POTUS Extras: Volume 1

Each month, The POTUS Notice shares a few recommendations to hold you over until the next issue. Here’s a sampling from the past year.

Podcasts

PRESEQUENTIAL
These guys are working their way through reading about every president — in sequential order. Their podcast is freaking hysterical. I listen while taking walks and can frequently be found wandering the streets near my house laughing like an idiot… all by myself.

LEARN ABOUT DOLLEY
Listen to the Presidencies of the United States podcast and learn all about Dolley Madison. It’s a multi-parter and well worth it!

1865
The podcast 1865 is a great primer on what happened after Lincoln’s assassination. I started listening to understand Reconstruction better. (Also WTF Andrew Johnson)

PLODDING THROUGH THE PRESIDENTS
Irreverent and informative, this is one of my favorite history podcasts. plodpod.com

PS They have a merch store, too. I treated myself to the most amazing Warren G. Harding shirt and it’s the absolute best. (If you know, you know. If you don’t know, you prolly just think I’m a giant dork. You would not be wrong.)

LEARN ABOUT THE TYLERS!
President John Tyler, our 10th president, has a living grandson. Not great-great-grandson. Not great-grandson. Grandson. Until recently, he had two. (Less fun fact: Tyler is the only president buried under a Confederate flag.)

Cutting Class put out a great podcast episode about it. I nearly tripped over my own jaw when they mentioned me in the middle of it. (Whoa!) Give it a listen to learn about the reproductive habits of the, eh, unyoung Tyler men.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT
The History Vs. (from Mental Floss) History vs. Teddy Roosevelt podcast series is incredible.

---

Visit

SCHUYLER MANSION
32 Catherine Street // Albany, NY

Book a mansion tour and check out the room where Alexander Hamilton and Millard Fillmore got married! (Not to each other.) Tours must be booked in advance. Visit their website or Instagram page for details.

ZACH PACK
He’s old. He’s rough. He’s ready. He’s “president of the people.” For 492 days. Want to know more about Zachary Taylor? Visit The Zachary Taylor Project online.

---

Read

BAG MAN
The wild crimes, audacious cover-up and spectacular downfall of a brazen crook in the White House
All about Spiro Agnew, Richard Nixon’s super-corrupt garbage Vice President. If this was a movie, you would think it was too far-fetched to be true. I listened to the Bag Man podcast while reading about Gerald Ford a while back (the timing was coincidental). The podcast was retrofitted into book form. Definitely worth a listen and/or a read.

READ PRESIDENT SQUID
If you have little kids or if you are a little kid, President Squid (by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Sara Varon) is a blast to read. You won’t learn anything from it, but several presidents make subtle appearances.

---

Play

FREE U.S. HISTORY TRIVIA CHALLENGE
The HistoryPlunge Trivia Challenge is hosted by LearningPlunge. It’s a blast and I always learn something new. (Fellow introverts: you don’t have to have your camera on or talk to anybody!) It’s usually held the first Thursday of the month, from 7-8 p.m. EST. Learn more.

ROUND UP YOUR FRIENDS FOR HOOVERBALL
Trying to get fit? Grab a medicine ball, a net, and a few friends and enjoy a round of Hooverball. Herbert Hoover’s doctor invented this game to keep him in shape.

---

For more POTUS Extras, consider subscribing to The POTUS Notice, my free monthly email newsletter.

---