Country Over Self

In this episode, Noah Feldman and Alexis Coe join Matt to discuss a wide range of Presidential anecdotes beyond the 12 Presidents covered in the series, wrap up learnings from Country Over Self, and attempt to answer the question of whether or not selflessness exists in American politics.To learn more about Country Over Self or to check out other episodes head to Countryoverself.com. 
If you have an idea for an episode or want to reach Matt directly, please email [email protected]

Country Over Self is edited and produced by Culture Collaborative Media.

Originally recorded on 11-27-2024
In this episode, Matt and Alexis talk about the 1st President, George Washington, the "foundingest father," who was incredibly conscious that everything he did would set precedent for the young country he founded. Washington had as much ego, as much to prove, and as much interest in power as the 44 men who have followed him in office, but he balanced his unmatched service to his country with his desire to have a private life in a way that defines virtue in the highest office in the country.

Alexis Coe
Alexis Coe is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling presidential historian and senior fellow at New America, a bi-partisan think tank. Coe is the leading presidential biographer of her generation, known for her unique insights, engaging style, and ability to reach larger, more diverse audiences in different mediums.
Her books have achieved critical and commercial success. She is the author of, most recently, You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George of Washington. Her next book, Young Jack: A Biography of John F. Kennedy, 1917-1957, will be published in 2025, and her first book, Alice+Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis, debuted in 2014.
In 2024, Coe went on a 13-stop cross-country discussion tour for New America. Her project, "How Should a President Be," is in anticipation of America's 250th anniversary in 2026. 
Coe frequently appears on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, History, PBS, and other networks. She was a consulting producer on, and featured in, Doris Kearns Goodwin's Washington series on the History Channel. She is a frequent guest on NPR and hosted the podcasts No Man's Land and Presidents Are People Too! 
She has been featured in and written for most major publications, including the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Best American Essays. 
Coe has given keynote lectures and appeared on and moderated panels at Georgetown, the Library of Congress, West Point, the New York Historical Society, the National Constitution Center, the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, and many more. 
She curated the ACLU'S 100 exhibitions. While in grad school, she was a project-based oral historian at the Brooklyn Historical Society. She went on to be a Research Curator in the Exhibitions Department at the New York Public Library in Bryant Park.
Coe serves on the 2024 Honorary Committee of the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film and has long served on the board of advisors for the University of Georgia's History in the Headlines series. She is a member of Biographer's International. 
She is based in New York.

00:00 Introduction to Country Over Self
00:33 Meet Alexis Coe: Presidential Historian
01:56 Discussing George Washington's Legacy
04:14 Washington's Relationship with Power
05:32 Washington's Early Life and Struggles
06:49 Washington's Rise to Prominence
11:55 Washington's Reluctance and Presidency
18:35 Washington's Second Term and Legacy
22:52 Washington's Decision to Retire
24:08 The Impact of Washington's Legacy
24:59 Modern Parallels: Biden's Presidency
27:20 Washington's Family and Political Advantage
31:42 Washington's Toughest Decisions
32:37 The Whiskey Rebellion: Washington's Misstep
36:35 Rapid Fire Questions: Presidential Reflections
41:30 Strengthening Democracy: Proposed Changes
43:24 Current Projects and Future Aspirations
45:30 Closing Remarks and Farewell
To learn more about Country Over Self or to check out other episodes head to Countryoverself.com. 
If you have an idea for an episode or want to reach Matt directly, please email [email protected]

Country Over Self is edited and produced by Culture Collaborative Media.

Originally recorded on 10-24-24
In this episode, Matt and Sean talk about the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, and the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the most defining moments in American history.  Although arguably not so much Country Over Self in the moment, the Emancipation Proclamation was difficult both politically and with the general population, and it took the shrewdness and communication skills of Lincoln to bring it to life and change the course of the Civil War and the nation.

Sean Wilentz
Sean Wilentz studies U.S. political and social history. He received his Ph.D. in history from Yale University (1980) after earning bachelor's degrees from Columbia University (1972) and Balliol College, Oxford University (1974). Chants Democratic (1984), which won several national prizes, including the Albert J. Beveridge Award of the American Historical Association, shows how the working class emerged in New York City and examines the changes in politics and political thought that came with it.
In The Kingdom of Matthias (1994), Professor Wilentz and coauthor Paul E. Johnson tell the story of a bizarre religious cult that sprang up in New York City in the 1830s, exploring in the process the darker corners of the 19th-century religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening. Professor Wilentz is also the coauthor and coeditor of The Key of Liberty (1993) and the editor of several other books, including The Rose and the Briar (2004, Greil Marcus coeditor), a collection of historical essays and artistic creations inspired by American ballads. 
His The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln (2005), was awarded the Bancroft Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Subsequent books include The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008, a reconsideration of U.S. politics since the Watergate affair; Bob Dylan in America, a consideration of Dylan's place in American cultural history; and The Politicians & The Egalitarians: The Hidden History of American Politics, a thematic collection of essays covering American political history from the Revolution through the 1960s. 
His most recent study, No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation's Founding, based on his Nathan I. Huggins Lectures at Harvard, appeared in 2018 and was the recipient of the annual Thomas A. Cooley Book Prize for the best book on the Constitution, awarded by the Georgetown University Law Center. In 2020, the Library of America published the first of three projected volumes of his authoritative edition of the writings of the historian Richard Hofstadter. 
Professor Wilentz has received numerous fellowships from, among other institutions, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the American Academy in Berlin. Formerly a contributing editor to The New Republic, and currently a member of the editorial boards of Dissent and Democracy, he lectures frequently and has contributed some four hundred articles, reviews, and op-ed pieces to publications such as the New York Review of Books, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, the London Review of Books, The American Scholar, The Nation, Le Monde, and Der Spiegel. He has also given congressional testimony, notably before the House Judiciary Committee in 1998. His writings on American music have earned him two Grammy nominations and two Deems Taylor-ASCAP awards.
00:00 Introduction to Country Over Self
00:33 Meet the Historian: Sean Wilentz
00:58 Abraham Lincoln: A Giant Among Presidents
02:22 The Emancipation Proclamation: Context and Challenges
13:10 Lincoln's Political Strategy and Manipulation
20:40 Lincoln's Conservative Stance and Emancipation Strategy
23:11 The Emancipation Proclamation's Impact on the War
24:07 Lincoln's Diplomatic Maneuvering and Military Challenges
26:46 Lincoln's Re-election and the End of the Civil War
29:04 Speculating on Lincoln's Second Term and Reconstruction
33:50 Closing Thoughts on Lincoln and Presidential Legacies
37:58 Final Questions and Reflections on American Politics
 
To learn more about Country Over Self or to check out other episodes head to Countryoverself.com. 
If you have an idea for an episode or want to reach Matt directly, please email [email protected]

Country Over Self is edited and produced by Culture Collaborative Media.

Originally recorded on 10-24-24
In this episode, Matt and Mark talk about the 41st President, George H. W. Bush, and his campaign promise of "Read my lips, no new taxes" during the 1988 presidential campaign, and how that promise clashed with the realities of governing that led to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 and a balanced budget...and ultimately sowed the seeds of Bush's defeat in the 1992 election.

Mark Updegrove
Mark K. Updegrove is the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and serves as Presidential Historian for ABC News. From 2009 to 2017, he was the director of the LBJ Presidential Library, where in 2014 he hosted the Civil Rights Summit which included Presidents Obama, George W. Bush, Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Carter. 
Updegrove is the author of five books on the presidency including Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency, published in 2022 and the executive producer of the CNN Original Series, "LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy." He has written for the New York Times, Politico, Time, National Geographic, the Daily Beast, and USA Today, and has conducted exclusive interviews with seven U.S. presidents. His next book, Make Your Mark: Lessons in Character from Seven Presidents, will be published in March 2025. 
Previously he was publisher of Newsweek and president of Time magazine's Canadian edition. He is married to Amy Banner Updegrove, the former publisher of Texas Monthly, and lives in Austin, Texas.
00:00 Introduction to Country Over Self
00:34 Guest Introduction: Mark Updegrove
01:05 George H. W. Bush's Impressive Resume
02:22 The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990
03:54 Bush's Controversial Tax Decision
06:47 Impact of Bush's Tax Compromise
09:57 Rise of Conservative Media and Its Effects
11:39 Ross Perot's Populist Candidacy
17:30 Bush's Legacy and the Clinton Letter
24:54 Rapid Fire Questions on Presidential Choices
30:50 Final Thoughts and Closing
To learn more about Country Over Self or to check out other episodes head to Countryoverself.com. 
If you have an idea for an episode or want to reach Matt directly, please email [email protected]

Country Over Self is edited and produced by Culture Collaborative Media.

Originally recorded on 10-2-2024

00:00 Introduction to Country Over Self
00:33 Meet Joseph Ellis: Historian of John Adams
02:36 John Adams: The Most Human of the Founding Fathers
04:15 Adams' Role in the American Revolution
05:58 John Adams' Presidency and Political Challenges
11:23 Adams' Peace Treaty with France
26:25 Adams' Correspondence with Jefferson
34:00 Rapid Fire Questions and Reflections
38:58 Closing Remarks and Call to Action
In this episode, Matt and Joe talk about the 2nd President, John Adams, his unusual rationale for making virtuous decisions, the remarkable story of his retirement correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, and the importance of remembering the details of the era you're contemplating as a historian.

Joseph Ellis
Joseph J. Ellis is one of the nation's leading scholars of American history. The author of thirteen books, Ellis was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation and won the National Book Award for American Sphinx, a biography of Thomas Jefferson. His in-depth chronicle of the life of our first President, His Excellency: George Washington, was a New York Times bestseller.
Ellis' most recent book, The Cause: The American Revolution and Its Discontents, was published by WW Norton in Fall 2021.  In one of the most "exciting and engaging" (Gordon S. Wood) histories of the American founding in decades, Ellis offers thrilling accounts of the origins and clashing ideologies of America's revolutionary era, recovering a war more brutal and more disorienting than any in our history, save perhaps the Civil War.  Taking us from the end of the Seven Years' War to 1783, The Cause interweaves action-packed tales of North American military campaigns with parlor-room intrigues back in England.
Ellis' essays and book reviews appear regularly in national publications, such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The New Republic, and The New Yorker. Ellis's commentaries have been featured on CBS, CSPAN, CNN, and the PBS's The News Hour, and he has appeared in several PBS documentaries on early America, including "John and Abigail [Adams]" a History Channel documentary on George Washington
Ellis has taught in the Leadership Studies program at Williams College, the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts, Mount Holyoke College, and the United States Military Academy at West Point.  He lives in Vermont with his wife Ellen Wilkins Ellis and two big Labradoodles. He is the father of three sons.
To learn more about Country Over Self or to check out other episodes head to Countryoverself.com. 
If you have an idea for an episode or want to reach Matt directly, please email [email protected]

Country Over Self is edited and produced by Culture Collaborative Media.