Poured Over: Adam Hochschild on American Midnight

“…One of the ways you can get into my cast of characters is by leaving a very detailed written record. Because that’s what we historians have to work from, you’re not allowed to make stuff up like a novelist can….And of course, it skews to some extent the way history is written. Because the rich leave more records than the poor, men leave more records than women, white people leave more records than Black and so on.” Adam Hochschild (King Leopold’s Ghost) joins us on the show to talk about his latest book, American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis.  Hochschild connects the dots between our America and an all-too familiar America of a century ago, riffing on power and deception, Woodrow Wilson’s legacy, undercover agents, labor organizers, the espionage act, what’s next for him and much more with Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer.

Featured Books (Episode):
American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis by Adam Hochschild
Rebel Cinderella by Adam Hochschild
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.