The 2024 presidential election in U.S. history is shaping up to be unlike any others… but is it? An incumbent president with health concerns. A former president seeking to regain the office he lost is the target of an assassination attempt. The biased media sets the narrative and stokes partisan fury. Not only are their historical parallels to these and other facets of the election, but there are historical forces that can help us understand what is going on, why the campaigns are conducted in certain ways, and also tell us something about who we are as American voters.

Host: Andrew J. Falk

Guest: Phillip Hamilton

Past is Prologue is a humanities podcast that provides the public with the background behind the day's headlines, and offers much-needed context to understand the significance of current events that people observe around them. It seeks to contribute to the public conversation in an engaging, informative, accessible, and constructive way. It's produced by the Department of History in the College of Arts & Humanities at Christopher Newport University in Virginia. We welcome your inquiries and feedback at pastpodcast@cnu.edu.