Yep, it’s happening. I’m getting the band back together, and reviving the Power Line Classic Podcast format, featuring me in one-on-one conversation with individual guests of note, though from time to time we may get the whole Power Line Gang together to appear on some special legacy episodes.
This has been a while in the making, partly by popular demand from listeners who liked the conversations I used to do on a semi-regular basis. Among other things, I’m planning a series of episodes between now and July 4, and perhaps after July 4, with some of the authors of the flood of new books appearing right now coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I’ve written about a few of these for the New York Post, and will have more installments to come. I’m also in discussions with a couple of popular left-of-center podcasters about doing a crossover episode together: stay tuned for details if our discussions come to fruition.
My first guest for the revived show is one of my favorite current historians who appeared once before: David T. Beito, who is emeritus professor of history at the University of Alabama. His latest book, which I mentioned in one of my New York Post features late last year, is FDR: A New Political Life. This book is a sequel to a previous book that reviewed the massive violations of civil liberties that occurred during the New Deal—transgressions that have been largely airbrushed out of the sympathetic liberal histories of FDR and the New Deal.
David’s new book takes a broader look at the whole FDR story, and concludes with a blunt assessment: “Franklin D. Roosevelt was not a great president nor even a good one. The reasons for making this assessment is long.”
Among other recent developments, I’m doing so many podcasts right now that I decided to acquire a decent sound board. It comes complete with sound effects, which I’ll mostly use to heckle my co-hosts on those other podcasts.
Some highlights from old Power Line Show library are going to be restored on Ricochet shortly, but for now you’ll need to listen to or download this first episode from here:
