Sir Mix-a-Lot can't lie about liking big butts. And George Washington can't lie about cutting down cherry trees. Or can he? According to Washington biographer Alexis Coe, this is "the greatest fan fiction ever told" (the tree thing! Mix-a-Lot truly loves big butts).

It turns out America's first president is a lightning rod for myths and misinformation. So, we're putting in our wooden teeth (or are they not wood?) and taking a bite of the reality sandwich as we sort truth from fiction in George Washington's legacy.

GUEST: Alexis Coe, an award-winning, New York Times bestselling presidential historian, and a senior fellow at New America, a bi-partisan think tank. Her books include, You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George of Washington and the upcoming Young Jack: A Biography of John F. Kennedy, 1917-1957 (scheduled for 2026).

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It's Lincoln's party and he'll cry if he wants to. We trace the evolution of America's major political parties to understand how they've changed since Honest Abe was the Republican standard-bearer. And if he were running for election in 2028, which party would he belong to?

GUEST: Julian Zelizer, New York Times best-selling author and Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University. He publishes a Substack newsletter called The Long View. Check out his book: In Defense of Partisanship.

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The Roaring Twenties was a period of tremendous financial growth in America — punctuated by a stock market crash and the highest poverty and unemployment the nation has ever seen. The question is, can this happen again?

Looking back, we explore what was happening in the country during the boom years that led to the bust years.

GUEST: Gabriel Mathy, associate professor of economics at American University. His area of expertise is macroeconomics of the Great Depression.

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