The Gilded Age and Progressive Era3 Dec 2025

109: Best of: The Allure of Empire

While Cathleen and I are working on new content for the podcast—lots of great episodes are on the way—we’re also taking time to revisit some of Michael’s excellent past interviews.

For my second “best of” pick, I chose Episode 54, The Allure of Empire, which first aired on July 4, 2023. In this episode, Michael talks with historian Chris Suh about his award-winning book The Allure of Empire: American Encounters with Asians in the Age of Transpacific Expansion and Exclusion. Suh’s work invites us to rethink the Gilded Age and Progressive Era through the lens of empire—tracing how U.S. expansion in the Pacific intertwined with racial exclusion and the politics of belonging at home.

It’s a rich, thought-provoking conversation that shows how the legacies of the Gilded Age still shape America’s place in the world today.

We hope you’ll enjoy (re)listening as much as we did—and, as always, we’d love to hear which past episodes have been your favourites!

Essential Reading:

Chris Suh, The Allure of Empire: American Encounters with Asians in the Age of Transpacific Expansion and Exclusion (2023).

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124: A Workplace of their Own: Rockefeller, Roche, and Labor's Battle Over Industrial Democracy

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123: Magic Lantern Art with Terry Borton

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122: The History and Legacy of Anthony Comstock and the Comstock Laws Part 1

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121: Speed Capital: Indianapolis Auto Racing and the Making of Modern America

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120.5 OAH Conference Sampler

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120: Theodore Roosevelt and the Tennis Cabinet

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119: Old Women, Race, and Power

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22 Apr 1h 4min

118: Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress -- And How to Bring it Back

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8 Apr 1h 3min