Cross-Examining History

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Cross-Examining History is a podcast featuring interviews with the country’s leading historians conducted by nationally prominent interrogator Talmage Boston, author of Cross-Examining History: A Lawyer Gets Answers from the Experts About Our Presidents. He examines American history through the hig…

Talmage Boston


    • May 13, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 52m AVG DURATION
    • 84 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Cross-Examining History

    Cross-Examining History Episode 85 - The State of Texas Public Education - Sandy Kress + Pete Geren

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2025 46:10


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Sandy Kress, writer, teacher, and philanthropist, and Pete Geren, President and CEO of the Sid W. Richardson foundation, on freedom and opportunity in education.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 84 - Tevi Troy

    Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2025 49:43


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Tevi Troy, author of 5 presidential history books, on his latest book The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 83 - Garry Kasparov

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 56:09


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player of all time, about Russia, Ukraine, and protecting democracy worldwide. Garry Kasparov founded of the cross-partisan Renew Democracy Initiative in 2017.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 82 - Nigel Hamilton

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2025 62:40


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Nigel Hamilton, a British-born American biographer, historian, and author, about his new book Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 81 - Edward O'Keefe

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2025 64:43


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Edward F. O'Keefe on his new book The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President. O'Keefe is CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 80 - Lindsay Chervinsky

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2025 48:56


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Lindsay Chervinsky, American presidential historian and author of Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 79 - Marc Selverstone

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2024 67:14


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Marc Selverstone on his new book The Kennedy Withdrawal: Camelot and the American Commitment to Vietnam. Marc Selverstone is a Cold War historian and author of Constructing the Monolith: The United States, Great Britain, and International Communism, 1945-1950. He is also the Director of presidential studies at the UVA Miller Center.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 78 - Malcolm Gladwell

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2024 67:02


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Malcolm Gladwell on his new book Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering. Malcolm Gladwell is the author of seven New York Times bestsellers: The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, David and Goliath, Talking to Strangers, and The Bomber Mafia.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 77 - Jeffrey Rosen

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2024 55:14


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Jeffrey Rosen, author of The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. Rosen is president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and hosts We the People, a weekly podcast of constitutional debate. He is also a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic. He was previously the legal affairs editor of The New Republic and a staff writer for The New Yorker.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 76 - Hampton Sides

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2024 49:41


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Hampton Sides, author of non-fiction adventure stories set in war or depicting epic expeditions of discovery and exploration. His most recent book, The Wide Wide Sea, is an epic recount of the voyage of Captain James Cook, culminating in his death in Hawaii.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 75 - Brody Mullins

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2024 58:13


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Brody Mullins, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and author of The Wolves of K Street. Previously, Brody spent nearly two decades covering the intersection of business and politics for The Wall Street Journal.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 74 - Doris Kearns Goodwin

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2024 68:59


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 73 - Frank Cogliano

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2024 52:03


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Frank Cogliano, author and Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and former president of the Scottish Association for the Study of America.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 72 - Lawrence Wright

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2024 58:07


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize winning author and long time staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 71 - How The Best Did It With Talmage Boston

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2024 56:38


    In this very special episode, Talmage Boston has the tables turned and is interviewed by Dale Petroskey. Talmage Boston is a trial lawyer, historian, and podcaster who just published his newest book, How The Best Did It: Leadership Lessons from Our Top Presidents.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 70 - Tracy Daugherty on Larry McMurtry

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2024 49:04


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Tracy Daugherty, biographer and author of Larry McMurtry: A Life.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 69 - HW Brands

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2024 73:56


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of H.W. Brands, historian and author of Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics. H.W. Brands is Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin and a two time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 68 - Pastures of the Empty Page and the Legacy of Larry McMurtry

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2024 43:13


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of George Getschow, editor of Pastures of the Empty Page: Fellow Writers on the Life and Legacy of Larry McMurtry. His book is a collection of essays offering an intimate view of Larry McMurtry, author of Lonesome Dove and The Last Picture Show.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 67 - Ronald White

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2024 40:56


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Ronald C. White, historian and author of A. Lincoln, American Ulysses, and his new book On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. On Great Fields is a comprehensive biography of an American soldier and leader who deserves to be known for more than his heroism in the Civil War.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 66 - David Brooks

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2023 53:56


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of David Brooks on his new book How To Know A Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. David is author of New York Times best sellers The Second Mountain and The Road to Character. He also writes for The New York Times.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 65 - Bret Baier

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2023 61:06


    Talmage Boston invites Bret Baier back for a live cross-examination style interview on his new book To Rescue the Constitution: George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment. Bret Baier is the host of Special Report with Bret Baier on the Fox News Channel and chief political correspondent for Fox.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 64 - Jonathan Eig

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2023 65:54


    Talmage Boston conducts a live cross-examination style interview of Jonathan Eig on his newest book King: A Life. Eig is the bestselling author of six books, including his previous book Ali: A Life.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 63 - Gregg Jarrett

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2023 49:56


    Talmage Boston conducts a live cross-examination style interview of Gregg Jarrett. Gregg Jarrett is a Fox News commentator, attorney, and bestselling author of The Russia Hoax and his newest book, The Trial of the Century, about the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 62 - SC Gwynne

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2023 57:56


    Talmage Boston conducts a live cross-examination style interview of S.C. Gwynne. S.C. Gwynne is the Pulitzer prize nominated author of Empire of the Summer Moon, The Perfect Pass, and Rebel Yell. His newest book, His Majesty's Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World's Largest Flying Machine, tells the story of the British airship R101—which went down in a spectacular hydrogen-fueled fireball in 1930, killing more people than died in the Hindenburg disaster seven years later.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 61 - James Conroy

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2023 39:17


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of James Conroy on his new book The Devils Will Get No Rest: FDR, Churchill, and the Plan That Won the War. James Conroy is a trial lawyer of 37 years turned award-winning author of narrative history.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 60 - Evan Thomas

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2023 53:46


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Evan Thomas on his new book Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II. Evan Thomas is an American journalist, historian, and author. He is the author of nine books, including two New York Times bestsellers, John Paul Jones and Sea of Thunder.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 59 - Philip Taubman

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2023 64:09


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Philip Taubman on his new book In The Nation's Service: The Life and Times of George P. Shultz. George P. Shultz was US Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury, and Secretary of State, and was pivotal in steering the great powers toward the end of the Cold War.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 58 - The Peacemaker With William Inboden and Dale Petroskey

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2023 54:42


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of William Inboden and Dale Petroskey on William Inboden's his new book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, The Cold War, And The World On The Brink, about how Ronald Reagan and his national security team confronted the Soviets, reduced the nuclear threat, won the Cold War, and supported the spread of freedom around the world. Dale Petroskey worked in the White House as Assistant Press Secretary under Ronald Reagan.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 57 - Hole In The Roof with Burk Murchison and Michael Granberry

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2023 41:52


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Burk Murchison and Michael Granberry on their new book, Hole In The Roof, about The Dallas Cowboys, Clint Murchison Jr., and the stadium that changed American sports forever.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 56 - Phil Gramm

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2023 62:00


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Phil Gramm on his newest book The Myth of American Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debate. Phil Gramm is a former US Senator of nearly two decades, an economist, and author.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 55 - Ed Goeas

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2022 52:59


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Ed Goeas on his new book A Question of RESPECT: Bringing Us Together in a Deeply Divided Nation which he co-authored with Celinda Lake. Goeas is an author, premier pollster, and political veteran of Washington DC of over 40 years.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 54 - Jon Meacham

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2022 57:09


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Jon Meacham on his newest book And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle. Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and #1 New York Times Bestselling author.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 53 - Doug Brinkley

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2022 56:09


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Doug Brinkley on his newest book Silent Spring Revolution. Brinkley is an author, historian, and Katherine Tsanoff Brown Professor in Humanities in the Department of History at Rice University.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 52 - Henry Kissinger on his book Leadership

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2022 63:34


    In a program of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, Talmage Boston moderates a live event with the great Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and author of over a dozen books on diplomatic history and international relations. Since its founding in 1951, the mission of the nonprofit, nonpartisan World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth has been to promote international awareness and understanding. For more information and to become a member, visit www.dfwworld.org or call 214-965-8400.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 51 - The Divider with Peter Baker And Susan Glasser

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2022 69:47


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Peter Baker and Susan Glasser on their newest book The Divider: Trump in the White House. Baker and Glasser are the bestselling authors of The Man Who Ran Washington.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 50 - David Maraniss

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2022 54:32


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of David Maraniss on his fantastic new book Path Lit By Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe. David Maraniss is a New York Times best-selling author and two time Pulitzer Prize winner.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 49 - Corban Addison

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2022 47:08


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of lawyer-turned-author Corban Addison on his new book, Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 48 - This Will Not Pass with Jonathan Martin and Karl Rove

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2022 59:40


    In a program of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, Talmage Boston moderates a live event with Jonathan Martin and Karl Rove on Martin's new book This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future. Jonathan Martin is a national political correspondent for The New York Times and a political analyst for CNN. Since its founding in 1951, the mission of the nonprofit, nonpartisan World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth has been to promote international awareness and understanding. For more information and to become a member, visit www.dfwworld.org or call 214-965-8400.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 47 - Kostya Kennedy

    Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2022 47:30


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Kostya Kennedy, author of True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson., which has received glowing reviews in the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. In the past, Kostya has written NYTimes bestsellers on Joe DiMaggio and Pete Rose, and is a former senior writer at Sports Illustrated. He's now the Editorial Director at Dotdash Meredith, overseeing special editions under such brands as LIFE, People, Entertainment Weekly and EatingWell.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 46 - Mark Updegrove

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2022 52:33


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Mark Updegrove, an American author, historian, journalist, and Presidential Historian for ABC News, about his latest book Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency. Mark Updegrove is also the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation in Austin, Texas, and served as the director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum for eight years.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 45 - James Baker

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2022 43:04


    James Baker returns for a cross-examination style interview. James Baker is an American attorney and statesman who served as White House Chief of Staff and US Secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan and as US Secretary of State and White House Chief of Staff under George H.W. Bush.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 44 - John Avlon

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2022 56:23


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of John Avlon on his new book Lincoln and the Fight for Peace. John Avlon is an author, columnist and commentator. He is a senior political analyst and fill-in anchor at CNN, appearing on New Day every morning.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 43 - Annette Gordon-Reed

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2022 33:21


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, historian, and Harvard Professor, on her newest book On Juneteenth.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 42 - Joe Lieberman

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2021 62:32


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Joe Lieberman, American Senator, on centrism and how to work together across the aisle in the government.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 41 - David McCloskey

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2021 32:05


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of David McCloskey, former CIA analyst and author of the new spy thriller Damascus Station.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 40 - David Rubenstein

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2021 57:19


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of David Rubenstein, American patriotic philanthropist and author of the bestselling new book The American Experiment.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 39 - Bret Baier

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2021 35:24


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Bret Baier, host of Special Report with Bret Baier on the Fox News Channel and chief political correspondent for Fox, on his newest book To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 38 - Jeff Shesol

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2021 57:23


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Jeff Shesol, historian, cartoonist, and author of Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. The Supreme Court, about his newest book Mercury Rising.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 37 - Julia Sweig

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2021 51:02


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Julia Sweig, historian and author of Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding In Plain Sight. "Perhaps the most underestimated First Lady of the twentieth century, Lady Bird Johnson was also one of the most accomplished and often her husband's secret weapon."

    Cross-Examining History Episode 36 - Jason Riley

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2021 52:20


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Jason Riley, historian and author of Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell. Maverick showcases Sowell's most significant writings and traces the life events that shaped his ideas and resulted in a Black orphan from the Jim Crow South becoming one of our foremost public intellectuals.

    Cross-Examining History Episode 35 - Ronald C. White

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2021 57:30


    Talmage Boston holds a live cross-examination style interview of Ronald C. White, historian and author of A. Lincoln, American Ulysses, and his new book Lincoln in Private. Lincoln in Private looks at Abraham Lincoln's reflections and ruminations he wrote on slips of paper to give a better understanding of the private Lincoln behind the public Lincoln.

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