Originally published on September 14, 2022 (Episode 280)
Introduction
After 279 conversations with historians, scholars, and writers, the tables turn: in this episode, Al Zambone is the one answering questions. Carol Adrienne—who recently joined the podcast to discuss Healing a Divided Nation: How the Civil War Revolutionized Western Medicine—insisted it would be a good idea to record a podcast about the podcast. She got her way, as this episode demonstrates.
The result is not only an introduction for new listeners to what Historically Thinking is and how it works, but also a revealing reflection on the methods, perspectives, and choices that shape every conversation. Even veteran listeners will find new insights as Al explains the habits of thinking and the sense of purpose behind the project.
About the Guest Host
Carol Adrienne is the author of Healing a Divided Nation: How the Civil War Revolutionized Western Medicine (Pegasus Books, 2022). She has worked on archives and museum exhibits, chaired “Archives Week” in Philadelphia, and is currently developing a documentary series on Civil War medicine.
For Further Investigation
Charles Royster, A Revolutionary People at War (blurb by Edmund Morgan: “social history, intellectual history, institutional history, political history, and not any single one of them, which is to say that it is good history.”)
Boundary-crossing historians mentioned in the conversation: Elisabeth Leake and James Belich
Big projects by multiple historians: Dominic Sandbrook, Tom Holland, and Warren Eugene Milteer Jr.
Multilingual historians of the Mediterranean world: Hussein Fancy, Daniel Hershenzon, Hannah Barker
Thomas Gieryn on “truth spots” — Episode 106
A cultural curiosity mentioned in passing: so-called “Jerusalem Syndrome” and “Paris Syndrome” (with caveats!)
💬 Listen & Discuss
What keeps you coming back to Historically Thinking? Share your favorite episode or moment in the comments—and consider passing this one along to someone who hasn’t yet discovered the podcast.
