In the Making is about to begin, and I am joined by UEA's Emma Long. Be in the audience, ask questions in real time and watch the podcast literally in the making, right here: https://riverside.com/studio/america-a-history

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/18/florida-primary-results-governor-senate

Thoughts?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6035481-wasserman-schultz-wins-florida-house-primary/amp/

They're few and far between in the US at the moment, but here's a story about guinea pigs that'll make you smile...

https://apnews.com/article/guinea-pigs-rescue-massachusetts-dde3e1fe3f63319db70689326a28245f

AP NewsHundreds of guinea pigs fill Massachusetts sanctuary with squeals, purrs and lots of loveKimie Smothermon runs the Guinea Pig Sanctuary in Salisbury, Massachusetts, caring for nearly 400 guinea pigs.

Today's episode is a real gem.

In 1985, four young American musicians travelled to Moscow with saxophones, sheet music, and a secret plan. They were members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band - talented, idealistic, and completely untrained in espionage. Yet under the watchful eye of the KGB, they embarked on a covert mission to smuggle information out of the Soviet Union and help Jewish Refuseniks escape oppression. Their hotel rooms were bugged, they were tailed by police, and every conversation carried risk. But through music, coded messages, and sheer nerve, they succeeded.

Forty years later, one of the Klezmer musicians is telling their remarkable story. So today, I'm joined by Merryl Goldberg - currently a Professor in the School of Arts at California State University San Marcos, but she was also the saxophonist and cipher-creator for the KCB quartet that entered the Soviet Union - and her co-author Vince Houghton, Director of the National Security Agency's National Cryptologic Museum and the former Historian and Curator of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.

Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-did-four-american-musicians-outwit-the-kgb/id1690975615?i=1000783964008

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/57mlJKU6nBWeILKvWRGQ8c?si=35255823c6ab4fc6

Get the book: https://a.co/d/03zPgb9j

I'm planning the next few months of Study Notes episodes, so I want to know what you want to know.

Is there anything you or your students need a 101 on?

Something you've just always wanted to know but felt too silly to ask?

That's what study notes is for!

All suggestions welcome :)

Hello Team SOTUS! We're rolling out badges, to reward you for getting more involved in the community, sharing stories, and joining the podcast.

From now on, you can see badges next to other members' names, so if you get a bit of FOMO, all you have to do is jump in and participate.

Why not start by commenting below and introduce yourselves, so others can see you and follow you :)

Breaking news! Thoughts and reaction?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvglzrvyrz3o

BBC NewsTrump says Press Secretary Leavitt to leave postLeavitt will depart from her role to spend time with her young children and family, the president says.

This is your weekly CTA to ask a question, leave a comment, or vent your frustration, to be read out on the podcast.

I'm recording tomorrow with Corbin Trent - former comms guy for AOC and Bernie Sanders who now runs his own substack.

Our main story this week - unless something huge drops between now and tomorrow afternoon - will be the Meta fine, and the responsibility of social networks to protect children from harmful content.

On today's In the Making, I'm joined by Sian Round to discuss Todd Blanche, the UFC and climate funding. Listen now! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/in-the-making-putting-the-odd-in-todd-blanche/id1690975615?i=1000780156772

A race to keep your eyes on. I'm particularly interested to see how much Trump tries to leverage Islamophobia to derail his campaign. Thoughts?

https://apnews.com/article/michigan-primary-senate-elsayed-stevens-60c79349b60ffbf24a34d60b76e130ed

AP NewsHow Abdul El-Sayed went from political oblivion to progressive breakthrough in Michigan Senate raceAbdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in a victory for the party’s progressive wing in a battleground state.

I was feeling a little under the weather yesterday, so I've had to postpone the usual Tuesday episode to Wednesday. I know you're all waiting with bated breath...

He did receive the Fifa Peace Prize. Who else could bring peace and unity to world football like DJT?

Ted Cruz's trying-not-to-laugh face is priceless.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZN8eUMVKo/

I like to think SOTUS appears quite a slick production, and for the most it is, which I'm super proud of.

But this evening I've just realised I made a really silly scheduling error.

This week I released an episode on The Beatles with Brian Ward. But I was actually supposed to release an episode on the UN.

Why is this mistake so silly?

Because Tuesday was the anniversary of the day the US ratified the UN charter.

So consider this a spoiler for you all 😆 next Tuesday I will be publishing an episode on the UN with Thomas Weiss. Put it in your diaries!

Here's me looking unimpressed with myself 🔽

France made some shady remarks about the US and authoritarianism, and America didn't like it 😂

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87nj3w9gxjo

BBC NewsUS walks out of UN Security Council meeting during France's remarksThe row sparked after the US joined North Korea and Russia in voting against extending the term of the UN high commissioner for human rights.

Today, Florida becomes the first state in a decade to carry out two executions in a single day. One of those people is an octogenarian - only the second time in modern US history an individual over 80 has been executed.

What are your thoughts on the death penalty?

https://apnews.com/article/florida-execution-duckett-occhicone-4c313a84631ad20a62998f7dd061dbcf

AP NewsSecond octogenarian in modern US history faces lethal injection as Florida set to execute 2 in a dayFlorida is set to put two inmates to death hours apart, marking the first time since 2017 that a state has scheduled two executions in a single day.