Reckoning with Jason Herbert

Two of our earliest guests are back — and 200 episodes later, the conversation is better than ever.

Jason sits down with Emily Contois (Associate Professor of Media Studies at the University of Tulsa and author of *Diners, Dudes, and Diets*) and Mark Johnson (Assistant Professor of History at UT Chattanooga and author of the newly released *American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon*) to dig into the 2022 satirical horror film *The Menu* — and end up covering pretty much everything worth knowing about American food culture along the way.

What starts as a film discussion quickly becomes a wide-ranging conversation about class anxiety and culinary capital, the rise (and fall) of the celebrity chef, the myth of Southern food exceptionalism, why farm-to-table can only exist after industrialization, and what it really means when you pull out your phone to photograph your dinner. They debate who deserves their fate in the film, why the cheeseburger scene might be the most important moment in the whole movie, and whether food can ever truly be "authentic."

Plus: Jose Andres, Anthony Bourdain's complicated legacy, Mario Batali, the bread scene, s'mores as satire, Noma's $1,500 tasting menu, and why gumbo might just be the most American food there is.

*Spoilers throughout — watch the film first.*

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*Emily Contois is on Instagram and Bluesky. Her book Diners, Dudes, and Diets is available wherever books are sold. Mark Johnson's American Bacon is out now — and he'll be back on the pod soon for a dedicated book episode.*

John Quincy Adams is one of those figures who seems to sit quietly in the background of American history — the son of a Founder, a one-term president, a man often overshadowed by bigger personalities. But look closer, and a very different story emerges. After losing the presidency, Adams didn’t fade away. He reinvented himself. He returned to Washington, entered the House of Representatives, and became one of the most relentless and morally uncompromising voices of his generation — especially on slavery.
In his new book America’s Founding Son: John Quincy Adams from President to Political Maverick, Bob Crawford argues that Adams may not just be an important former president — he may be the most consequential ex-president in American history. This is a story about failure, reinvention, and what happens when someone freed from ambition becomes dangerous in the best possible way. It’s also a story about a nation moving from the age of the Founders toward the sectional crisis that would eventually tear it apart.
Today, we talk with Bob Crawford about Adams’s second act, his evolving stance on slavery, his battles in Congress, and why this supposedly minor president might actually be one of the most important political figures of the nineteenth century. We’ll also explore what Adams can teach us about political courage, moral conviction, and the long arc between the American Revolution and the Civil War.
This is a conversation about John Quincy Adams — but it’s also a conversation about what it means to lose power… and finally tell the truth.

What does it mean to fight for your people—not on a battlefield, but in courtrooms, in capitals… and even on the global stage?
In this episode of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, I’m joined by filmmaker and Miccosukee storyteller Montana Cypress to talk about his powerful new film, Becoming Buffalo. At the center of the story is Buffalo Tiger—a man raised in the Everglades who would go on to lead his people into one of the most unlikely diplomatic moments in American history: a meeting with Fidel Castro during the Cold War.
But this conversation goes far beyond the film.
We dig into what it means to be Miccosukee—how culture, language, and community are rooted in the Everglades, and why that landscape is not just land, but lifeblood. We talk about the differences between the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes, the importance of preserving Indigenous language, and the weight of telling a story that many people—even within the community—didn’t grow up hearing. 
Montana opens up about stepping into the role of Buffalo Tiger, the responsibility of representing his people on screen, and the challenge of translating a deeply internal, cultural story to broader audiences. And along the way, we explore a larger truth:
Some of the most important battles in Native history weren’t fought with weapons—but with strategy, diplomacy, and an unshakable commitment to sovereignty. 
This is a story about identity. About survival. And about what it means to carry culture forward in a modern world.
If you’ve ever wondered about the real history of Florida, the Everglades, or Native sovereignty in America—this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

In this episode of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, I’m joined by historian Megan Kate Nelson to talk about her new book The Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier—and why the frontier myth refuses to die.
We dig into the stories of seven people who lived the West in real time—Indigenous women, Black frontiersmen, Chinese migrants, and white settlers—and how their lives complicate the familiar narrative of pioneers and progress.
Along the way, we explore:
 The origins of the frontier myth and why it still shapes American identity 
 Figures like Sacagawea and Jim Beckwourth—and the messy, human realities behind the legends 
 Why cities like Denver were central to the making of the West 
 How race, gender, and power determined who got written into history—and who didn’t 
 What these stories reveal about land, belonging, and conflict in America today 
This is a conversation about myth, memory, and the stories we choose to tell—and the ones we’ve ignored for far too long.
If you think you know the West, this episode might change your mind.

What if time travel wasn’t about discovery—but control?
In this episode of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, we dive into the 1994 sci-fi action film Timecop—a quintessential 90s blockbuster starring Jean-Claude Van Damme that blends time travel, political corruption, and high-octane action into something far more revealing than it first appears.
Joining me are Reckoning stalwarts and my great friends, historians Robert Greene II and John Wyatt Greenlee. Together, we explore what Timecop tells us about the 1990s—an era shaped by anxieties over government power, deregulation, and the growing sense that the past itself could be weaponized.
We talk about:
How Timecop reflects 90s fears of political corruption and unchecked authority
The idea of “policing time” and who gets to control history
Where Van Damme fits in the action hero pantheon
Why a film built on spectacle still raises meaningful historical questions
This episode is part of our ongoing Historians At The Movies series, where we use film as a lens to think more deeply about history, culture, and the stories we tell ourselves about both.
🎧 If you enjoy conversations that bring together history, film, and sharp cultural insight, make sure to follow, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts—it helps more people find the conversation.