June 25, 2025

MM#419--The Threads That Bind Us: Why Understanding the Civil War Matters Today

FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message What do you do when you discover a treasure that's transforming how Americans understand their own history? You break the rules and celebrate it. That's exactly what this special episode of Theory to Action does by highlighting "Threads from the National Tapestry: Stories from the American Civil War," a remarkable podcast hosted by historian Fred Kiger. As we approach America's 250th anniversary (a little over a year from now,) un...

FAN MAIL--We would love YOUR feedback--Send us a Text Message

What do you do when you discover a treasure that's transforming how Americans understand their own history? You break the rules and celebrate it. That's exactly what this special episode of Theory to Action does by highlighting "Threads from the National Tapestry: Stories from the American Civil War," a remarkable podcast hosted by historian Fred Kiger.

As we approach America's 250th anniversary (a little over a year from now,) understanding our Civil War has never been more crucial. This conflict wasn't merely a historical episode—it was America's second founding that fundamentally redefined liberty, citizenship, and national identity. While educational institutions increasingly gloss over this pivotal era, Kiger's masterful storytelling brings it vividly to life through meticulously researched monthly episodes available across all major platforms.

The podcast's treatment of often-neglected aspects of the war, like the Western Theater battles, demonstrates its commitment to comprehensive historical understanding. The Battle of Shiloh episode exemplifies this approach—detailing how Albert Sidney Johnston's death weakened Confederate leadership, how the victory cemented Grant and Sherman's crucial friendship, and how it opened the Mississippi River campaign that would eventually split the Confederacy. Through first-person accounts, detailed tactical explanations, and emotional depth, listeners experience history not as distant facts but as human stories with profound consequences that still resonate today.

For the full experience, check out the YouTube channel featuring enhanced visuals with maps and historical photographs. Whether you're a Civil War buff or someone reconnecting with American history, this community-driven podcast supported by dedicated sponsors offers the perfect gateway to understanding the war that remade America. Subscribe today and let Fred Kiger guide you through the threads that form our national tapestry—you'll gain insights that make our shared history feel immediate, relevant, and deeply personal.

Key Points from the Episode:

• "Threads from the National Tapestry" podcast brings Civil War history to life through exceptional storytelling
• Hosted by historian Fred Kiger who has taught Civil War courses for over 20 years
• Monthly episodes available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and YouTube with enhanced visuals
• Battle of Shiloh episode demonstrates incredible research and emotional depth through first-person accounts
• Civil War (1861-1865) ended slavery, expanded citizenship, and reshaped government and economy
• Educational institutions are failing to teach this critical history properly
• The podcast includes a chronological playlist that traces how the war unfolded

Keep fighting the good fight and check out "Threads from the National Tapestry" to better understand the war that remade America.

Other resources:

YouTube chronological podcast playlist here

Want to leave a review? Click here, and if we earned a five-star review from you **high five and knuckle bumps**, we appreciate it greatly, thank you so much!

00:00 - Introduction to Special Episode

01:30 - Why The Civil War Matters

03:19 - Fred Kiger's Storytelling Excellence

06:24 - Battle of Shiloh Episode Analysis

09:03 - Civil War as America's Second Founding

12:45 - Call to Subscribe and Conclusion

WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life.

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Now here's your host, david Kaiser flourishing life.

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Now here's your host, david Kaiser.

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Hello, I am David, and welcome back to another Mojo Minute and welcome back to a special episode as we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States in just a little over a year.

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Today we're going to do something that all the experts tell you not to do when you have a podcast.

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We are going to celebrate another podcast and another group of folks.

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Today we are celebrating the podcast Threads from the National Tapestry, stories from the American Civil War, hosted by historian Fred Kiger.

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Why?

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Because I have been following this group for over a year now and they just, frankly, do incredible work.

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I'm so impressed with Fred and his narration and with the research and the development of the podcast.

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It is, without question, top notch, creme de creme.

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I know what goes into writing and producing a podcast and these guys are the pros pro.

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And the next reason is because for us to truly understand our country, the United States of America, you have to dig into the US Civil War.

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You have to understand it.

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You can't gloss over it.

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You have to understand the arguments, you have to understand the people from both sides, and our country is losing that little by little.

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And this podcast it explains and brings the history to life like you can only do with video and with great narration.

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Ken Burns did it for my generation in the 1980s late 1980s, with the Civil War series.

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This podcast is doing the same thing.

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It is a remarkable podcast that brings the Civil War to life.

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It shows why this conflict was a pivotal moment in our nation's history, why this conflict was a pivotal moment in our nation's history A second founding, if you will that redefined who we were as a country.

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Now this second founding is something we're going to tackle in upcoming episodes, so it's vital that we begin to think about our US Civil War as, in fact, a second founding.

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Through Fred Kiger's storytelling incredible storytelling and the glowing reviews from listeners, I'm sure you will be able to understand, perhaps better than anywhere else, the war's importance and why it's essential listening as we reflect on America's journey.

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You know I'm disappointed more and more that people simply just don't read books anymore.

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They don't want to.

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There's no desire to read and instead of lamenting that fact, I began to produce a podcast.

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It was all about reading books and giving the cliff note versions of those books.

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We're going to continue to do that.

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There's no change there.

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But this podcast really reinvigorates me and gives me hope that the threads from our national tapestry is such good storytelling that if we tell stories that captivating and we reference the books where we're getting the information that some people might go back and want to read that primary source information.

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Read those books, have them on the shelves, share them with others, so that that gives me hope.

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This podcast gives me hope because, like I said, it gets people excited about history, our history, and it's a most important history.

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In fact, our Civil War is a very, very important history and, frankly, our educational institutions are just completely failing.

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Now let me pull back a little bit and we're gonna.

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I'm gonna share with you why, for others, the threads from the national tapestry podcast is so special.

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To start with, fred kiger is a historian who has taught civil war courses for over 20 years.

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He has a gift for making history feel immediate and personal.

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This podcast comes out just monthly.

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It breaks the rule If you got to post every week on YouTube or in a podcast to gain followers.

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That's another reason I like it.

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By the way, his monthly episodes are available on all the platforms Apple Podcasts, spotify, audible, youtube.

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But Fred dives into the people, the battles, the ideas that shape the war, or from listeners on Reddit who were just raving raving about Fred's ability to make complex events accessible, with one person calling his narration phenomenal.

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I happen to agree for turning any aspect of the war into a compelling story.

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The episode of the Battle of Shiloh In just under one hour, fred Kiger nails the battle from all the vantage points.

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I have been to the battlefield in southern western Tennessee, shiloh.

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I've read books on the western theater and about this battle and this podcast episode has incredible research behind it.

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When you begin to dig in the US Civil War you're going to find out the Western theater of the war is often neglected.

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There's many more books written about the Eastern battles all the people in the East versus the West.

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The West is almost neglected.

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That's starting to change a little bit now.

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But when I began to research this podcast, this was one of the first episodes that I came to.

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I listened to and I wanted to see how they treated it and it was just terrific.

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This battle and the importance is underrated, and Kiger nails that Albert Sidney Johnston from the South dies at Shiloh, and the South was very thin in top commanders, so that was a huge loss.

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Kiger understands that nails it.

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This battle really cements the friendship of Grant and Sherman on the Union side.

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That would go out to play pivotal in the rest of the war as Grant comes east.

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With this victory it allowed Grant to go deeper and wider into the Mississippi River Basin and put the western bastion of the Confederacy, vicksburg, on the defensive.

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That was super important.

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And then almost all the reviewers praised the episode for its emotional depth, noting how Fred makes history come alive and relevant.

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And this episode featured many first person accounts.

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You might remember, if you remember, the Ken Burns series where he was able to read letter after letter and that really brought home the personal side of the war.

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For many people, especially in my generation, it was really the first hook for me into the US Civil War was those first person accounts.

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Cager does the same thing in this episode and it's a perfect example of how this podcast, the Threads, brings the human side of war to the forefront, reminding us that the fight for liberty that redefined America was so important and continues to be so important, and why the Civil War is so crucial to understanding America, especially as we near our 250th anniversary.

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You know the war fought from 1861 to 1865 was a defining moment that tested the nation's commitment to liberty and to unity.

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It ended slavery, it expanded citizenship, reshaped our government, reshaped our economy and it made the second founding of our country that was built on top of the ideals of 1776.

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So, fred Kiger, you know, on this episode he details the Ulysses S Grant victory as he goes down to secure the Mississippi River and begins to tackle Vicksburg, boosting Union strength and setting the stage for victory.

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You know, exploring these moments, the podcast shows how the war forged a stronger and more inclusive nation, shows how the war forged a stronger and more inclusive nation.

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The war also reshaped America's economy, creating the free labor system that fueled the growth.

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And Threads also has incredible, just a super number of other episodes In fact I'll direct you to.

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They just came out with, uh, they didn't just come out, it's been there for a little bit, but I would encourage you to start with the playlist in chronological order, because they this podcast has been going for several years years, so they have I think they're up to maybe 40 or 50 episodes now, but they will, uh, they have a playlist that goes in chronological order of how the war uh unfolded and that is just fascinating.

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Well done, guys.

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You listen to your listeners.

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Um, I was seeing that in the comments and they absolutely nailed it.

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So, um, now you can listen to this as a podcast.

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I would encourage you, if you can, to check out the YouTube channel because it features a visualization of maps and photos which just enhances the experience.

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You know.

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Many people have said it brought history to life, like I had mentioned before.

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Now it's supported by sponsors the Badge Maker and the Raleigh Civil War Roundtable Supported by sponsors the Badge Maker and the Raleigh Civil War Roundtable.

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So Threads is a community-driven effort that keeps the war stories alive.

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So, as we prepare for America's 250th anniversary, threads from the National Tapestry is a must-listen podcast or YouTube channel to subscribe to.

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Fred Kiger's episodes, whether on Vicksburg or Shiloh, or the 1864 election, or Sherman's March to the Sea, or the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, or the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, all show why the Civil War and its second founding helps us to redefine liberty and opportunity.

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They invite us to honor the sacrifices that shaped our nation and carry those lessons forward.

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So grab your headphones, subscribe to these guys on Apple Podcasts and Spotify or YouTube.

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Dig into these episodes and let Fred Kiger guide you through the war that remade America and I'm sure you will enjoy, without mention.

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You will enjoy unequivocally, threads from the national tapestry.

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Thank you for listening today and until next time, as always, keep fighting the good fight.

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Thank you for joining us.

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We hope you enjoyed this Theory to Action podcast.

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Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources.

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Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.

MM#419--The Threads That Bind Us: Why Understanding the Civil War Matters Today

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