#558: The Strenuous President

#558: The Strenuous President

In the first year of his presidency, the press used Theodore Roosvelt's name in connection with the word "strenuous" over 10,000 times. He was known as "the strenuous president," and with good reason: from his youth, TR had lived and preached a life of vigorous engagement and plenty of physical activity.

Today on the show Ryan Swanson, professor of sports history and author of The Strenuous Life: Theodore Roosevelt and the Making of the American Athlete, discusses not only how TR was shaped by what was called "the strenuous age," but how he shaped it in turn by promoting sports, and participating in athletics himself. We begin our discussion with what was going on during the late 19th century that got people interested in what was then called "physical culture." We then turn to the beginning of Roosevelt's introduction to vigorous exercise as a boy, and how he famously decided to make his body. We discuss TR's fitness routine when he went to Harvard, and how his becoming a fan of football there led to him supporting the preservation of the game as president. We then discuss how TR lived the strenuous life while in the White House, and thereby inspired the American public to live vigorously too. We take a fun look at what TR thought of the game of baseball, how he went to a health farm at age 58 to get back in fighting shape, and what kind of exercise and athletics TR would be into if he were alive today.

Get the show notes at aom.is/strenuouspresident.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Avsnitt(1159)

The Winter Mindset: How Norwegians Love the Winter (And You Can Too)

The Winter Mindset: How Norwegians Love the Winter (And You Can Too)

When people think about winter, they often focus on the negatives: the cold, the dark, and the seasonal depression the season can bring. But my guest today questions whether winter really has to be so...

11 Dec 20241h 1min

Undoing Urgency — How to Stop Drowning in Tasks and Start Living With Purpose

Undoing Urgency — How to Stop Drowning in Tasks and Start Living With Purpose

Feeling overwhelmed by an endless to-do list? Like you're constantly putting out fires but never getting ahead? You're not alone. Many people today feel like they're drowning in urgency — filling ever...

9 Dec 202456min

What Sports Betting Is Really Doing to Players, Games, and Fans

What Sports Betting Is Really Doing to Players, Games, and Fans

Sports gambling has exploded in America. You can't watch a game today without being bombarded by ads from betting companies, often co-branded with the major sports leagues themselves. It's a dramatic ...

4 Dec 202444min

Achieve Peak Performance by Learning to Shift the Gears of Your Mind

Achieve Peak Performance by Learning to Shift the Gears of Your Mind

The Industrial Revolution changed the nature of work, so that many people labored in factories, continuously performing the same task, at the same pace, for the duration of their shift.Two centuries o...

2 Dec 202450min

Flying, Hosting, Regifting, and More — All Your Holiday Etiquette Questions Answered

Flying, Hosting, Regifting, and More — All Your Holiday Etiquette Questions Answered

In an age where a lot of formalized decorum has vanished, the holidays are still a time with rules, traditions, and unspoken expectations. It's also a time of heightened social interactions and increa...

27 Nov 202453min

Rich Mind vs. Poor Mind — A Psychologist’s Guide to Building Wealth

Rich Mind vs. Poor Mind — A Psychologist’s Guide to Building Wealth

Many people think becoming wealthy is all about having the right job, inheritance, or just lucky breaks. And those things can certainly give you a leg up. But according to my guest, the biggest key to...

25 Nov 202440min

Tribal Runners, Weekend Warriors, and Our Changing Relationship to Endurance Sports

Tribal Runners, Weekend Warriors, and Our Changing Relationship to Endurance Sports

Endurance activities, like distance running, have existed since ancient times. But humans' relationship to those pursuits has changed, according to time and place. In the West, we've currently turned ...

20 Nov 202451min

What's Behind the Rise of Parent-Child Estrangement?

What's Behind the Rise of Parent-Child Estrangement?

These days, you hear more and more about parents and adult children being estranged from each other. Some individuals have even decided to go "no contact" with their parents; they don't want anything ...

18 Nov 202456min

Populärt inom Utbildning

rss-bara-en-till-om-missbruk-medberoende-2
historiepodden-se
det-skaver
alska-oss
nu-blir-det-historia
harrisons-dramatiska-historia
not-fanny-anymore
johannes-hansen-podcast
rss-viktmedicinpodden
rss-foraldramotet-bring-lagercrantz
allt-du-velat-veta
roda-vita-rosen
sektledare
sa-in-i-sjalen
i-vantan-pa-katastrofen
rss-max-tant-med-max-villman
rss-psykoterapipodden
rikatillsammans-om-privatekonomi-rikedom-i-livet
rss-sjalsligt-avkladd
rss-om-vi-ska-vara-arliga