Thecuriousmanspodcast

Matt Crawford speaks with author Corey Mead about his book, The Hidden History of The White House: Power Struggles, Scandals, and Unforgettable Moments in American History. Mead dives into the history of this amazing building and takes us back in time. From its design, construction and rebuilding to those who dines there and those that swam there. Many fail to realize just how important a symbol the White House is, and this book is the perfect antidote to that complacency.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Ryan Hampton about his book, Fentanyl Nation: Toxic Politics and America's Failed War on Drugs. The American overdose crisis has reached record-breaking heights; preventable overdoses are now responsible for more annual deaths than traffic accidents, suicide, or gun violence. Fentanyl―a potent, inexpensive, and easy-to-manufacture synthetic opioid―has thoroughly contaminated the drug supply, and while it frequently makes front page news across the country, it remains poorly understood by policymakers and the public. Why, despite all of our efforts to raise awareness and billions of dollars of investments, does this emergency keep getting worse? In Fentanyl Nation, recovery advocate Ryan Hampton separates the facts from the fiction surrounding Fentanyl, and shows how overdose deaths are ultimately policy failures. Instead of investing in education, harm reduction, effective treatment, and recovery, we have doubled down on more police, more incarceration, and harsher penalties for those caught in the grip of addiction. Yet history has shown time and time again that it is impossible to arrest our way out of a public health crisis; the government used the same strategy to fight the crack-cocaine epidemic of the 80s and 90s, and it only resulted in racially disparate policing and the destruction of marginalized communities. This urgent and informative manifesto reveals how prejudice, discrimination, and stigma have been codified into our drug laws, and calls for a compassionate and evidence-based approach that would address the core causes of addiction and save countless lives. We can end this crisis, but only if we get out of our own way.

Matt Crawford speaks with author H.W Brands about his book, America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War. When Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939 he launched a momentous period of decision-making for the United States. Should America step into the fray of a war that we were separated from by an ocean?          For popular hero Charles Lindbergh, saying no to another world war only twenty years after the first was the obvious answer. Lindbergh had become famous and adored around the world after his historic first flight over the Atlantic in 1927. In the years since, he had emerged as a vocal critic of American involvement overseas, rallying Americans against foreign war as the leading spokesman the America First Committee.          While Hitler advanced across Europe and threatened the British Isles, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt struggled to turn the tide of public opinion. With great effort, political shrewdness and outright deception—aided by secret British disinformation efforts in America—FDR readied the country for war. He pushed the US onto the world stage where it has stayed ever since.          In this gripping narrative and style, H.W. Brands sheds light on a crucial tipping point in American history and depicts the making of a legendary president.

Matt Crawford speaks with author David Tereschchuk about his book, A Question of Paternity: My Life as an Unaffiliated Reporter. Tereshchuk describes his childhood in a small town on the English-Scottish borders to a precocious high-flying career as a TV reporter, first in London, then in New York. During his years as a journalist, he managed to interview some of the most interesting figures of our times, from tyrants to heads of state, but there was one person he never persuaded to open up to him—his mother. The question of who his father was still haunted him. It wasn't until he was in his 50s that she confided to having been raped, aged 15, by a priest – and even then, not all her information was reliable. Alongside his career, the search for his mother’s abuser has haunted him, adding further layers of stress to a life already marked by alcoholism and insecurity. This is his astonishing story, one that deserves to sit alongside those of Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and David Brinkley, and another revelatory title from EnvelopeBooks.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Emiliana Vegas about her book, Let's Change the World: How to Work within International Development Organizations to Make a Difference. What is an IDO, we may heard of some such as Oxfam or the World Bank but what do they do and how can one start a career within them? Basically, IDOs hold the goal of assisting developing nations in finding solutions to issues that surround and can arise from global inequity and poverty. Vegas describes how she found her way to working among them for decades, what some of her most fulfilling projects were and how the next generation can become involved.