Abridged Presidential Histories with Kenny Ryan

24/07/2025

Did Martin Van Buren help popularize the word, “OK?”

Depends who you ask, but NPR is all aboard with “Ol’ Kinderhook”

All Things Considered on NPR One | 2:31

11/07/2025

If you could invite 5 presidents over for tea, who would you invite?

Shoutout to sarahsidequest for the delightful blog post and kudos to the great lists.

Based solely on their personality, not their presidential achievements

10/05/2025

[Abridged] Presidential Histories is now available on YouTube

Enjoy 🙂

From Yorktown to the Civil War, Pearl Harbor to 9/11, discover the pivotal moments that defined each president's life and legacy and the lessons we can draw ...

20/02/2025

Ep. 44 of Abridged Presidential Histories is out this week

When Barack Obama became the first African American president in U.S. history, he took charge of a nation in crisis. Two foreign wars, an economy in free fall, an opposition party that wanted him to fail. Nothing was going to come easy. And yet? By the end of his presidency, the United States was again on top of the world.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sQOAiaBFTjKDiTpcF2BC0?si=hdYoTAwoQKWnjVj1ZJfz_g

01/02/2025

Folks have asked, what will my next project be after Abridged Presidential Histories catches up to current events?

I offer a cryptic hint in today’s haul from The Elliot Bay Book Company

21/01/2025

Ep. 45A of APH is out now!‬

Donald Trump doesn’t talk like most politicians. But where some hear truth telling & others hear something unhinged, Professor Jennifer Mercieca hears a consistent rhetorical strategy that binds audiences to Trump & severs them from everyone else.

Donald Trump does not talk like a politician. But where some hear truth telling, and others hear something unhinged, professor Jennifer Mercieca hears a consistent rhetorical strategy designed to bind audiences to Trump and sever them from everyon...

07/01/2025

A new episode of APH is out now!

George W Bush expected to be the President of tax, education, & entitlement reform, but history’s deadliest terror attack changed that. What would you do to keep your country safe? What rules would you bend? Which would you break? Is it justified if you genuinely believe you’re protecting people?

https://aph.buzzsprout.com/968959/episodes/16330743-43-george-w-bush-2001-2009

17/12/2024

Ep 42.A of APH is out now!

Bill Clinton left office with the highest end-of-term approval rating in U.S. history, 66%, thanks largely to a booming U.S. economy. But how much credit does a president deserve when times are good? And how does Clinton's economic record hold up today?

Labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein joins me to discuss the economic legacy of Bill Clinton.

"It's the economy, stupid" - Clinton advisor James Carville, 1992.Bill Clinton left office with a 66% approval rating. This was in large part because 81% of Americans approved his handling of the economy - 71% said the 1999 was the best economy of...

02/12/2024

Episode 42 of Abridged Presidential Histories is now available!

What would you do if, in your pursuit of power, every skeleton in your closet were exposed for all the world to judge. Would you pack it up and go home, or would you fight? Bill Clinton chose to fight every step of the way. Follow along as Clinton rises from Arkansas governor to President of the United States, only to face the first government shutdown and the first presidential impeachment trial in 130 years. He’ll survive it all, then attempt the toughest challenge yet - negotiating peace in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians.

https://aph.buzzsprout.com/968959/episodes/16181990-42-bill-clinton

25/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving week, folks!

For the third year in a row, I hosted an American history Friendsgiving roundtable spectacular with my friends from Plodding through the Presidents, Civics & Coffee, and The Presidencies of the United States. At times silly, at times serious, it was a great conversation. Check it out the discussion below, and then check out their excellent podcasts this holiday season.

https://aph.buzzsprout.com/968959/episodes/16124291-bonus-2024-friendsgiving-history-podcast-spectacular