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OST Full Show: Julian Zelizer's 'Burning Down The House;' In Athens, A Tree That Owns Itself
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Julian Zelizer's new book, "Burning Down The House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party" offers one explanation for today's divisive political atmosphere; examining the history behind "The Tree That Owns Itself" in Athens
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Partisan and ideological divisions have hobbled the nation’s response to the pandemic and our sinking economy. For one theory on how American politics became so toxic, Princeton professor and best-selling author Julian Zelizer turns to former Georgia Congressman and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. In his latest book, Burning Down The House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party, Zelizer proposes that Gingrich’s name-calling, win-at-all-costs style turned politics-as-bloodsport into a winning strategy, and changed the rules of congressional warfare for the decades that followed. Zelizer joined On Second Thought host Virginia Prescott for a virtual author talk sponsored by A Cappella Books to share more.
Athens’ tallest tax-exempt landowner is a 78-year-old white oak tree. On Second Thought explores the story of “The Tree That Owns Itself” — and where it stands in the complex landscape of Southern history.
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