Is every presidency doomed to fail?

The Founders of the United States envisioned the presidency as an office that would be minimal in reach.  They didn’t want the USA to be a monarchy.  But incrementally, the executive branch has expanded.  And now, scholars like Dr. Jeremi Suri argue that the modern presidency is crushed by its own power and unable to be fully wielded by the President, leading to decades of broken promises and deep disillusionment amongst citizens. On this episode, UnTextbooked producer Lap Nguyen interviews Professor Suri about the shifting nature of the presidency and why FDR is such a hard act to follow.  Book: The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Office Guest: Dr. Jeremi Suri, Professor of Public Affairs and History at University of Texas, Austin Producer: Lap Nguyen Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman

Om Podcasten

UnTextbooked is brought to you by teen change-makers who are looking for answers to big questions. Have you ever wondered if protests really can save lives, why assimilation required Native American kids to attend boarding schools, how Black-led organizations for mutual aid began, how the fear of communism led the United States to plan the overthrows of many leaders in Latin America, or why Brazilian cars run on sugar? Or maybe you've questioned when Asian Americans will stop being seen as "perpetual foreigners," how African heritage influences Black activism, or what resilience looks like for Iranian women?  Your textbooks probably didn't teach you how American Jews were an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement, if history’s greatest leaders were generalists or specialists, how a Black teenager and his young lawyer changed America’s criminal justice system, or if either the US or the USSR won the Cold War. Did you know some of the forgotten BIPOC women of history were spying in aid of the French Resistance, that there's more to being a leader than going down with your battleship, or that there is a long history of gender expression in Native American cultures that goes beyond the male/female binary? Listen in as we interview famous authors and historians who have the answers.  Context is the key to understanding topics like British imperialism, segregation, racism, criminal justice, identifying as non-binary and so much more. These intergenerational conversations bring the full power of history to you with the depth and vividness that most textbooks lack. Real history, to help you find answers to your big questions. UnTextbooked makes history unboring forever.