History Matters (…and so does coffee!) is a weekly webcast sponsored by the National Council for History Education featuring the teaching and scholarship of Dr. Joanne Freeman, a professor of history at Yale University and former NCHE board member. Each episode features a conversation about an historic person, place, event, or piece of evidence; what it reveals; and how it emerges (or reemerges) in America today. Dr. Freeman begins with a short discussion of a topic, often connecting it to documents in the historical record, and then shows how it connects with the challenges and responsibilities of American citizenship in the here and now. Dr. Freeman also takes questions from the live webcast audience about the day's topic. History Matters (…and so does coffee!) is a fun, funny, interactive, educational, and--amidst our current challenges--important webcast for understanding how history happens and its vital relevance today. The National Council for History Education provides professional and intellectual leadership to foster an engaged community committed to the teaching, learning, and appreciation of diverse histories. Through historical inquiry, NCHE empowers learners to research and interpret the past.
Date | Live Air Time (via Zoom) | Topic | Join Link |
March 24, 2023 | 10:00 am EST | Friday Filler | Watch here |
March 25, 2023 | 9:30 am EST | Live from Salt Lake City! | Join here |
2023 Season | ||
January 6, 2023 | Speakership Battles: The Hows, Whys, & WTFs | Watch here |
January 13, 2023 | What Does the Press Cover When It Covers? | Watch here |
January 20, 2023 | Schools as Cultural Battlegrounds | Watch here |
January 27, 2023 | When Your Youth Is History | Watch here |
February 3, 2023 | The Politics of Threats -- and Fear | Watch here |
February 10, 2023 | The State of Relations Between Presidents & Congress | Watch here |
February 17, 2023 | "Is this the worst it's ever been?" | Watch here |
February 24, 2023 | FEAR as Politics | Watch Here |
March 3, 2023 | When Words Mean Everything & Nothing | Watch here |
March 10, 2023 | The Problem of Presentism | Watch here |
March 17, 2023 | Why We Hate Banks | Watch here |
2022 Season: What Can History Tell Us? | ||
January 7, 2022 | January 6 One Year On: What Can History Tell Us? | Watch here |
January 14, 2022 | Washington's Farewell Address: What Was He Warning? | Watch here |
January 21, 2022 | Congressional Representation Matters. A Lot. | Watch here |
January 28, 2022 | Politicians: When Can You Believe Them? | Watch here |
February 4, 2022 | Cartoons as Politics | Watch here |
February 11, 2022 | Propaganda: It's Just What You Think It Is--And More | Watch here |
February 18, 2022 | A Presidents' Day Special: What Do We Think When We Think of Presidents? | Watch here |
February 25, 2022 | Stating the State of the Union | Watch here |
March 4, 2022 | The 100th Episode!! | Watch here |
March 11, 2022 | The Trap of Nostalgia | Watch here |
March 18, 2022 | Framing Matters | Watch here |
March 25, 2022 | The Bully Pulpit | Watch here |
April 1, 2022 | Anything Goes! | Watch here |
April 8, 2022 | John Adams and Justice | Watch here |
April 15, 2022 | Othering as Politics | Watch here |
April 22, 2022 | Does "WE the People" Exist? | Watch here |
April 29, 2022 | Macho Rodeo Politics | Watch here |
May 6, 2022 | The Power of Rights Removed | Watch here |
May 13, 2022 | The Power of Public Opinion | Watch here |
May 20, 2022 | The Founders: What Are They Good For? Part One | Watch here |
May 27, 2022 | The Founders: What Are They Good For? Part Two | Watch here |
June 3, 2022 | Broadening the American Story | Watch here |
June 10, 2022 | Why Hearings Matter -- And They DO! | Watch here |
June 17, 2022 | A Brief History Matters Episode | Watch here |
June 24, 2022 | An Open Discussion of the Hearings | Watch here |
July 1, 2022 | Why History Matters | Watch here |
July 8, 2022 | Wrestling With the Founders | Watch here |
July 15, 2022 | Militias Past & Present | Watch here |
July 22, 2022 | Words Matter: A Lot | Watch here |
July 29, 2022 | Manly Men & Power | Watch here |
August 5, 2022 | An Ode to Accountability | Watch here |
August 12, 2022 | Warping Words | Watch here |
August 19, 2022 | Defending the Teaching of History | Watch here |
August 26, 2022 | Democracy and Government Records: They're Ours | Watch here |
September 2, 2022 | When "Good Guys" Go Goblin Mode | Watch here |
September 9, 2022 | The Power, Pull, and Problems of Monarchy in US History | Watch here |
September 16, 2022 | Cruelty as Politics | Watch here |
September 23, 2022 | Why Do We Care About Presidential Children? | Watch here |
September 30, 2022 | James Madison’s Flute: The Power of Places and Things | Watch here |
October 7, 2022 | Who Hates Democracy? | Watch here |
October 14, 2022 | On Witnessing History | Watch here |
October 21, 2022 | The Long History of "It CAN Happen Here." | Watch here |
October 28, 2022 | Anything Goes! | Watch here |
November 4, 2022 | Do or Die Elections--Then & NOW | Watch here |
November 11, 2022 | What Comes Next? | Watch here |
November 18, 2022 | Giving Thanks | Watch here |
November 25, 2022 | Talkin' about my Generation | Watch here |
December 2, 2022 | When Lines Are Crossed | Watch here |
December 9, 2022 | On Terminating Constitutions | Watch here |
December 16, 2022 | What Does It Mean To Be An Ex-President? | Watch here |
December 23, 2022 | The US, France, and the Marquis de Lafayette | Watch here |
December 30, 2022 | What Comes Next? | Watch here |
2021 Season: Talking Democracy | ||
Date | Topic | Video and Documents |
January 7, 2021 | Democracy and Violence | Watch here |
January 14, 2021 | A Conversation: When There Are No Words | Watch here |
January 21, 2021 | On the Meaning of Ceremonies: Inaugurations and U.S. (and us) | Watch here // Get document here |
January 28, 2021 | Wearing the "President Suit": Why Styles of Government Matter | Watch here // Get document here |
February 5, 2021 | Political Parties: What Are They Good For? | Watch here |
February 12, 2021 | Impeachment: The Whats, Whys, and Wherefores | Watch here |
February 19, 2021 | Representatives: What Are They Good For? | Watch here |
February 26, 2021 | The First Hundred Days: Why Beginnings Matter | Watch here |
March 5, 2021 | Democracy + Technology | Watch here // Get document here |
March 12, 2021 | The Filibuster | Watch here |
March 19, 2021 | Processing the Now | Watch here |
March 26, 2021 | Foreign Affairs | Watch here |
April 2, 2021 | The Life We're Living: Lessons Learned (Part 1) | Watch here |
April 9, 2021 | Where We Go From Here - A One Year Celebration | Watch here |
April 16, 2021 | Playing By the Rules: When One Party Does and the Other Doesn't | Watch here |
April 23, 2021 | When You Know You're Watching History: What it Means...and What it Doesn't | Watch here |
April 30, 2021 | The Women Behind the President: Women and Public Power | Watch here |
May 7, 2021 | On Lies and Lying | Watch here |
May 14, 2021 | Rewriting History | Watch here |
May 21, 2021 | NOT Trivial: When Small Things Reveal Big Things | Watch here |
May 28, 2021 | Insurrections | Watch here |
June 4, 2021 | Attacking Democracy: A User's Guide | Watch here |
June 11, 2021 | The "Founders": The Who, the What, and the Why | Watch here |
June 18, 2021 | The Core of Democracy: The Power of Norms and Trust | Watch here |
June 25, 2021 | Humor in History | Watch here |
July 2, 2021 | Fireworks, Parades, and National Identity: How We Use July Fourth | Watch here |
July 9, 2021 | Here Comes the Judge!: The Founders and the Supreme Court | Watch here |
July 16, 2021 | Who Tells Our Stories and Whose Stories Do They Tell? | Watch here |
July 23, 2021 | Primary Documents I Have Loved, or, The Power of Primary Sources | Watch here |
July 30, 2021 | National Character: Why It Matters | Watch here |
August 6, 2021 | The "W's" Part 1: Who/What | Watch here |
August 13, 2021 | The "W's" Part 2: When | Watch here |
August 20, 2021 | The "W's" Part 3: Why | Watch here |
August 27, 2021 | Special repeat episode | Regretfully, the video for this day is not available |
September 3, 2021 | Can the Press be Neutral? | Watch here |
September 10, 2021 | Remembering the Past: The Power of Pain | Watch here // Get documents here and here |
September 17, 2021 | The Constitution: Why It Does and Doesn't Matter | Watch here |
September 24, 2021 | The Problem with Posturing | Watch here |
October 1, 2021 | The American Union | Watch here |
October 8, 2021 | The US Congress: What Do We Need to Know? | Watch here |
October 15, 2021 | The Power of Hate | Watch here |
October 22, 2021 | Historian's Greatest Hits: Evidence or Realizations that Surprise and Move | Watch here |
October 29, 2021 | Fear and Power: A Scary Story | Watch here |
November 5, 2021 | Anger and Change | Watch here // Read referenced article here |
November 12, 2021 | Bullying as Politics, Part 2 | Watch here |
November 19, 2021 | Censure Matters | Watch here |
November 25, 2021 | Happy Thanksgiving | Watch here |
December 3, 2021 | The IDEA of Rights | Watch here |
December 10, 2021 | Morality and Politics: It's Complicated | Watch here |
December 17, 2021 | Why History REALLY Matters | Watch here |
December 24, 2021 | Holiday Moments in the Early Republic | Watch here |
December 31, 2021 | Lessons and Hope for the New Year | Watch here |
2020 Season: History: There and Back Again | ||
Date | Topic | Video and Documents |
April 9, 2020 | Contingency Matters | Watch here // Get document here |
April 16, 2020 | Feelings...Nothing More Than Feelings | Watch here // Get document here |
April 23, 2020 | Fouled Foundations | Watch here // Get document here |
April 30, 2020 | The Truth and Lies of Diaries | Watch here // Get documents here, here, and here |
May 7, 2020 | Insights from the Everyday | Watch here // Get documents here |
May 14, 2020 | Being Persnickety with the Press Part One | Watch here // Get documents here |
May 21, 2020 | Being Persnickety with the Press Part Two | Watch here // Get documents here |
May 28, 2020 | Politics: It's Here, It's There, It's Everywhere | Watch here // Get document here |
June 4, 2020 | "Nobody But a Regular Woman": Women and Resistance | Watch here // Get documents here |
June 11, 2020 | "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" | Watch here // Get document here |
June 18, 2020 | Hissings, Coughings, and Hootings: The Nature of Protest -- Past and Present | Watch here // Get document here |
June 25, 2020 | Fanatical Mobs and Government Plots: The Power and Pull of Conspiracy Theories | Watch here // Get documents here, here, and here |
July 2, 2020 | Hamilton and Hamilton: The Past, the Present, and How History Matters | Watch here |
July 9, 2020 | Fears of Foreign Influence (and a brief Hamilton debriefing) | Watch here // Get document here |
July 16, 2020 | Picking a President: The Founders Had Thoughts | Watch here |
July 23, 2020 | Words Can Be Worth A Thousand Pictures: The Political Power of Words | Watch here |
July 30, 2020 | Queries, Questions, Thoughts, Ideas: A Conversation | Watch here |
August 6, 2020 | (Not) Talking About Slavery in Early America (Part of the NCHE Equity Summit) | Watch here |
August 13, 2020 | Attack of the Amazon Women: Fears of Women and Political Power, 1789 Edition | Watch here // Get document here |
August 20, 2020 | Why The Postal System Matters: A User's Guide to the Postmaster General's Testimony | Watch here |
August 27, 2020 | Doomsday Politics: The Late 1790s and Now | Watch here // Get documents here, here, here, and here |
September 3, 2020 | Campaigning for Office Past and Present: The Dangers of Demagogues | Watch here |
September 10, 2020 | Anything Goes | Watch here |
September 17, 2020 | "WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A REVOLUTION!": The Push and Pull of Extreme Rhetoric | Watch here // Get document here |
September 24, 2020 | Hope | Watch here |
October 1, 2020 | Debates and Democracy: A Conversation with Joanne Freeman and Heather Cox Richardson | Watch here |
October 8, 2020 | When Political Parties Die | Watch here // Get document here |
October 15, 2020 | Democracy in Action? What Do We Hear During Hearings? | Watch here |
October 22, 2020 | Talking Dirty: Discussing Crises at Home and in School | Watch here // Get document here |
October 29, 2020 | Democracy: A Plea | Watch here // Get documents here and here |
November 5, 2020 | The Election: A Conversation | Watch here |
November 12, 2020 | Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes: Difficult Transitions in Politics | Watch here // Get documents here, here, and here |
November 17, 2020 | The Supreme(s) | Watch here |
November 26, 2020 | Special Thanksgiving Day Messsage from History Matters (...and so does coffee!) | Watch here |
December 3, 2020 | The Founders and Democracy: It's Complicated | Watch here // Get documents here and here |
December 10, 2020 | Anything Goes, the Reboot! | Watch here |
December 17, 2020 | The Bully Pulpit: Bullying as Politics | Watch here |