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Cross Word BooksAuthor: Michele McAloon
mysteryhints@gmail.comListen. Learn. Engage. Welcome to Cross Word Books, the podcast where we delve into compelling conversations with authors who illuminate history, politics, culture, faith, and art.Each episode uncovers intriguing insights and untold stories that shape our understanding of todays world and the rich tapestry of ideas that define it. Whether youre passionate about the cultural impact of art or curious about how history informs our political landscape, Crossword invites you to explore the diverse forces that influence human experience.Join our community of curious minds and subscribe now to embark on a journey of discovery, thoughtful reflection, and deeper connection with the world around us. Language: en-us Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Civil War Memory, Now
Episode 155
Thursday, 29 January, 2026
Send us a textConnect with Michele at https://www.bookclues.comHeadlines keep tossing around the phrase “civil war,” but what are we really talking about when we invoke that history today? We sit down with historians John Kinder and Jennifer Murray, co-editors of They Are Dead and Yet They Live: Civil War Memories in a Polarized America, to unpack how memory gets made—and why it gets weaponized. From the Lost Cause to the language of conflict we see online, we explore the difference between personal remembrance and public storytelling, and how monuments, textbooks, films, and place names quietly teach us what to honor and what to forget.We trace the often-ignored arc of Reconstruction, connecting the Fourteenth Amendment, federal power, and impeachment debates to the headlines we read now. Jennifer walks us through the Army base renaming saga—why so many installations were named for Confederate officers during the World Wars, how the recent renamings unfolded, and why the political reversal preserved surnames while changing honorees. John explains how these choices aren’t just semantics; they’re signals about national values, belonging, and who gets to define America’s usable past.Throughout, we challenge the casual use of “civil war” as a metaphor for polarization. The real Civil War killed about 2% of the population—equivalent to nearly seven million people today. Any modern internal conflict would look less like tidy blue-gray battle lines and more like fragmented violence with devastating consequences. That’s why precision matters: before repeating incendiary language, ask who benefits, what history is being invoked, and what realities are being ignored.If you care about how history shapes power—at courthouses, on battlefields, and across your city’s street names—this conversation will change how you see the world around you. Listen, reflect, and then take a second look at the monuments and markers you pass every day. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves history and politics, and leave a review with the one statue or site you see differently now.
