Though we rarely hear talk of a "Religious Left" today, in the 1960s and 70s there was an active and vibrant set of voices advocating for progressive policies from across the faith spectrum. On this episode of Recollecting Carter, I talk with Dr. L. Benjamin Rolsky about how Carter fit into that historical moment and the lessons that we can learn about the relationship between faith, politics, and popular culture.

You can find Benji's book at: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-religious-left/9780231193634

Biographer Kai Bird published The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter in 2021. Kai is a prolific author, most notably of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which earned he and his co-author a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 and became a major motion picture in 2023. I got a chance to talk with Kai about the role he sees biographers playing in the formation of collective memory.

You can find Kai's book at: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538942/the-outlier-by-kai-bird/

Many of the details of Carter's Presidency have been forgotten by the general public and some have even been intentionally mischaracterized by right-wing political operatives masquerading as journalists. On this episode of Recollecting Carter, I talk with Dr. Kevin Kruse, one of the foremost experts on modern American political history. Kevin talks about how public perception of Carter has changed over time, and how Carter's conduct while in office has become the gold standard for presidential ethics in the modern era.

You can find a couple of Kevin's books at: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469642246/showbiz-politics/ and https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691246666/247-politics