A hundred years ago, a young man was about to become famous on an entirely new scale. The dawning engines of mass communication, advertising and public relations elevated Babe Ruth into a national phenomenon. When asked why he earned more money

TRUTH AND FAITH: The Sixth and Final Episode of The Democracy Test

Nov 2nd, 2018 53m

Donald Trump lied routinely as a businessman and as a presidential candidate: their frequency did not change once he took office, but, on the next episode of “The Democracy Test,” co-hosts Neal Conan and Heather Cox Richardson hear an argument

CHECKS AND BALANCES: Episode Five of The Democracy Test

Oct 26th, 2018 52m 59s

A key innovation of the American constitution, is a system of checks and balances to make sure the President can’t govern like a king. In the next Episode of “The Democracy Test,” co-hosts Neal Conan and Heather Cox Richardson explore how that

CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED: Episode Four of The Democracy Test

Oct 19th, 2018 53m 1s

The right to vote - once limited to white male landowners - expanded to include African Americans and women, but many states enacted literacy tests and poll taxes that almost eliminated the minority vote until 1965. In “Consent of the Governed,

CREATED EQUAL: Episode Three of The Democracy Test

Oct 12th, 2018 53m

In the depths of the Great Depression, many Americans lost their faith in a democracy that allowed an enormous gap between the wealthy and the too-often desperate poor. In “Created Equal,” the latest episode of the “Democracy Test,” Presidentia

A HOUSE DIVIDED Episode Two of the Democracy Test

Oct 6th, 2018 52m 59s

A HOUSE DIVIDED Episode Two of the Democracy Test with co-hosts Neal Conan and Heather Cox RichardsonIf you think partisan politics are bad now, consider the 1850s, when members of Congress pulled knives and pistols on the floor of the House o

WHY DEMOCRACY: Episode One of The Democracy Test

Sep 28th, 2018 53m

EPISODE ONE: WHY DEMOCRACYWhy did Athens and Rome choose democracy in ancient times, and why did the founders decide to adapt a form of government that had been widely shunned for two millennia? In the first episode of a new six part special s

Final Edition

Mar 30th, 2018 53m 24s

As Truth Politics and Power winds up weekly production, host Neal Conan puts Donald Trump and Trumpism into historical context. Historian Heather Cox Richardson argues that we’re in the convulsions of a major political realignment, like those

Politically Correct

Mar 23rd, 2018 53m 25s

“Politically Correct” originated as an insult on the fringes of the American left…and migrated over to the conservative rhetorical arsenal. In an archive edition of Truth Politics and Power, Host Neal Conan asks an expert of political rhetoric…

Presidential Milestones

Mar 16th, 2018 53m 25s

The slave owner who founded the Democratic Party and, much later, a favorite of Donald Trump. The first President to be impeached. The history of Ronald Reagan’s most famous speech. In a compilation from the archives of Truth Politics and Power

How Civil Wars End

Mar 9th, 2018 53m 24s

The final phase of the civil war in Syria is descending to new levels of agony as Syrian and Russian jets reduce a suburban of Damascus to rubble, forcing 400,000 people to live underground. On the next “Truth, Politics and Power,” Neal Conan

The Politics Of Oil

Mar 2nd, 2018 52m

The boom in oil and gas production in the US has profound effects on the economy and foreign policy - the technology that created the boom, fracking, has industrialized and polluted many communities. In a “Politics of Oil” edition of Truth, Pol

Gun Rights And Gun Control

Feb 23rd, 2018 51m 57s

Gun Rights And Gun Control by TRUTH, POLITICS AND POWER

Family Ties At The White House

Feb 16th, 2018 53m 25s

In our latest episode, the troubling trend of nepotism in the Trump administration and how it can lead to corruption and the erosion of democracy.

Presidents, Politics And The FBI

Feb 9th, 2018 53m 25s

While the FBI is no stranger to political controversy, the bureau is now the target of an unlikely attack. President Trump and his allies have launched a campaign to discredit the FBI…and, by extension…the Russia Investigation headed by former

America First

Feb 2nd, 2018 54m 22s

In his address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Trump turned to a slogan he trumpeted during his campaign and his inaugural address. But this time, he spoke of “America First” almost exclusively in terms of trade policy. In the n

The Next Middle East War

Jan 26th, 2018 53m 24s

Turkey's escalation in it's war against US backed Kurdish fighters puts the United States on a collision course with a NATO ally and offers a window into the contradictions of U.S. Middle East policy in a post ISIS Syria. For Syria's Kurds, i

The Inaugural Edition - A Year Later

Jan 19th, 2018 52m 56s

A year ago, as Donald Trump took office as the 45th President of the United States, many compared elements of his campaign to fascism. This week, we invite you to revisit the inaugural edition of “Truth, Politics and Power,” where host Neal Co

Confronting Iran

Jan 12th, 2018 52m 56s

As President Trump makes a crucial decision on the deal to contain Iran’s nuclear weapons program, two old enemies confront each other in eastern Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and in the waters of the Persian Gulf. In “Confronting Iran ” Trut

Seven Dirty Words

Jan 5th, 2018 52m 58s

The effort to suppress specific words at the Centers for Disease Control represents another round in the long conflict between politics and science. In a “Seven Dirty Words” Edition of Truth Politics and Power, host Neal Conan revisits the hist

When The World Outlawed War

Dec 29th, 2017 52m 56s

Two law professors from Yale argue that a now-obscure treaty ,,,the Kellogg-Briand Pact…marked a major turning point in world history; prior to its ratification in 1928, war and territorial conquest were entirely legal. Their book, “The Interna

King Coal

Dec 22nd, 2017 52m 56s

Donald Trump’s promise to end what he called the war on coal played a critical role in his presidential campaign. On a “King Coal” edition of “Truth, Politics and Power,” host Neal Conan asks what Trump has done in his first year in office to

Bully Pulpit

Dec 15th, 2017 52m 56s

Presidents use the power of speech to persuade, console, encourage and inspire. On a “Bully Pulpit” Edition of Truth, Politics and Power, Host Neal Conan speaks with linguist John McWhorter about the distinctive cadences of President Barack Oba

Plea Deal

Dec 8th, 2017 52m 59s

Plea Deal by TRUTH, POLITICS AND POWER

War Powers

Dec 1st, 2017 52m 56s

From Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo to the War on Terror, Presidents have gathered more and more authority to start and conduct wars on their own. In a “War Powers Edition” of Truth Politics and Power, Host Neal Conan asks how the commander in chief ac