Pardon Me?! A Presidential History Podcast
It’s time to dish on the presidents. Comedians Trent Thomson and Marissa Macy gossip their way through U.S. History by examining the personalities, bad behavior, and astrological charts of the nation’s presidents. Join us every other Monday for hot takes on the country’s highest office, along with the juicy tidbits about U.S. History that we uncover along the way. Think of the Flashcard episodes like the supplemental material at the end of a chapter in your U.S. History textbook (it’s not going to be on the test, but it’ll help with your AP essays)!
Listen on:
Episodes
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Monday Dec 11, 2023
S2E17 - Oh, how we wish the queerest president wasn’t one of our nation’s worst! So gay, so terrible, y’all. Trent and Marissa talk out Buchanan’s long-term relationship with Rufus King, the many scandals of his administration, and his chronic inaction in the lead up to the Civil War. Plus, gallons of oysters, Russian czarinas, slippery leather pumps, and a D.C. love shack! This is the end of Season Two, but we’ll be back in the spring with Lincoln and his (allegedly) beautiful thighs!
Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!
Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa MacyOriginal music by Noise of Approval Graphic design by Darcey Mckinney
Sources
The Worst President – The Story of James Buchanan by Gary Boulard
Bosom Friends: The Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King by Thomas J. Balcerski
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3xLd0ePyZ4m0SF2Kw6Nmym?si=ea13bea683c9451f
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/james-buchanan-why-is-he-considered-americas-worst-president#:~:text=Buchanan%20supported%20the%20theory%20that,wedge%20into%20the%20Democratic%20Party.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/president-james-buchanan-directly-influenced-outcome-dred-scott-decision-180962329/
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/topics/john-browns-harpers-ferry-raid
Monday Nov 27, 2023
Monday Nov 27, 2023
S2E16 - Tune in as Trent and Marissa break down the infamous Kansas-Nebraska Act and its bloody consequences. Signed into law by hot loser Franklin Pierce in 1854, it allowed the people themselves to decide whether or not to allow slavery in the territories. What could possibly go wrong? Well, just voter fraud, the beating of a congressman, broadswords, fleeing governors, killing sprees, the death of a political party, the birth of a political party… and the inevitability of civil war.
Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!
Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa MacyOriginal music by Noise of Approval Graphic design by Darcey Mckinney
Sources
Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-law-that-ripped-america-in-two-99723670/
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/kansas-nebraska-act
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/caning-charles-sumner
https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/bleeding-kansas
Monday Nov 13, 2023
Monday Nov 13, 2023
S2E15 - Known for being one of our hottest presidents but also one of the worst, the story of Franklin Pierce is full of tragedies, horse accidents, drinking, bad timing, and fainting. President during a time of deepening political divides, Pierce made all the wrong choices and hung out with all the wrong people. Trent and Marissa talk through it all, including the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Gadsden Purchase, why Nathaniel Hawthorne sucks, and more!
Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!
Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa MacyOriginal music by Noise of Approval Graphic design by Darcey Mckinney
Sources
Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt
https://millercenter.org/president/pierce/essays/king-1853-vicepresident#:~:text=In%20March%201853%2C%20King%20became,reaching%20his%20home%20in%20Alabama.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/36KKuLl9HvQkT1zhcbUOV1?si=d03545ccaced4933
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=eXjhS8pjy6RXMIHH&v=2X6-eGSd0LA&feature=youtu.be
Monday Oct 30, 2023
Monday Oct 30, 2023
S2E14 - As the Whig Party dies and the Republican Party begins forming, a party based on bigotry and xenophobia surges in popularity. Trent and Marissa track the secret societies that end up creating the Know Nothing Party, profile its major players, and analyze the impact the party had on American History. Plus, a best-selling book that turns out to be a hoax, Martin Scorcese’s Gangs of New York, trains taking jobs, voter fraud, and more!
Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!
Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa MacyOriginal music by Noise of Approval Graphic design by Darcey Mckinney
Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA5i4AQ7lB8
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25012185?typeAccessWorkflow=login&seq=6
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/immigrants-conspiracies-and-secret-society-launched-american-nativism-180961915/
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
S2E13 - A political nobody, Fillmore rose to the presidency when Zachary Taylor died in office, and then promptly screwed everything up! Listen in as Trent and Marissa talk sh*t about this guy’s Nativist views, his whiny baby behavior, and his idiotic choices as president. This episode also features an explanation of the Compromise of 1850, appearances from Queen Victoria and the Pope, plus a scandalous spilling of the Masons’ secrets!!!
Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!
Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa MacyOriginal music by Noise of Approval Graphic design by Darcey McKinney
Sources
Millard Fillmore by Paul Finkelman
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/abigail-powers-fillmore/
https://millercenter.org/president/fillmore
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
S2E12 - Think you know the Gold Rush? Think again! Trent and Marissa discuss the scams, the schemes, the gambling, the price-gouging, and the really, really long boat rides to California. The Gold Rush and its population boom caused a genocide of the Native Californian Peoples, the destruction of land, the growth of San Francisco and Sacramento, the construction of railroads, a wave of Chinese immigration, and many broken dreams.
Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!
Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa MacyOriginal music by Noise of Approval Graphic design by Darcey Mckinney
Sources
The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War by Leonard L. Richards
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldrush-california/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldrush-samuel-brannan/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2bpBAXvJewhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/4ZONGwfOoZxP9CnaWVw9Yn?si=1bf24a0ddd2145e4https://open.spotify.com/episode/1f44sphaUmOAKlOgjAhJ9O?si=670f5fee2f724a89
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
S2E11 - The first man to become president with zero political experience! Like, absolutely none! He was never an elected official, had no party affiliation, and never voted. His wife even prayed that he wouldn’t win the election! Join Marissa & Trent as they follow the story of how Zachary Taylor, a run-of-the-mill military man, rose to the highest office in the land. Don’t worry, we talk about his tasty treat of ice milk and cherries that killed him! Or did they?!?
Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!
Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa MacyOriginal music by Noise of Approval Graphic design by Darcey McKinney
Sources
Zachary Taylor by John S.D. Eisenhower
https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2013/02/margaret-taylor.html
https://millercenter.org/president/taylor
https://www.thezacharytaylorproject.com/zachary-taylor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ5W8clGneI
https://open.spotify.com/episode/51XyeqPVviuTNahOTPLnVa?si=fe3d9bb06f514574
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Monday Sep 04, 2023
S2E10 - As Texans, Marissa and Trent are obligated to share the story of the Lone Star State! Tune in for a wild tale that takes us from colonization to statehood, including mini-biographies of the three men who served as PRESIDENT of Texas (this is a presidential history podcast, after all). This episode is a quick and dirty rundown of Texas, sprinkled with hot takes about coaches as teachers, sharing nachos with America, and desperate straight men.
Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!
Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa MacyOriginal music by Noise of Approval Graphic design by Darcey McKinney
Sources
https://texasourtexas.texaspbs.org/the-eras-of-texas/early-statehood/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwJsazGuICo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpuYHu4NUi8
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/alamo-republic/https://www.tsl.texas.gov/treasures/republic/index.htmlhttps://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/texas-revolution-1835-1836/
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Monday Aug 21, 2023
S2E09 - Known for accomplishing everything he set out to do as president, Polk is considered one of the most effective presidents in U.S. History. But that won’t stop Marissa and Trent from absolutely tearing this self-righteous jerk to shreds! Polk doubled the size of the United States, but with consequences that have rippled through the ages. Join us for a tale that includes botched surgery, Andrew Jackson as matchmaker, a walking log, a war started out of lust, and a hide-and-seek game with cholera.
Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!
Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa MacyOriginal music by Noise of ApprovalGraphic design by Darcey Mckinney
Sources
Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/oregon-territoryhttps://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-20-1-a-president-polk-and-the-taking-of-the-west.html
Monday Aug 07, 2023
Monday Aug 07, 2023
S2E08 - Rhode Island might be small but it is packed with massive drama! The Dorr Rebellion is a footnote in history too juicy not to share. Take a really old royal charter, a fight for suffrage, a stubborn governor, and some guy who’s willing to stick it to the man, and BAM, we’ve got a rebellion! And an illegal election! And faulty cannons! And a public relations campaign! And Marissa and Trent not letting go of a mediocre joke!
Email pardonme.presidentialpod@gmail.com to contact us or issue corrections (with sources, please)!
Produced and Edited by Trent Thomson and Marissa MacyOriginal music by Noise of Approval Graphic design by Darcey Mckinney
Sources
President without a Party: The Life of John Tyler by Christopher J Leahyhttps://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/concepts-african-american-history/rhode-island-constitution-of-1842/https://daily.jstor.org/the-dorr-rebellion-for-voting-rights/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvSnU0T5Kzg&t=21shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr5Yo6c4D70https://www.providencejournal.com/story/opinion/columns/2020/11/21/hidden-ri-history-racism-and-black-suffrage-dorr-rebellion/6318512002/