About the show
From George Washington to George Floyd, and from the Declaration of Independence to Donald Trump: this is America: A History Podcast, where we explore the people, places and events that make the US what it is today.
Each week, host Liam is joined by an expert from the University of East Anglia and a special guest to answer a different question from ‘how are Presidents elected’ to ‘why are guns still legal’ or ‘how accurate is Forrest Gump’?
We are having important conversations with the biggest experts including political journalist Jon Sopel, Native American academic Stephanie Pratt and renowned author and journalist Gary Younge. No issue is off the agenda as we explore gun violence, slavery, the constitution, Hollywood, Presidents, presidential candidates, LGBTQIA+ culture, religion, football (not soccer) and more.
This is US history without the fake news, as we have honest and sometimes sensitive conversations about the things that really matter to understand how the alleged greatest country in the world came to be.
From George Washington to George Floyd, and from the Declaration of Independence to Donald Trump: this is America: A History, the podcast where we explore the people, places and events that make the US what it is today.
Each week, host Liam is joined by one of our panel of regular experts and occasionally a special guest to answer a different question about American history, society, politics and culture.
We are having important conversations with the biggest experts including political journalist Jon Sopel, Native American academic Stephanie Pratt and renowned author and journalist Gary Younge. No issue is off the agenda as we explore gun violence, slavery, the constitution, Hollywood, Presidents, presidential candidates, LGBTQIA+ culture, religion, football (not soccer) and more.
This is US history without the fake news, as we have honest and sometimes sensitive conversations about the things that really matter to understand how the alleged greatest country in the world came to be.
This week we are literally discussing the theme song to this podcast. It became synonymous with the Civil War, and in the years and centuries since it has been adapted, sampled, covered and repurposed in just about every way possible, by musicians, politicians, sports teams and more. So today I am asking… what is the Battle Hymn of the Republic?
To discuss this I am joined by Thomas Smith, Professor of American Literature and Culture and Deputy Director of Area Studies at the University of East Anglia.
And our special guest is Catherine Bateson, an Associate Professor of American History at the University of Kent, and also the author of Irish American Civil War Songs: Identity, Loyalty, and Nationhood, which we will link to in the show notes.
Mentioned in this episode:
BOOK: Irish American Civil War Songs: Identity, Loyalty, and Nationhood by Catherine Bateson
SONG: An American Trilogy by Elvis Presley
POEM: Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe
SONG: John Brown’s Body
SONG: Glory, Glory, Hallelujah by the London Community Gospel Choir
SONG: Glory Glory Man. United
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