Plodding Through The Presidents

Howard’s coming to Houston Saturday, June 13th for a public history talk about the Founding Frenemies at the Houston History Research Center. For more details check out https://calendar.houstonlibrary.org/event/16693436

In the spirit of Texas, we’re sharing this episode from the archives where we took on the single deadliest disaster to befall a presidential cabinet – the explosion aboard the USS Princeton in 1844. We look at four of the key players aboard and how they got there - President John Tyler, Secretary of State Abel Upshur, Captain Robert Stockton, and Julia Gardiner, "The Rose of Long Island" – and how this tragedy shook up Tyler's plans for love and Texas.

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Houston Event June 13th, 2026 Details: https://calendar.houstonlibrary.org/event/16693436
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We go behind the story that Howard just published in Smithsonian Magazine, digging into the forgotten origins of the story that William Howard Taft got stuck in a White House bathtub.

Check out the article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/popular-lore-claims-that-william-howard-taft-got-stuck-in-a-bathtub-new-research-sheds-light-on-the-legends-forgotten-origins-180988386/

You can also hear Howard on these recent podcasts:

The Big Fib: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-impeach-wisdom-when-telling-fibs-about-us-presidents/id1348469682?i=1000748336772

Talk That Pod: https://talkthatpod.net/episode-002-howard-dorre/

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We kick off a season full of weird science and pseudoscience with a tale of two very different chairs in Philadelphia—George Washington’s “rising sun” chair and Benjamin Rush’s tranquilizer chair. Then we welcome Colleen Shogan, former archivist of the United States and CEO of the exciting new initiative In Pursuit, honoring America’s 250th.

Check out the excellent essays from In Pursuit written about presidents and first ladies and written BY presidents and first ladies (and more) at inpursuit.org

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Join us this season for weird science! Deeply researched, deeply irreverent dives into the real—and pseudo—scientific beliefs of the early presidents and founders.

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In our Season 6 finale, we welcome Jeffrey Rosen, author of “The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America” for a conversation about Hamilton and Jefferson’s nation-defining differences, and their shared fear of the "embryo-Caesar" Aaron Burr.

Check out the fantastic resources at the National Constitution Center’s website at constitutioncenter.org.

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