Plodding Through The Presidents

Join history blogger Howard Dorre and his wife Jessica Dorre for a deep irreverent dive into lesser-known stories of the early American presidents. They dig into the myths, mysteries, scandals, and drama of the founders and their families, with a dash of marital banter. Best History Podcast, Discover Pods Awards, 2025.

Plodding Through The Presidents is a history podcast hosted by Howard & Jessica Dorre, with 101 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Howard & Jessica Dorre hosts Plodding Through The Presidents, a history show with 101 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #5

  The Slow Murder of the White House

  Sep 30, 20261h 1mS7

  We explore some of the biggest and most controversial architectural changes to the White House over the years, and how they compare to the current ballroom project. And Jess shares the shameful secret of what she did inside the White House on a fifth grade field trip. Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents You can learn more about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory tragedy from Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast: https://www.civicsandcoffee.com/from-tragedy-to-charity-dr-david-conrad-perez-on-fire-in-the-heart-of-the-city/ Check out our merch shop at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #4

  The Declaration of John Adams

  Jul 3, 202637 minS7

  On America’s 250th birthday, we look at The Declaration of Independence, and how John Adams may have contributed to one of its most enduring promises. Learn more about author and professor Danielle Allen at https://danielleallen.scholars.harvard.edu/ For more information about The Huntington Library's "This Land Is..." exhibit visit https://www.huntington.org/this-land-is Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents Check out our merch shop at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #3

  Encore: The Peacemaker and the Cradle Robber

  Jun 8, 20261h 8mS7

  Howard’s coming to Houston Saturday, June 13th for a public history talk about the Founding Frenemies at the Houston History Research Center. For more details check out https://calendar.houstonlibrary.org/event/16693436 In the spirit of Texas, we’re sharing this episode from the archives where we took on the single deadliest disaster to befall a presidential cabinet – the explosion aboard the USS Princeton in 1844. We look at four of the key players aboard and how they got there - President John Tyler, Secretary of State Abel Upshur, Captain Robert Stockton, and Julia Gardiner, "The Rose of Long Island" – and how this tragedy shook up Tyler's plans for love and Texas. Find out more at plodpod.com. Join our Patreon family at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents for exclusive bonus content! Check out our merch shop at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/plodding-through-the-presidents?ref_id=24294 Houston Event June 13th, 2026 Details: https://calendar.houstonlibrary.org/event/16693436 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #2

  How Taft Got Stuck in the Bathtub

  Apr 9, 202630 minS7

  <p>We go behind the story that Howard just published in Smithsonian Magazine, digging into the forgotten origins of the story that William Howard Taft got stuck in a White House bathtub.</p> <p>Check out the article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/popular-lore-claims-that-william-howard-taft-got-stuck-in-a-bathtub-new-research-sheds-light-on-the-legends-forgotten-origins-180988386/</p> <p>You can also hear Howard on these recent podcasts:</p> <p>The Big Fib: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-we-impeach-wisdom-when-telling-fibs-about-us-presidents/id1348469682?i=1000748336772</p> <p>Talk That Pod: https://talkthatpod.net/episode-002-howard-dorre/</p> <p>Find out more at plodpod.com.</p> <p>Join our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/ploddingthroughthepresidents</p> <...

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #1

  In Pursuit of a Rising Sun

  Feb 17, 202645 minS7

  <p>We kick off a season full of weird science and pseudoscience with a tale of two very different chairs in Philadelphia—George Washington’s “rising sun” chair and Benjamin Rush’s tranquilizer chair. Then we welcome Colleen Shogan, former archivist of the United States and CEO of the exciting new initiative In Pursuit, honoring America’s 250th.</p> <p>Check out the excellent essays from In Pursuit written about presidents and first ladies and written BY presidents and first ladies (and more) at inpursuit.org</p> <p>Find out more at plodpod.com.</p> <p>Join our Patreon community at https://w...

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Plodding Through The Presidents. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.