We all have that relative that tells us there was actually no green bean casserole at the first Thanksgiving. Yeah, we know, Grandma! But how much do we really know about that first feast between the Pilgrims and the Indians?

Well, a lot. But the story most of us learned in school is completely wrong. Author David J. Silverman, (This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving) joins us to carve up the myths about Turkey Day and serve a nice helping of truth.

In this episode, Bob and David explore the origins of Thanksgiving, from the Wampanoag people’s strategic decision to ally with the English, to Abraham Lincoln’s role in turning that footnoted feast into a national holiday.

Tell your family to turn down the yacht rock and play this episode of American History Hotline as you avoid talking about politics and stir the gravy.

GUEST: David J. Silverman, author of This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving. He has a new book coming out in February of 2026 titled, The Chosen and the Damned: Native Americans and the Making of Race in the United States

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In 1859, Congressman Daniel Sickles murdered Philip Barton Key (son of the man who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner) in a fit of jealous rage just steps from the White House. The resulting trial became America’s first true media circus, and gave rise to the “crime of passion” defense. In short, it basically became legal to kill a man for sleeping with your wife. While this wasn't technically a law, it was the "Unwritten Law" for way longer than you might think.

Chris DeRose, author of Star Spangled Scandal: Sex, Murder, and the Trial that Changed America, joins Bob to talk about how this legal defense played out in America.

GUEST: Chris DeRose, author of Star Spangled Scandal: Sex, Murder, and the Trial that Changed America

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You won't see it on the ballot, but it's always the winner in American elections. That's right, we're talking about big tech. From Facebook to Google and AI, technology not only has the power to affect the outcomes of our elections ... it's already doing it!

Who could have seen this coming? Well, we're glad you asked, because Roger McNamee has been ringing alarm bells since you were playing Snake on your Nokia.

Roger joins Bob to talk about the evolution of technology in politics, from the rise of data-driven campaigning in the 1970s to Facebook’s influence on the 2016 election and the new threat of AI.

Let's just say our future is beginning to look a lot like an episode of Black Mirror.

GUEST: Roger McNamee, author of  Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe

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