and Lost his Party (Simon & Schuster, 2024). Tackett, who wrote the biography with McConnell’s consent, was granted unprecedented access to McConnell’s vast personal archives, his staff, and even the Senator himself, who sat for about 50 hours of interviews. If you’ve ever wondered how Mitch McConnell rose to power, how he's stayed there despite challenges from both parties, or what makes the man tick, this conversation has the answers.
Michael Tackett covers national politics for The New York Times. His work has earned him multiple awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Edgar A. Poe Award for National Reporting.
This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.
Mark McKinnon is former chief media advisor to George W. Bush & John McCain, cocreator of Showtime’s The Circus, and current writer at Vanity Fair. In this episode, he joins Ben & Bob to recap the 2024 election and what they think might come next.
This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.