This week on Here’s What We Know, get ready for a fiery and thought-provoking episode as we sit down with Jewish historian and author Michael S. Gutter to dive into his powerful book, Never Again Still Means Never Again. Tackling racism, anti-Semitism, and the societal complacency that allows hate to persist, Mike brings his bold, unapologetic voice to the conversation, delivering a message filled with passion, insight, and hope for a brighter future.
Antisemitism in Modern Society: How it manifests today and why we need to address it head-on.
Lessons from History: What Hitler’s rise to power teaches us about the dangers of ignorance and indifference.
Debunking Nazi Myths: Revealing hidden truths and dispelling misconceptions about Nazi Germany.
The Evolution of Political Dialogue: How shifting political landscapes affect Jewish representation and broader societal dynamics.
Righteous Anger & Humor: How to balance passion and levity when addressing difficult topics.
Dismantling Hate: Why ignorance persists despite access to information—and how we can effectively counter it.
Jewish Diplomacy & Rising Anti-Semitism: Are traditional strategies enough to combat today’s challenges?
Quotations:
“The media portrayed it one way. And I think that’s one of the things about the election, whether you like it or not.” ~ Michael S. Gutter
“If somebody wants my opinion, I’ll give it to them. If they feel there’s something incorrect in my opinion, I’m gonna look up your research.” ~ Michael S. Gutter
“Democrats have been so dumb and they’ve been so elitist that they forgot who runs the country; it’s always the middle class, it runs this country, and if you could somehow attach to them and they believe in you.” ~ Michael S. Gutter
“To kill somebody, you know, it probably isn’t easy, but you do it if you’re protecting somebody.” ~ Michael S. Gutter
“One of the worst ways you could possibly die is starvation. Like from the time you stop eating your last bite of whatever until death.” ~ Michael S. Gutter
“I’ve always said to people when they vote for president because, you know, everybody, when these presidents are in debates, they’re asked 100 questions and they have 100 answers. Okay. They’re not right on our 100, not even close.” ~ Michael S. Gutter
Bio:
Michael S. Gutter is a Jewish historian and antisemitism expert committed to dismantling hate groups and promoting justice through truth and education. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he grew up in a loving family with four sisters and found his community welcoming and respectful.
Mike’s life has been marked by diverse ventures—from co-founding one of the largest recycling companies in the U.S. to acquiring a craft soda line. His passion for writing is fueled by his love of non-fiction and a drive to confront antisemitism, inspired by both personal experiences and his struggles with OCD.
Now based in Houston, Texas, Mike continues to write and engage in creative pursuits, including a Broadway musical, a screenplay, and a sitcom. His upcoming book will explore the past, present, and future of American Jewry, aiming to inspire action and understanding.
Through meticulous research and heartfelt insight, Mike remains dedicated to addressing critical issues like racism and homophobia, hoping to empower readers to join him in spreading awareness and advocating for change.
This week on the Here’s What We Know Podcast, join us as we delve into the tumultuous year of 1968, a pivotal moment in American and global history, with our special guest, an esteemed historian and professor, Dr. Luke A. Nichter. He is a New York Times bestselling author or editor of eight books, including, most recently, “The Year That Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968,” which was chosen as the Best Book of 2023 by the Wall Street Journal. As an expert on presidential history, Dr Luke brings a wealth of knowledge about the seismic shifts that occurred during this era. He also mentioned that there is talk about using AI for transcribing historical recordings which could revolutionize our understanding of past presidencies by providing deeper insights than ever before possible.
This is such an enlightening episode filled with insights into one of America’s most dynamic years while emphasizing the importance of preserving our country’s rich history for future generations. Tune in now!
Hear about the revolutionary nature of 1968, both domestically and internationally.
Discover how media coverage brought the Vietnam War and political unrest into living rooms across America.
Comparisons between past conflicts like Vietnam and more recent ones such as Iraq.
Explore Lyndon B. Johnson’s complex legacy as president during these transformative times.
Hear insightful conversations about whether John F. Kennedy would have escalated or withdrawn from Vietnam had he not been assassinated.
Discover why the treatment of vice presidents has been scrutinized throughout history.
Listen to Dr. Luke as he shares personal stories and anecdotes while teaching history to college students.
Discover the role technology could play in transcribing historical presidential tapes for greater public access.
Quotations:
“Americans, we often put ourselves, we think we’re the middle of the world and there’s nothing else going on that’s nearly as important.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“Young people especially will surprise you by what they know, but also what they don’t know. And sometimes they know things very differently than you and I would.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“I think just kind of by definition, to reach the office of the presidency, you’ve got to be an interesting person.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“When I see a new political book, you know, on a shelf and I reach for it, you know, there’s that little voice in my head that usually says, well, what’s the author’s take? Do they have an agenda? Do they have a favorite?” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“I think we’ve lost so much historical empathy about history because we’re such in a rush to judge historical figures by our own standards that we’ve lost a connection with history and really what history is.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“These things in politics, while presented nobly, you know, are often driven by partisan concerns.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“Historians, we’re not supposed to care about counterfactuals, you know, or concern ourselves at all with what ifs.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“Often in history, you have two sides and I tend to come down somewhere in the middle.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“Early on in the Republic, the best path to becoming president was to be secretary of state, perhaps. And then there’s a phase where maybe becoming a senator is the way to become the president. You know, there’s a joke made that in the Senate, we have a hundred would-be presidents at all times. And then there’s a period that it’s the governor of a state, especially a large industrial, important state with a big population.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“Presidents have always desired to bypass the media, whether it’s print, whether it’s radio. whether it’s television and speak directly to the American people.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“I think there’s always been a degree of nepotism as long as there’s been politics. The two have always gone back together.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“On each side of the political aisle, you have about 20% that are activists that you gotta watch out for. And so you do get a student either on the right or the left occasionally who’s there to make a point.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“The bigger concern, I would say, now. is that students are afraid to actually say what they think in classrooms. Not because of me. They’re not worried about being judged by me. They’re worried about being judged by their peers.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“College should really be free for all of ideas. You should be going down the intellectual rabbit hole and learning about yourself and situating yourself in the world that you live in.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“I really try to be transparent with my reader. I mean, I really try to separate facts.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“One of the things I do as a historian is, if you’re gonna write about history, you better make friends with archivists.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“My goal is to drive the creation of new knowledge.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
“The more that I learn about history, the more I realize I have to learn about history.” ~ Luke A. Nichter
Bio:
Dr. Luke A. Nichter is a Professor of History and James H. Cavanaugh Endowed Chair in Presidential Studies at Chapman University. His area of specialty is the Cold War, the modern presidency, and U.S. political and diplomatic history, with a focus on the “long 1960s” from John F. Kennedy through Watergate. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow at the Massachusetts Historical Society, a Visiting Scholar at the University of Michigan’s Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Rothermere American Institute, and a Hansard Research Scholar at the London School of Economics.
He is a New York Times bestselling author or editor of eight books, including, most recently, The Year That Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968 (Yale University Press). It is the first rigorously researched historical account of the most controversial election in modern U.S. history to have cooperation from all four major sides – Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, and George Wallace. Luke interviewed approximately 85 family members and former staffers, in addition to extensive archival research and access to new evidence that dramatically changes our understanding of the election. This work was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship.
Luke’s last book was The Last Brahmin: Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and the Making of the Cold War (Yale University Press). It was the first full biography of Lodge – whose public career spanned from the 1930s to the 1970s – based on extensive multilingual archival research. This work was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Grant. He is also the author of Richard Nixon and Europe: The Reshaping of the Postwar Atlantic World (Cambridge University Press), which was based on multilingual archival research in six countries, and is now at work on a book tentatively titled LBJ: The White House Years of Lyndon Johnson.
Luke earned his Ph.D. in History from Bowling Green State University, and lives in Orange, California and Bowling Green, Ohio.
