American Rambler

Dan Carter is one of the best historians of the South. A native of  South Carolina, he won the Bancroft Prize for his first book, Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South,  which was published in 1969. Since then, he has written about the  Reconstruction period, before turning his attention to 20th century  politics in The Politics of Rage: The Origins of the New Conservatism and the Transformation of Politics (1995) and From George Wallace to Newt Gingrich: Race in the Conservative Counterrevolution, 1963-1994 (1999). Retired from teaching, he lives in western North Carolina,  where he is writing about the white supremacist, faux Native American,  and Hollywood screenwriter, Forrest Carter.

Colin and Dan talk  about southern politics; the realignment of parties in the late-20th  century; the persistence of Lost Cause ideology; and worrisome nature of  the Trump era.

American Rambler talks some music,  including an overview of his vinyl collection, hitting on bands and solo  artists in the H-J range. Ginger Baker makes an appearance from beyond the grave. Colin gives a few thoughts on the new Wilco record. And  everyone should know about Adam Faucett.

Trae Wisecarver is the "Outlaw Historian," and he's not messing  around. A native of southern Arkansas, he's working on his Ph.D in  history at Texas A & M University, where he is writing about the  Civil War in his home state.

Trae became a Twitter sensation in  2019. He took a cue from Keri Leigh Merritt and posted a video about the  need for a new Civil War documentary that improves upon Ken Burns's  1990 film. Not one to shy away from a fight, Trae has run afoul of the  dubious character Dinesh D'Souza as well as online Nazis,  neo-Confederates, and other unsavory characters. Trae keeps up a  spirited Twitter account, and after his original feed was suspended, he  is back (and more fired up than ever.)

In addition to his interview show The Outlaw Historian, you can also catch his wrestling podcast, The Oh My Godcast: An ECW Retrospective, which he co-hosts with his friend Ben Dangerously.

In part two of Colin's talk with Brent J. Steele, Brent discusses his newest book, Restraint in International Politics,  which is available from Cambridge University Press. And with several  decades of college life between them, Colin and Brent talk about  striking a good balance between work and life. How do you get  scholarship done while also being a responsible family person? What changes will you have to make in your creative process? Are your days of  third-shift writing over? Probably, but there are other ways of being  productive.

In the intro, Colin talks about the World Series and  how the Nat's were the team of destiny for reasons involving baby  sharks, dancing, and Donald Trump.

Brent J. Steele is the head of the political science department at the University of Utah. As he tells Colin, it was an intro to American politics his freshman year at college that made him want to become a college professor. A native of Iowa, he also got his Ph.D. there. As an academic, he has a long list of publications that weave together analysis of American politics with ideas based in the thinking of such heavy hitters as Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and modern psychology.

Brent stays busy. He has a book coming out soon from Cambridge University Press, Restraint and International Politics. He is also the host of his own podcast The Hayseed Scholar, which may or may not contain beer drinking. Colin and Brent cover a lot of ground concerning foreign policy and the political shifts in the period from Vietnam to the Trump and Twitter age.