For the Ages: A History Podcast

Covering 2.2 million acres, Yellowstone National Park is a geographic behemoth and, as the birthplace of America’s national park system, a cultural giant as well. But since its official establishment in 1872, the bucolic lands have been the source of frequent conflict: between Native Americans and Europeans, and tourism and environmental conservation. In this episode, prizewinning author Randall K. Wilson explores the complex history of the park, from its geological roots to its role in our understanding of the environment and our nation as a whole.Recorded on August 25, 2025

Some of the most significant moments in American history have occurred over meals, as US presidents broke bread to strengthen alliances, diffuse tensions, and broker peace: Thomas Jefferson’s nation-building receptions; Richard Nixon’s practiced use of chopsticks to pry open China; Jimmy Carter’s cakes and pies that fueled a détente between Israel and Egypt at Camp David. Author Alex Prud’homme joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss the political power wielded by the White House kitchen.Recorded on June 30, 2024

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton’s gravestone identifies her merely as the daughter of Philip Schuyler and the widow of Alexander Hamilton, while her sister, Angelica, has only a marker next to the Livingston family vault, but neither memorial does justice to the complexity of the two women. Eliza was a vital aid to her husband’s political efforts, as well as a later reformer in her own right, and Angelica was a socialite who maintained friendships with the likes of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. In this conversation, historian Amanda Vaill offers a fuller portrait of these women and the Founding Era.Recorded on November 7, 2025

In addition to being America’s first vice president and second president, Founding Father John Adams was a diplomat, the father of another president, and an avid diarist. In this conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Gordon S. Wood, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of the Revolutionary era, tackles this multifaceted figure, from his role in the birth of our nation to the precedents he set for all those who followed him.Recorded on September 4, 2025

For generations, the teaching of American history has often glossed over the important role Native communities have played in shaping the nation, but contemporary historians are reframing the conversation. In a discussion that spans five centuries, scholar Ned Blackhawk illuminates how the history of the Indigenous peoples of North America is an essential component to telling a more complete American story—and how, despite many obstacles, Native communities have persevered.Recorded on January 10, 2024