Category Archives: People

S9E21 Podcast: George Washington, Slavery, and American Memory

Stan’s guest this week is historian John Garrison Marks, discussing his new book, Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory (University of North Carolina Press, 2026), which tells the story of Americans’ long struggle to come to terms with Washington’s legacy of slavery. He traces how politicians, abolitionists, educators, activists, Washington’s former slaves and their descendants, and others have remembered, forgotten, and manipulated slavery’s place in Washington’s story, and how they have wielded versions of that story in the political and cultural fights of their time. Marks shows how generational struggles over our collective memory of Washington and slavery have always been part of a bigger conversation about defining the United States and its people.

S9E20 Podcast: The 10th Inning with Mark Bradley: Remembering Ted Turner and Bobby Cox

Former AJC sports writer Mark Bradley returns as Stan’s guest this week to share his memories about two Atlanta legends who died earlier this month. Bradley covered the Braves during all of Cox’s remarkable and record-breaking second tenure as manager from 1990 to 2010, including 14 consecutive division titles, 5 National League championships, and the 1995 World Series title.

Photo by Wally Gobetz

Podcast S9E19: Glenn McNair and Georgia History: From Savannah PD to ATF to the GHQ

Stan’s guest this week is historian Glenn McNair, talking about his life and career in law enforcement—as a Savannah police officer, Secret Service agent, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms—his 25 years as teacher and historian at Kenyon College, and his 16-year tenure as editor of the Georgia Historical Quarterly, the scholarly journal of the Georgia Historical Society.

S9E16 Podcast: The Last Adieu: Lafayette’s Triumphant Return

As part of GHS’s ongoing commemoration of the US250, Stan’s guest this week is author and historian Ryan L. Cole, discussing his new book, The Last Adieu: Lafayette’s Triumphant Return, the Echoes of Revolution, and the Gratitude of the Republic (Harper Horizon, 2025). The Marquis de Lafayette arrived in America in 1777 to fight in Washington’s army, becoming a major general at age 19. In 1824, the “Hero of Two Worlds” returned on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution, one of the last living links to that momentous event. Lafayette traveled more than 6,000 miles across all 24 states, reminding Americans of their Revolutionary heritage just in time for the country’s Golden Jubilee.

S9E15 Podcast: A Nation of Laws: A Conversation with Larry D. Thompson

Stan’s guest this week is Larry Thompson, former Deputy Attorney General of the United States during the administration of President George W. Bush, and author of a recently published memoir, Quiet Counsel: Looking Back on a Life of Service to the Law (Disruption Books, 2024). Larry—who also serves on the GHS Board of Curators—discusses his childhood in segregated Missouri, his remarkable parents, attending law school at the University of Michigan, his service as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, his work at the Justice Department, his memories of 9/11, and the importance of the rule of law as we approach the US250.