The Preamble

A warning to anyone engaged in demeaning rhetoric: How do you want to be remembered after you’re gone? Like Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, it’s not too late to change. Plus, Sharon is joined by political and...

Before railroads, revolutions, or even the idea of America itself, one animal with a grudge against running water built the foundations of our country. The beaver didn’t just shape rivers — it shaped history, and even...

Even the Founding Fathers had their doubts about the future of the country, but Benjamin Franklin chose to see its promise. We’ll explain how one chair gave him the answer he was searching for. Plus, Sharon talks with...

Meet the Irish immigrant who used fireplace tongs to fight a member of Congress, was thrown in jail for insulting a president, and ultimately changed the course of American history. Plus, Sharon talks with powerful...

Welcome to unPAUSED, the podcast where bold, unfiltered conversations take place about what it really takes for women to thrive in the second half of life. Every week, Dr. Mary Claire Haver, a board-certified...

It’s not something you’ll read about in most history books. Sharon tells the remarkable story of Florence Hall and her Women’s Land Army: the women who took over the farming jobs American men left behind when they went...

A shocking phone call after a routine medical exam. Despite no symptoms, Sharon’s husband had advanced kidney disease and he would die without a transplant. She shares the deeply personal story of a stranger saving...

Five centuries ago, Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press shattered the barriers to knowledge. Today, AI is doing the same. Sharon takes you on a journey into history that is strikingly similar to where we are today...

Welcome to the very first episode of The Preamble! Sharon kicks things off with a conversation with New York Times bestselling author Ryan Holiday to chat about his new book, Wisdom Takes Work. Ryan shares how reading...

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...

Though Hannah Van Buren died nearly twenty years before her husband’s presidency, her life reflected the sweeping historical forces of early America. Sharon unpacks the Dutch roots of New Amsterdam (today’s New York)...

Despite being one of Sharon’s least-favorite Presidents, she explores the lifelong, and at times scandalous, love and devotion between President Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel. It's a story of a First Lady who...

Stepping into the White House at the close of the Founding Fathers’ era, London-born Louisa Adams became the nation’s first foreign-born First Lady. In an age of prosperity shadowed by growing political strife, she...

With every episode, Lena Dunham and Alissa Bennett take you on a historical deep dive into the life of a woman society dismissed by calling her mad, sad, or just plain bad: Lindsay Lohan, Judy Garland, Winona Ryder...

Sharon delves into the fascinating yet often overlooked life of Elizabeth Monroe. As First Lady, her health struggles and preference for formality set her apart, leaving a unique legacy that redefined White House...

It’s time to meet the woman who set the gold standard for the role of First Lady. With her natural charm and lively spirit, Dolley Madison hosted countless gatherings for Washington’s elite, turning social events into...

Thomas Jefferson’s wife Martha died nearly twenty years before he took office, yet history still lists her as an official First Lady. Jefferson never remarried, but two very important women supported him through his...

Today, we’d call them the ultimate power couple. Abigail Adams, one of America’s most beloved First Ladies, sets sail across the Atlantic to join her husband, John, in the glittering city of Paris. But their story...

Sharon takes us into the intertwined lives of the two women who shaped Aaron Burr. Their stories reveal brilliant minds, an unquenchable hunger for knowledge, the griefs of motherhood, and the weight of untimely...

Sharon explores the life of America’s first First Lady, Martha Washington, highlighting the many ways she shaped her family, the presidency, and the nation itself. Though the formal title of “First Lady” didn’t yet...

Imagine being a Pulitzer Prize winning presidential historian, knowing you had extraordinarily rare primary source material and Presidential memorabilia tucked away in the cellar of your own home… and not opening it for...

In a time when division often makes the headlines, what truly binds us together? Sharon sits down with Yale constitutional law professor Akhil Reed Amar to explore why the U.S. Constitution remains a powerful force in...

What would it take to update the Constitution and should we try? Sharon is joined by former Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold to explore this question from his book, The Constitution in Jeopardy. Together, they unpack the...

With approval ratings of The Supreme Court at a historic low, what can Congress and the average American citizen do to hold the court accountable, and foster transparency? Sharon welcomes law professor Stephen Vladeck...

When we know a loved one is about to die, how can we best hold space for them in the in-between? Sharon is joined by Hadley Vlahos, RN, who has written a bestselling book, The In-Between, about her experiences working...