The Road to Now

The Oscars hold a special place in popular culture, but the first Academy Awards ceremony, held in 1929, bore little resemblance to the spectacle most of us know today. In this episode, media expert Monica Sandler takes us from that first award ceremony – when both Los Angeles and the films made there struggled for respectability – to the modern extravaganza that draws tens of millions of viewers worldwide. Monica also breaks down the way voting has changed over time, the evolution of categories, and what she thinks was the greatest snub of all time.
Dr. Monica Sandler is a film and media historian at Ball State University, specializing in the history of entertainment prizes and their influence on Hollywood. You can find out more about her at her website: MonicaSandlerPhD.com.
Come find Ben & Bob on the road this summer!
-Bob will be speaking about his new book, America's Founding Son (out March 10) at bookstores across the country. Click here for dates & locations!
-Ben will be joining his friend Greg Jackson of History That Doesn't Suck for a history cruise on the Caribbean from May 18-22, featuring a live recording of The Road to Now! Click here to find out more about a History Cruise That Doesn't Suck and use promo code RTN for $100 off a cabin!
 
This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.

Since opening in 2019, the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame (FARHOF) has worked to preserve and share the rich heritage of American music with the people of Boston and the world. In this episode Ben & Bob speak with FARHOF founder, Joe Spaulding, and J. Casey Soward, President of the Boch Center, which hosts FARHOF in Boston's Wang Theater.
 
To learn more about FARHOF, make sure to visit their website: FARHOF.org.
 
And if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to check out our interview with Deana McCloud on the Woody Guthrie Center in episode 94.
 
This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher.

The Stone Pony and its hometown of Asbury Park, New Jersey are iconic settings in the story of some of America's greatest rock musicians, including Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, and Southside Johnny Lyon. The Pony's path from high-risk passion project to iconic venue was, however, anything but direct; from its founding in 1974, the club was caught in the greater forces at work in late-20th century America.
 
So how did the Stone Pony thrive when so many other venues closed? And what set Asbury Park apart from so many other American towns? In this episode, The New York Times' Nick Corasaniti joins us to talk about his new book I Don't Want To Go Home: The Oral History of the Stone Pony (Harpers, 2024) and what he learned from interviewing Bruce Springsteen and dozens of other musicians and industry professionals who helped make the club into what it is today.
 
If you enjoy this episode, make sure to check out our episodes on The Kinks with Mark Doyle and The Allman Brothers' At Fillmore East with Bob Beatty.
 
Bob's new book, America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick, which drops on March 10! Make sure to check out the book page at the Zando  site and preorder your copy!
 
This episode originally aired as episode 310 on July 29, 2024. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.

Having recently been hit with winter storms, Ben & Bob catch up to talk about the literal and figurative slippery roads all around us. The conversation covers talking politics when we don't agree, the Epstein files and more. We also talk about one of the more exciting events on the horizon: Bob's new book, America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick, which drops on March 10! Make sure to check out the book page at the Zando  site and preorder your copy!
 
This episode was edited by Ben Sawyer.

Most Americans are aware of Colombia's role in the international drug trade, but we know less about the role that Americans' played in the story as consumers, smuggling pioneers, and practitioners of a foreign policy that facilitated the rise of Colombian drug production.
 
In this episode, journalist and historian Lina Britto shares the fascinating story of how Colombia emerged as a major supplier of drugs to American consumers and how this relationship affected people in both countries. She also explains the origins of the "War on Drugs" in the US and tells the story of how Americans hippies in search of marijuana laid the groundwork for the distribution techniques later used by Pablo Escobar's cocaine cartel.
 
Dr. Lina Britto is Associate Professor of History at Northwestern University where she specializes in Colombian history and the history of the international drug trade. She is the author of Marijuana Boom: The Rise and Fall of Colombia's First Drug Paradise (University of California Press, 2020)
 
This is a rebroadcast of RTN #318, which originally aired on November 4, 2024. This rebroadcast was edited by Ben Sawyer.