Author: ohiovtheworld

Set your reminders. Three weeks from today, April 20, 2021 Ohio v. the World is back. Episode 1: “Ohio v. the Challenger Disaster”

CLICK to READ ESPN.COM article about Ohio State vs. the World

Ohio v. the World Podcast and its host Alex Hastie were interviewed for a feature article by ESPN called “Ohio State vs. the World: How the Buckeyes and Their Fans Feed Off Perceived Slights” by Ryan McGee, senior college football writer on ESPN.com. It’s great national press for the show and it’s even sweeter after Ohio State’s convincing 49-28 rout of Clemson in the College Football Playoff. Click above to check out the article and read the relevant sections below.

It’s pride, pure and simple. There is something about this land that it just becomes a part of who you are, so you are going to love it and you are going to defend it if you feel like it’s being disrespected by someone outside of Ohio,” explains Columbus attorney Alex Hastie, producer and host of the “Ohio V. The World” history podcast.

How deep do Hastie’s Buckeyes roots run? His great uncle, Wilmer Isabel, scored the first-ever touchdown in Ohio Stadium on Oct. 14, 1922.”I think Ohio is unique among what some call ‘flyover country’ because of the people who have come from here and everything this state has contributed to the world. And that goes way back,” Hastie explained. “This was the original California. People settled here when they were moving through other places in this region. It was like, ‘OK, Jebediah, it’s time to keep moving out west,’ but he said, ‘Nah, you know what? I’m good here. There’s just something about this place.’ That’s the root of what I think is a real sense of pride. That’s where that ‘circling of the wagons’ you speak of, that’s where that comes from.”

“Ohio V. The World” isn’t just the name of a podcast. It’s a phrase that has been defiantly worn on clothing and waved from flags throughout the Buckeye State for years.

CLICK to READ ESPN.COM article about Ohio State vs. the World

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Bonus Episode: Ohio v the Presidency. Alex sits down with Vince Tornero the host of “This is Wessler Media” on 610am WTVN in Columbus, Ohio. Alex discusses Ohio’s 8 presidents and how their terms in office show that history really does repeat itself.

This interview aired back on October 31, 2020 and serves as a great recap for Season 5 on Ohio and the Presidency. Special thanks to Vince and the team at Wessler Media. If you’re looking to do a podcast of your own give Vince a shout. www.wesslermedia.com

Thanks for listening this season. Go back and check out Season 5 about Ohio and the Presidency, our favorite season of the show thus far. We’ll be back with Season 6 in March 2021.

Alex Hastie will be interviewed tonight from 8p-9pm on the largest radio station in Central Ohio, 610AM WTVN. This interview with Vince Tornero of Wessler Media will discuss Ohio and the Presidency. They’ll discuss all 8 former Ohio Presidents, their legacies and how history can be useful in looking at our current politics.

Be sure to tune in and hear some Ohio history talk on your radio dial.

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Episode 12: Ohio v. First Ladies. Alex travels to Canton to the National First Ladies and Historic Site to speak with President and CEO Jennifer Highfield about Ohio’s 1st Ladies. We look at all 8 spouses of Ohio’s presidents and the evolution of the role of the First Lady.  Visit the museum and library at www.firstladies.org in downtown Canton. Jennie shares the stories of Canton’s own Ida Saxton McKinley and Ohio’s last first lady, Florence Harding

Alex is joined by author and historian Cormac O’Brien to discuss his fun and informative book, The Secret Lives of the First Ladies.  Cormac leads our discussion on the fascinating Nellie Herron Taft and her life that seemed destined to live in the White House. Cormac also highlights the trailblazing Caroline Harrison and her tragic death in the White House in 1892. Buy Cormac’s awesome book here:  http://www.cormachobrien.com/secret_lives_of_the_first_ladies__strange_stories_and_shocking_trivia_from_inside_.htm

We also discuss Ohio’s other First Ladies: Lucretia Garfield, Anna Harrison, Lucy Hayes and the wife of an Ohio President, Julia Grant and her awkward dinner with Queen Victoria in London. Many guests from earlier in the season join us to share stories about Ohio’s First Ladies in our penultimate episode of Season 5: Ohio and the Presidency. Don’t forget to email the show at ohiovtheworld@gmail.com and rate and review us on iTunes. 

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Episode 11: Ohio v Debates. It’s presidential debate season! As Trump and Biden prepare to square off this week in Cleveland at the 1st presidential debate of 2020, Alex looks back at the top 5 debates in presidential (and VP) debate history. We also look at the two previous debates that have taken place in the Buckeye State prior to Trump-Biden, Part 1. 

We are joined by author, professor and debate expert Alan Schroeder to discuss the history of presidential debates. Schroeder, author of Presidential Debates: 50 Years of High Risk TV, discusses the huge ratings of debates in the US and around the world. He helps us break down all the debates that have occurred in Ohio, including an interesting night in 2015 during the Republican primary. Alan shares his expertise on our top 5 debates of all time. Buy his fantastic book here. http://cup.columbia.edu/book/presidential-debates/9780231141055

Former guests and historians, Jim Robenalt and Bruce Carlson, rejoin the show to talk about two debates from Ohio: the 1980 presidential debate between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter and the 2004 VP debate between Sen. John Edwards and VP Dick Cheney. Both taking place in Cleveland. 

Our other debates from the top 5 include the 1st televised presidential debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon from 1960, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter’s battle from 1976, George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis from 1988 and the infamous VP debate from that same year between Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle. 

Only two shows left in Season 5: Ohio and the Presidency, thanks so much for listening to Ohio v. the Wold this year. Have fun watching the Trump-Biden debate in Cleveland this week and make sure you vote this fall. Email the show at ohiovtheworld@gmail.com and don’t forget to rate/review us on iTunes. 

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Episode 10: Benjamin Harrison v. the World. Alex goes to 4 different areas of the country to tell the story of one of America’s most forgotten Presidents, Benjamin Harrison. Our 23rd President was raised and educated in Ohio before moving to Indianapolis in his 20s and is claimed by both states. We discover that Harrison was a strong advocate for African American equality, an early environmentalist and a fantastic public speaker. He even stopped a pandemic as President before it could spread and kill Americans. Those qualities are compared to some of his failings as well. He was a one-term President and the country fell into a terrible depression shortly after he left the White House. 

Charles Hyde, President and CEO of the Harrison Presidential Site in Indianapolis, IN joins the show to discuss his youth in Ohio, his career in Indiana and his rise to General in the Union Army during the Civil War. Visit their excellent museum and check out their 3-D collection at www.bhpsite.org. 

Alexandra Petri, columnist at the Washington Post and self-proclaimed “Harrison enthusiast” talks about her love of the 23rd President and all of the important things that happened during his Presidency from 1889-1893. Alexandra discusses his cold nature in person, his narrow election win in 1888 and the introduction of electricity by the Harrisons to the White House. Follow Alexandra on Twitter @petridishes and check her hilarious new book Nothing is Wrong and Here is Why. Click link to purchase: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324006459

Returning guests Zak Taylor from Georgia Tech University and Bruce Carlson of the podcast “My History Can Beat Up Your Politics” come on to discuss the Presidency of Benjamin Harrison. Zak discusses Harrison’s career, how his economic policies lead to the Panic of 1893 and the Cholera Scare of 1892. Bruce joins the show again and looks at Harrison’s campaign, the near war with Chile, the admission of a record 6 states into the Union and why Harrison is considered the “father of the modern navy.”

Dont’ forget to rate and review the show on iTunes and you buy an Ohio v. the World t-shirt by emailing the show at ohiovtheworld@gmail.com. Also, check out the PBS documentary “A President at the Crossroads”. Click here to stream https://www.pbs.org/show/president-crossroads/  Only 3 shows left in Season 5: Ohio v. the Presidency! 

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Episode 9: “Warren G. Harding v. the World”. Alex gives the 29th President, Warren G. Harding, a thorough reevalutation 100 years after his election. You might be surprised with what he found. Harding, from Marion, OH, is always ranked near the bottom of the presidential rankings. After our research, we have to ask why? There’s scandals but there’s also some huge successes. 

We visit Harding’s hometown of Marion and meet with Sherry Hall, site manager of the Harding Home and soon to be open Harding Presidential Center. Sherry discusses his early years, 1st Lady Florence Harding and Harding’s rise to power. Sherry walks us through the front porch campaign of 1920, his election to Presidential and his 2.5 years in the White House. Sherry discusses President Harding’s “Return to Normalcy.” Visit https://www.hardinghome.org for more information about the Harding Home and Memorial. As well as the Harding Presidential Center, opening in March to mark the 100 year anniversary of the inauguration. 

We are also joined once again by Jim Robenalt, author of The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage During the Great War. Buy a copy of that great book about President Harding here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780230609648. Jim discusses why Harding is an underrated President and sheds light on some of the personal and political scandals that have dogged Harding’s legacy for a century. 

Two other former guests join us to discuss Harding as well. Kyle Kondik, political analyst from the Virginia Center for Politics comes on to discuss Harding’s landslide win in the 1920 election over Ohio Governor James Cox. Yes, there were two Ohioans running for President in 1920. Political scientist, Zak Taylor from Georgia Tech joins us to discuss Harding’s excellent economic record and helping the country bounce back from a serious economic downturn following World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic. 

We are on the back stretch of Season 5: Ohio and the Presidency. Thanks so much for listening. Don’t forget to go buy Jim Robenalt’s amazing book about Warren G. Harding: The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage During the Great War.   https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780230609648.

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Episode 8: “Ohio v. Conventions”. Alex visits the convention hall floor and the smoke-filled rooms of America’s past political conventions in Ohio. Political conventions are going to look very different in 2020 but usually they’re the Super Bowl for political junkies. We breakdown all six major party political conventions that have taken place in Ohio in American history.

We focus on the first convention to be held in the Buckeye State: the 1856 Democratic Convention in Cincinnati. This first Ohio convention nominates our 15th President, James Buchanan. Journalist and author, Robert Strauss joins us to discuss his book about Buchanan, Worst. President. Ever. Robert shares how Buchanan got the nomination in Cincinnati, won the election and why many historians consider him our worst president. Buy Robert’s book Worst. President. Ever.  here  https://www.amazon.com/Worst-President-Ever-Buchanan-Presidents/dp/1493030590

We hit two conventions in Cincinnati in 1876 and 1880 with former guests Mike Allbritain, Todd Arrington and Dustin McLochlin. They walk us through the unlikely nomination of Ohioan Rutherford B. Hayes at the 1876 Republican Convention and Winfield Scott Hancock’s almost presidency as the nominee at the 1880 Democratic National Convention. 

We are joined by former guest and history professor at Case Western Reserve University, John Grabowski, to discuss the 1924 and 1936 Republican Conventions in Cleveland, OH. The successful presidential run of Calvin Coolidge is discussed as well as why a total of 3 political conventions were held on the shores of Lake Erie in 1924. We visit Depression-era Cleveland and the ill-fated nomination of Alf Landon at the 1936 Republican Convention. John and Alex look at life in Cleveland in the midst of the Great Depression and discuss the reasons behind Landon’s landslide defeat to FDR.

Lastly, we go back to 2016 and the Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The unlikely nomination of Donald Trump is analyzed with author and political analyst, Kyle Kondik. Kyle was at the convention in 2016 and discusses Trump’s speech and the mood in the convention hall. We also look forward to President Trump’s re-election bid in 2020 in the ultimate swing state of Ohio.