The On The Bookshelf Podcast

Learn how brilliant deception saved thousands of lives in WWII and shortened the war

Dr. Whitney Bendeck of Florida State University tells the true story of the hero you never knew, a quiet genius named Dudley Clarke, his 'A" Force and Allied Operations in WWII, especially in the Mediterranean and also in support of the D-Day landing, whose 77th anniversary we observe this year. 

Should Confederate Monuments be moved off the public squares?

Dr. Karen Cox, Southern-born and bred, analyzes the history and impact of Confederate monuments on race relations, and the "Lost Cause" mythology which supported them.

The charming and sophisticated Ruta Lee discusses her heritage, her career and her charity, the Thalians

Ruta Lee came along at the perfect time to be a part of Hollywood musicals, TV game shows, classic TV episodic shows (like The Twilight Zone), and a wonderful Hollywood charity organization, the Thalians, who work for mental health and PTSD patients. Because of her parent's immigration from Lithuania (and her grandparent's forced relocation to Siberia) , Ruta learned about the hard realities of Soviet communism. Ruta Lee is smart, funny, warm and charming. Her new memoir is "Consider Your Ass Kissed", and our visit was a delight. Hope you enjoy as much as we did!

interview--a perfect show for the 4th of July--renowned historian John Freling returns

Modern Americans tend to think that it was inevitable that we beat the British and won our war for independence. It was not. To learn how successful the British "Southern strategy" was and how it almost won the war, to learn how four different entire American armies were destroyed fighting General Cornwallis, to find out how the French navy had their strategy which didn't always pigeonhole with George Washington's, and how it took dedicated partisans and militia as well as careful planning and Providence to trap Cornwallis and win the war, be sure to listen. You might also look for a copy of his exceptional volume, "Winning Independence".

interview-Behind the Magic Curtain-Birmingham's Civil Rights years

Former Police Captain T. K. Thorne tells behind-the-scenes news of the personalities that were a part of the CiviL Rights story in Birmingham's most turbulent years, from 1961-68. There were plenty of heroes, some villains, with most people somewhere in-between. It was not a simple situation, with Black and White people ao a continuum of options and beliefs that was not as simple as is usually thought. You'll meet an intrepid reporter for the Bimingham News-Herald named Tom Lankford who became one of the guys with access to. all the major players in this true drama.