LanguaTalk

The Preamble

The world feels complicated. The Preamble is where it starts to make sense. Hosted by Sharon McMahon — known for making sense of complex issues — she and her guests dive deep into the stories and ideas driving our future, bringing clarity and honesty to every headline. If you want real insight, bold conversation, and answers that matter, this podcast is your must-listen. Hit play, and join the movement that will shape history. An Audacy Podcast.

A Movie and a Man Who Revived the Klan

39 mins; May 17, 2023

A Cocktail Toast to the Mob

42 mins; May 15, 2023

The Suckers and Celebrities of the NYC Speakeasy Scene

35 mins; May 12, 2023

A Physician, a Rabbi, and a Bootlegger Walk into a Pharmacy

43 mins; May 10, 2023

The Whiskey-Guzzling Womanizer in the White House

43 mins; May 08, 2023

If Mabel Had Worn Trousers

36 mins; May 05, 2023

How to Train Kids in the Practice of Temperance

41 mins; May 03, 2023

Carrying a Nation into Prohibition

39 mins; May 01, 2023

The First Lady of World War II with Shannon McKenna Schmidt

38 mins; April 28, 2023

An American Love Story with Ilyon Woo

37 mins; April 26, 2023

What's Our Problem? with Tim Urban

44 mins; April 24, 2023

The Nazi Conspiracy with Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch

40 mins; April 21, 2023

Shipwrecked: Diving with a Purpose with Dr. Sean Kinglsey

37 mins; April 19, 2023

Life in Five Senses with Gretchen Rubin

37 mins; April 17, 2023

An Immense World with Ed Yong

39 mins; April 14, 2023

Dinner with the President with Alex Prud'homme

38 mins; April 12, 2023

A Fever in the Heartland with Timothy Egan

37 mins; April 10, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: The Rocky Road of Reconstruction

43 mins; April 07, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: The Necessity of Innovation

44 mins; April 05, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: Battlefield Angels and Amputations

42 mins; April 03, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: North Toward Freedom

33 mins; March 31, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: The War Within a War

31 mins; March 29, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: A Tale of Two Roberts

35 mins; March 27, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: Survival Off the Battlefields

29 mins; March 24, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: Propaganda in Tune

32 mins; March 22, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: A War Won on Food

37 mins; March 20, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: Intel from the Inside

36 mins; March 17, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: From Camels to Confederacy

44 mins; March 15, 2023

Secrets of the Civil War: A Fractured America

36 mins; March 13, 2023

Viewing Earth from Space with Ellen Ochoa

40 mins; March 10, 2023

The Tragedies and Legacy of the Royal Romanovs with Helen Rappaport

35 mins; March 08, 2023

The Extraordinary Life of The Sergeant with Dean Calbreath

30 mins; March 06, 2023

Pursuing the Truth in History Education with Jasmine Holmes

40 mins; March 03, 2023

Everything You Want to Know About the Federal Reserve with Jeanna Smialek

41 mins; March 01, 2023

Edith Wilson: the Seat of Untold Power with Rebecca Boggs Roberts

44 mins; February 27, 2023

An Assassin in Utopia with Susan Wels

39 mins; February 24, 2023

I Saw Death Coming by Kidada Williams

41 mins; February 22, 2023

Building the Support Network for Sex Trafficking Survivors with Kat Wehunt

41 mins; February 20, 2023

How Women Won WWII: A New Era Unfolds

31 mins; February 17, 2023

How Women Won WWII: With a Flash and a Rumble

31 mins; February 15, 2023

How Women Won WWII: Caught by the Enemy

36 mins; February 13, 2023

How Women Won WWII: The Confidante, Anna Rosenberg

32 mins; February 10, 2023

How Women Won WWII: AABBA and the Art of Codebreaking

36 mins; February 08, 2023

How Women Won WWII: Sabotage and a Jewish Spymaster

32 mins; February 06, 2023

How Women Won WWII: The Booming Work of Women Scientists

34 mins; February 03, 2023

How Women Won WWII: British Wrens at War

31 mins; February 01, 2023

How Women Won WWII: By the Glow of Radium

36 mins; January 30, 2023

How Women Won WWII: A Starlette Spies for France

33 mins; January 27, 2023

How Women Won WWII: The Women of the Secret Cities

34 mins; January 25, 2023

How Women Won WWII: Rosie the Riveter Was Just the Beginning

34 mins; January 23, 2023

Don’t Underestimate the Power of the State with Melissa Walker

36 mins; January 20, 2023

The High Stakes of Haaland v. Brackeen with Rebecca Nagle

42 mins; January 18, 2023

The Humanity Archive with Jermaine Fowler

37 mins; January 16, 2023

How to Human with Carlos Whittaker

40 mins; January 13, 2023

Accidental Czar with Andrew Weiss and Brian Brown

44 mins; January 11, 2023

Comedy for the Curious with Adam Conover

32 mins; January 09, 2023

Preserving Presidential Legacies with Mark Lawrence

39 mins; January 06, 2023

The Revolutionary Samuel Adams with Stacy Schiff

41 mins; January 04, 2023

Declassifying America’s Best Kept Secrets with with Matthew Connelly

41 mins; January 02, 2023

Dinners With Ruth with Nina Totenberg

39 mins; December 30, 2022

Finding the Man Within the Myth with Alexis Coe

42 mins; December 28, 2022

Memorable Moments of White House Holidays

29 mins; December 23, 2022

The War for the West

30 mins; December 21, 2022

The Nomadic Life of Army Wife Margaret Taylor

31 mins; December 18, 2022

Frederick Douglass: The Powerhouse Abolitionist

28 mins; December 16, 2022

The Wealthy & Powerful Sarah Polk

33 mins; December 14, 2022

Women Vs. Whiskey: The Rise of the American Temperance Movement

31 mins; December 12, 2022

Two White House Weddings and a Funeral

33 mins; December 09, 2022

Deaths in the White House

32 mins; December 07, 2022

First Lady of the Month, Anna Harrison

32 mins; December 05, 2022

Petticoats and Kitchen Cabinets: A Capital City Shake-Up

30 mins; December 02, 2022

Cookies, Corsets, and a Legacy of Learning from Hannah Van Buren

26 mins; November 30, 2022

Andrew Jackson and the Cheese That Pleased a Nation

30 mins; November 28, 2022

The Catastrophic Marriage Scandal of Rachel Jackson

27 mins; November 25, 2022

The Thanksgiving Episode: From Early Advent to Cranberry Crisis

27 mins; November 23, 2022

The Networking Strategy of Louisa Adams

35 mins; November 21, 2022

How the Future Shapes Our National History with Heather Cox Richardson

43 mins; November 18, 2022

Live Life in Crescendo with Cynthia Covey Haller

32 mins; November 16, 2022

Conservation in a Panda Costume with Ami Vitale

34 mins; November 14, 2022

Brush Up on Your Boundaries with Melissa Urban

39 mins; November 11, 2022

Persuaders as Meaning Makers with Anand Giridharadas

42 mins; November 09, 2022

BONUS Episode! Re:Thinking with Adam Grant: If Teachers Took Over the Government with Sharon McMahon

46 mins; November 08, 2022

The History of Our Fears and Obsessions with Kate Summerscale

38 mins; November 07, 2022

A Man of Iron with Troy Senik

48 mins; November 04, 2022

All That Is Wicked with Kate Dawson

37 mins; November 02, 2022

An Independent Influencer in a Two-Party System with Evan McMullin

47 mins; October 31, 2022

Resilience: Your Questions Answered

27 mins; October 28, 2022

Resilience: An Interview with George Takei Pt. 2

27 mins; October 26, 2022

Resilience: An Interview with George Takei Pt. 1

36 mins; October 24, 2022

Resilience: Redress and Reparation

32 mins; October 21, 2022

Resilience: The Fear of What Comes Next

23 mins; October 19, 2022

Resilience: All the Way to the Supreme Court

39 mins; October 17, 2022

Resilience: The Spirit of Resistance

28 mins; October 14, 2022

Resilience: The Long Days of Camp Life

27 mins; October 12, 2022

Resilience: Only What You Can Carry

25 mins; October 10, 2022

Resilience: The Forced Removal of 120 Thousand Japanese Americans

25 mins; October 07, 2022

Resilience: A Country at War

28 mins; October 05, 2022

Resilience: Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor

24 mins; October 03, 2022

Resilience: The Movement of Japan in the East

25 mins; September 30, 2022

Resilience: The Patriotic Lives of the Issei and Nisei

26 mins; September 28, 2022

Click here to see more

The Preamble

Useful pages

Find a tutor

Languages