From the Kitchen Table: The Duffys - Bringing American History To Life with Raymond Arroyo

Episode Date: October 5, 2023

Sean and Rachel are joined by FOX News Contributor and New York Times Best-Selling Author Raymond Arroyo as they discuss the Pope's address to the Clinton Global Initiative and the message that it sends to Catholics around the world. Later, Raymond shares stories from his new children's book The Magnificent Mischief Of Tad Lincoln, and talks about the importance of reading and teaching children about America's history Follow Sean & Rachel on Twitter: @SeanDuffyWI & @RachelCamposDuffy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Landman, new series now streaming exclusively on Paramount+. Hey everyone, welcome to From the Kitchen Table. I'm Sean Duffy, along with my co-host for the podcast, my partner in life, and my wife, Rachel Campos Duffy. Oh, today at the kitchen table, we're inviting an old friend. Some people don't know how good of friends we are with Raymond Arroyo, but we've known each other for many, many, many years. Our families have actually vacationed together. We've known each other for many, many, many years. Our families have actually vacationed together.

Everyone knows him at Fox and loves him. But he's also an acclaimed, well-known journalist. He has a show, a long-running show, The World Over Live on EWTN. And, of course, he appears so often on The Laura Ingraham Show and all over the network. And we love having him at the Pop Culture Roundup on Fox and Friends especially. Having him at the Pop Culture Roundup on Fox and Friends especially. And it's Raymond Arroyo, cultural critic. I don't know, entertainer extraordinaire. How else do you like to be referred to?

Disruptor. Cultural disruptor. Cultural disruptor. I love it. But I'm so glad. I love it. I'm at the dining room table. You're at the kitchen table. So it's kind of a, we're all broadcasting from home. So this is fun. So it's kind of a we're all broadcasting from home.

So this is fun. Yeah, I like that. We are all broadcasting from home. And so we're going to have you on to talk about a lot of things, including your new book, because I love this series that you have for kids. And I've always loved that you've always made room in your very busy schedule to write for kids because there's such a gap. There's such a vacuum of great stuff for kids. You have bestselling books for young readers, for any child. And right now you're on a series about kids. You just did one on Edison, Thomas Edison. Now you're doing one on Tad Lincoln,

Abraham Lincoln's 12-year-old son. We're going to talk about that. But before we get to that, let's just talk pop culture a little bit here, and also politics. Because the Pope is somebody, you know, you cover this a lot on EWTN, and you're one of the brave voices who's called out a lot of things that so many of us Catholics have felt about the Pope. And this past week, Pope Francis was the I literally thought this was a lie when I read it, but it turned out to be true that he was the Babylon Bee. I did. I thought it was the Babylon Bee, but it wasn't. It looked like the Babylon Bee, actually. It looked like a Babylon Bee, actually. It did. Pope Francis opened the whole conference for the Clinton Global Initiative. They're now, you know, got their fingers in the whole Ukraine pot.

They have four pillars. Raymond, abortion, I think population control. I mean, everything that supposedly Catholics are are not for. and now the Pope's the opening speaker. What do you make of this? How did this happen? How do these things come to be? Well, look, it's perplexing, and it does boggle the mind. Months before this joint appearance, Bill Clinton visited the Pope at the Vatican. Now, the question is, why can't Cardinal Raymond Burke or Cardinal Zan, the freedom fighter in a very holy bishop in Hong Kong, why can't these men get audiences with the Pope? But Leo DiCaprio and Bill Clinton seem to

have no problem getting in. That's my first and most important question, okay? And again, I'm not a critic of the Pope. I ask questions, Rachel, uncomfortable questions, but they're questions that need to be asked. And you look at this and you go, how can the pope open a conference that is so at war with the very values that the Catholic Church espouses and that this pope has articulated? So it is confusing watching this, and I guess most disheartening for me anyway, watching it. I thought, when you have to wait for Bill Clinton to cite the scriptures, you know you're in trouble. And he was the only one who mentioned, I think it was Isaiah. You know, and he congratulated the Pope. And his great gift is that he makes everyone else feel empowered.

Well, that's not the role of the Pope. You know, the Pope's role is to protect the doctrine of faith, to protect the teachings of Jesus, and to make sure that those remain pure going through time. That's his job. That's it. It's a very limited job description. He doesn't have to do anything but that. So questions do arise when you see this kind of affiliation in the Pope on the big screen and Bill Clinton, of all people, sitting there, you know, with the ghost of Monica Winskey floating over his head. It's a question. It is. And so, Raymond, you said that the Clinton Foundation, which I agree with, their values are at war with the Catholic Church.

But here the Pope goes and speaks, opens the conference for the Clinton Global Initiative. And so it begs the question, really, is the Clinton Foundation's values at war with the Catholic Church, or are they the values under this Pope of the Catholic Church? Because I'm confused. As a Catholic, it becomes very confusing. We know what we believe as good Catholics, but it becomes very confusing for the laity when you have a pope that's doing all of these things that we would agree are contrary to the teachings. Well, and non-Catholics look at this and go, what is happening over there? I know, but possible to explain to our evangelical brothers and sisters.

I'll make this plain for everybody who's watching. Look, the pope's role, St. Peter, for everybody who's watching. Look, the Pope's role, St. Peter is who he sits in the chair. OK, St. Peter was the vicar of Christ. That means when when Jesus rose again, he left Peter in charge of the building of the church, not the building, the church itself. That's his one role. That's all he has to do. He's not Jesus. The pope doesn't get to change teaching or remake the teaching or reimagine it. There are no new set of values shown. It's the same values. Now, this pope may want to emphasize something different than other popes, but he's incapable of changing. What is the doctrine of faith? Because Jesus established that. And if it's changeable, well, then the jig is up. Then we're no longer talking about the Catholic faith.

If it's changeable, well, then the jig is up. Then we're no longer talking about the Catholic faith. You know, it's interesting because he's not the first, you know, prominent Catholic figure to speak before the Clintons. Remember, Mother Teresa was invited to some, you know, event or Clinton. Now, wait, wait, wait. I was there. That was that was a that was a prayer breakfast. That was a prayer breakfast. 96 or 7. That wasn't a Clinton. Clinton was president. But Clinton was president and they invited. breakfast that was a prayer breakfast 96 or 7 that wasn't a clinton clinton was no no but but clinton was president and they invited i i no no it wasn't the clinton foundation thank you for correcting that that's absolutely true however every rachel's sully mother teresa

i know i can't protect mama not about my new book i'm selling her i actually if you listen to my story and you were there you know she literally lectured the clintons through her speech at this prayer breakfast she openly talked about abortion how wrong it was um you know why don't you talk a little bit about what you saw there because it was an amazing moment because the clintons were inviting her there trying i think to sort of have some of her saintliness rub off on them and maybe cover up some of their sins, if you will. And yet this very humble little woman went to this prayer breakfast and she was fearless. She was, you know, in the world, but definitely not of the world.

And then she sort of lectured the world. Well, she was a beloved figure, even during her lifetime. Now, of course, St. Mother Teresa. But I remember that day because I was part of the pool of reporters that went to the Washington Hilton. You've both been there many times. We've been there together. You know, that big grand ballroom downstairs. But Mother Teresa was so short and the podium was so high that they didn't have room for me to sit among the invited guests. So I had to sit in the wings. So I was off to the side of Mother Teresa. I could see her from the side. I was the only person along with an AP reporter who was seated in folding chairs in the

wing who actually got to see her because everybody else, all they got was the podium of Mother Teresa like this. She was so short. All you saw was the top of the story. Poor planning on the part of the prayer breakfast. Awful. They had those old microphones that looked like Nerf footballs, three Nerf footballs tied together. So the poor thing was totally obscured. But what she said to them was that abortion was, and I'm paraphrasing, but you can look it up. It's an amazing speech. But it was really a prophetic cry. It wasn't a lecture. It wasn't politics.

She was just saying, look, if if you are willing to allow and permit and encourage the death of innocence, OK, the death of an unborn child, then you are willing to permit the death of anyone you find uncomfortable. And that will bring a hardship upon the nation that embraces this ideal. That's what she said. And you could see the squirming in the seats. Oh, yeah. You were all seated right behind her. It made it make there was a lot of there were a lot of uncomfortable pals that day. But it was it was something to watch this very diminutive, tiny person rattle all of Washington, D.C. before 9 a.m. Pretty incredible.

So I'm sure the Clintons had no fear of being, you know, uncomfortable or squirming when they invited Pope Francis. It's it's really disappointing. We'll have more of this conversation after this. Fox News Radio on demand on the Fox News app. Download the app and just click. Listen, when you swipe left, you can listen to your favorite Fox News talk shows live. Swipe right for the latest Fox News Radio newscasts on demand. Fox News Radio on the Fox News app. Download it today. OK, so let's move on to something else. This past week, Sir Michael Gamdon, he played Dumbledore. Yeah, I believe he was Gandalf also. Right. No, no, that was not Gandalf. And who was

that? No, no, that's that's. Oh, the other great actor. Yes, I know who you're talking. It's not him losing his name. I should know this and I can't remember. It's OK. It's OK. He's Dumbledore. And and everyone knows him from Harry Potter. And Harry Potter, of course, is what is a cultural phenomenon. You know, there's still, you know, lots of attention around the series. I want you to talk about because you're a writer. I want you to jump at the cultural significance of Harry Potter, and then maybe also a little bit about, as a Christian dad, how you feel about that series, because there's a lot of controversy around it

and Christianity. This is the 25th anniversary of Harry Potter, by the way. The book, you know, this week, I think, is the 25th. That long? Wow. So, you know, I am, look, I remember the fervor surrounding the series when it first came out. People were concerned that it would lure kids into witchcraft and, you know, and that there were there were things she was dealing with that were, you know, true to form and, you know, reflected Wiccan beliefs and things.

I'll say this to two things. One, my really my godmother in middle grade children's publishing. My really my godmother in middle grade children's publishing and the woman who bought J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter are the same person. So I will first admit that I'm rather partial to her and her taste. And look, she identified an unknown author who had written this rather sprawling piece about a kid going to a wizard school that nobody would buy. She bought it, brought it to the world through Scholastic. It became a literary juggernaut, and it got kids to read. Suddenly, children were hungry. I mean, you know, we were talking earlier offline about Taylor Swift. This was the literary Taylor Swift.

I mean, millions of children wanted to read where Harry Potter went next, what was going on. And when you step back from the series, you have to say it is about the battle of good and evil. That is what is at play there. It's a kind of archetypal battle that I think she was tapping into. Yes, the world is witchcraft and wizardry, and that has to be considered by parents. But I think in the macro, Harry is obviously a force for good. The chosen one who comes to do battle with this great evil force and dislocates it. So in the macro, it's probably OK, but you leave that to parents.

I always leave it to parents. And I think woe to those who try to disenfranchise parents and tell them no we know better than you do what your child should read watch or or listen to i'm sorry that's a parental role so i'm not going to see to lecture anybody on that but that's the background that i think is uh you you make a really good point ramey because i i look at my kids my own kids who um you know we're not really in reading, right? But they loved Harry Potter. And, you know, if you get one book, one series that you love, you can find a lifelong love of sitting down with a book as it tells you a story or brings you through this journey or brings you through this history. And so I do think that part of it for young readers is really important. And again, as you have a culture that doesn't really support that, this did.

And it was easier to get your own children to engage and read. Get off the screens. And that conversation, you know, guys, the reason I write books for young audiences, I call these picture books family reads, because that's what I'm really interested in. these picture books, family reads, because that's what I'm really interested in. The book is less important than the conversation between the parent, the grandparent, and the child, or the teacher and the child. That conversation brings new light and understanding and deepens the whole literary experience, I think. It's why these stories exist, to deepen our own understanding of the world.

And children need help. Young people need help being guided down that path. So Raymond, we're going to get to your books in just one second. But last week, we had a fascinating conversation. You mentioned before this, we talked about Taylor Swift. Let's actually talk about her on the podcast, okay? Because we had Mark Hemingway come on. And he married Molly Hemingway. We see her a lot on Fox. come on. He married Molly Hemingway. We see her a lot on Fox. He wrote for MTV.com. He's a musician, and he's a music critic. So he wrote this very long piece at The Federalist. It was called Taylor Swift's Popularity is a Sign of Societal Decline. The Swifties, Raymond, lost their minds because someone was speaking negatively about their hero, Taylor. But what he really said was, hey, listen, the creativity in the lyrics, she's all focused on herself. It's all about me,

me, me, my dating. And also the music itself is just repetitive. It's like every song sounds the same, where he would look back to the 70s and 80s, maybe not perfection, but there was a lot of different music and a lot of different ranges. And I'm not a musician, and you are. But he said that just the differences in the music and the artists they'll come up with different music was real compared to this, the same repetitive stuff you get from Taylor Swift. So as a music man yourself do you agree with that do you want the hate of the swifties do you want to speak the truth to the power of taylor swift take it on raymond i'm gonna let you all speak to the power of the power this is what i'm

talking about wait a minute he wants to play switzerland on the Taylor Swift thing. I'm not going to play. This is a man with a musical taste. OK, I'll give you my musical my musical impression of her and my sense as, you know, somebody who's now a vocalist and has done this for years and was trained as an actor. When I see a list with it's not my cup of tea. OK, it's not. But if you listen to my playlist, all the Swifties would probably hate it, too. I'm listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Sinatra and Nat King Cole and Judy Garland. I mean, to me, if you want to hear a woman in full angst, if you want to hear a woman mourning the loss of love, go pull a Judy Garland CD. I mean, this is like the height of American expression. You've got beautiful lyrics.

You know, Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer and Irving Berlin. You're not going to top that. So that's my sense. So, you know, Mark Hemingway is talking about the 70s and 80s. I think that that's a part two compared to the romantic flowering of powerful musical expression and the way the music underscored the lyrics and the heartbreak of the singer on top of it. You don't top that. But Taylor Swift is tapping into a generation or two after us, our daughters and their generation. And look, love has gotten cheaper and smaller and pettier. I mean, that's reality. And I think Taylor Swift is an expression of that.

She's speaking to her age. Now, do I think her lyrics are, you know, do they lift my soul? Do they make me want to run along? No, they don't. But I'm not the demo. I'm not her audience. But she is speaking to love lost. And that is a that is a consistent theme that runs through all of America. Popular music, either love celebrated or love lost. Now, the problem is she just she's in a grievance machine. It's just unhappy, unhappy. I'm I'm I'm upset and I can't stand you. Now, that to me is not the most interesting musical place to be. But if that's where people want to be and they want to go pay thousands and thousands of dollars to see her in an arena on click track, have at it. Yeah, I mean, it's interesting. You really tapped into something really interesting there, Raymond. And that is that the love has gotten smaller and cheaper. So when you heard, like, for example, Loretta Lynn or Tammy Wynette,

they're talking about marriages falling apart, right? Right. And that's not to diminish other relationships. I mean, breakups are hard, you know, but you're right. The stakes are different. And so she has gone through a series of of of boyfriends. But but we're living in, you know, that that culture of, you know, you know, sex and and and what's the word I'm trying to use? No, but there's something else. It's like the selfie culture. Why am I missing this word? It's hookup culture. Thank you.

She reflects hookup culture. That's correct. Listen, I would just encourage everybody, whether you love Taylor Swift or you don't like Taylor Swift, educate yourself broadly on the culture of American music, American popular song. Pull the man that got away. Judy Garland's great classic of Harold Arlen wrote. Compare that to Dear John, OK, which is they're kind of the same song.

One is a majestic, beautiful, incredible lyric that you'll never forget. The other is somebody complaining about the guy walking out on. But they're the same in tone. They're the same song, but you can't compare them or the vocalist. Taylor Swift also has a range from A to A and a half, you know, A sharp, whereas, you know, Garland and other people had two octave ranges. So that drama, the pathos that they can they're capable of, she just can't muster. And it's also very massaged and overworked and run through synthesizers it's just you know it is a particular type of music that appeals to this time but i love taylor swift in the country days to be honest it was i thought it was a lot sweeter a lot nicer

i will say her shows which are wildly wildly profitable on the people i know who have gone they've gone over and over again because they say, just from a performance point of view, that she puts on an amazing show. Yeah, she's a gem. Yeah, no question about it. All right, so we're going to move, we're going to allow you to scathe

by the Swifty attacks that Mark was much more brave in doing for the sake of, you know. He was a little harder on the Pope than Taylor Swift. He's more afraid of the Swifties than he is. I'm not afraid of anybody. I think this in the musical context, and look, she'll never compare vocally.

I mean, to any of the people we've been talking about. I mean, you know, I listen to Frank Sinatra every day. The wee small hours of the morning and all the way. You want to talk heartache? Listen to that. It is real heartache. It's authentic heartache. And I think no matter who you are, no matter what age, it pierces your heart.

You can't escape. And you're like, my gosh, what is this guy going through? Ditto for Garland. You know, you're Ella Fitzgerald. You're right. You missed Elvis Presley. I'm sorry. Elvis Presley is amazing as well.

You mentioned Tammy Wynette. I would also throw Amy Winehouse in. I mean, even Amy had that cry. I mean, you can't compare that to vocally what Taylor Swift's doing. You just can't. It's just not the same. You are an old soul. Old music, old soul, Raymond Arroyo. But. It's just not the same. You are an old soul. Old music,

old soul, Raymond Arroyo. But let's move on to the book, okay? We're going to give you a little, we'll give you somewhat of a pass on Taylor Swift. You have your series. It's the Turnabout series, which again, I love that you're writing books for young readers and for families to talk about. As Rachel mentioned earlier in the podcast, you wrote about Thomas Edison. You have a new book coming out about Tad Lincoln and his story, right? So it's the magnificent mischief of Tad Lincoln. Tell us about the book and why you wrote it. Well, you know, as you said,

this is part of the Turnabout Tales series. And whereas Edison was saved by his mother, thrown out of school at eight years old, homeschooled by the mother, she nurtured who would the man that would become the greatest inventor of all time. In this case, you have a father who is saved by his son in some ways. And when I started digging into the story and I stumbled on it, like you, Sean and Rachel, we were in D.C. Every year you see that turkey pardon at the White House. And I said to myself, where did this tradition come from? It is connected to Tad Lincoln and his father, Abraham Lincoln. In fact, I would argue it's a living memorial to them and their relationship as father and son.

So when I found this story, what is the story of that? Well, I don't want to blow the whole thing, but OK, OK, I'll give you the background. The background is this. Tad Lincoln and Tad and Willie Lincoln were the two youngest sons of Abraham Lincoln. They lived in the White House when their father became president. Willie dies of probably scarlet fever in the White House. Tad is left alone. And he and his father become inseparable. Tad had learning disabilities, a cleft palate. He really, he cleaved to his parents, particularly his father. But there were writings about Tad Lincoln where the secretary of Lincoln would say, you know,

this kid was a hellion. They allowed him to run around. He was a mischief maker. He destroyed everything. And I thought to myself, why would Abraham Lincoln allow that to happen? And as you read deeper into the story, and I read wider sources and went to the library in Springfield, I discovered Lincoln needed Tad to be that force of joy. call it a magnificent mischief is Abraham Lincoln would often double over in laughter in the hallway of the White House when Tad would demolish something or make some crack or, you know, pull a prank on him. He needed that moment of joy, that reminder that on the far side of the hell and the chaos that he was living through was joy and normalcy and love. And Tad was the only touchstone of that in his life at that period during the dark days of the Civil War. So that's kind of the backdrop of the story.

And he teaches his son about mercy and forgiveness, which he extended to soldiers and their families. And Tad teaches his father the same lesson, which is, I mean, think about it. You all know this more than anybody. We think we teach our children something. In reality, if you let them be children, if you let them exist and have fun and be the joyful people they were intended to be, they end up grounding us and shaking us from the trash and the crap that we think are important every day. What's important is what they're doing. That's the importance of they being in our lives and we being in theirs. And Abraham Lincoln and Tad Lincoln were no different. It's a great reminder, particularly during the holidays, of the importance. Yeah, you know, I can personally

speak to, you know, not just the spiritual potential of children, but their potential to instruct us on matters of faith. It happens to me all the time where I'm brought back to what life is really about, to what my faith is really about. After observing something my child is doing or having a conversation with them, it truly is extraordinary. You know, the relationship between Tad and Lincoln is so fascinating, and you're so right. They were so close. Raymond, I don't know if you know this story. I talk about it. I give speeches, and I've talked about the relationship between Tad and Abraham Lincoln in a different context.

But this shows you how close they were. So after the Civil War or towards the end of it, when when Richmond finally fell into the hands of the Union of the North, Abraham Lincoln was going to make a trip there. And his war secretary said, you should not go. Do not go. This is way too dangerous. You should not go. Not only did he go against the advice of his war secretary at the time, but he brought Tad with him. Yes. So 12 year old Tad was with him. And the story I tell Raymond about that trip is that when they got there on the shores, there were a bunch of of a group of of of African-American black black people who are now laborers, working, working, now free. And they, and very recently free, right?

Right. And, of course, Abraham Lincoln's a very identifiable person, his height, the hat, you know, the whole deal. And they immediately see him, and they burst into songs of gratitude to Abraham Lincoln. And he stays there and he listens. You can imagine what Tad was thinking of his own father as this group of black laborers are now singing to him. And after he listened to them sing, he gave a short, you know, remarks where he basically said, you know, you are all free and it's a sin that you were robbed of your freedom for so long. He goes on. But but yeah, that he would take his own 12 year old son on a very dangerous trip into into now Richmond. When I when I you know,

you only have 15 or 19 turns in a picture book. You know, they should written picture book. Yeah. only a 15 turn or 19 turns in a picture book you know this you've written picture book yeah um the last image in the picture book you know orson wells used to say you can tell a tragedy from a comedy or a light piece depending on where you draw the curtain okay so we decided to end it with tad lincoln and his father on their way to richmond that's richmond wow and there they are they are well going to i didn't know that the turkey There they are. I didn't know that. I didn't know that. I haven't gotten the book yet. By the way, I have the Thomas Edison book. I've read it multiple times to my children.

My son in particular really loves it. And that was the other thing. You know, there's so much girl power stuff out there right now. I love that you highlighted. And listen, Thomas Edison is for everybody. He's an American hero. But there is something wonderful about this boy, this sort of spirit that he has that so many boys have that, you know, people are always trying to control male energy these days, especially little boy energy.

I see the only one who can't sit still at the table is my son, Patrick. He's seven-year-old. And sometimes my other kids will go, Mom, control him. And I'm like, no, he's a boy. That's what he does. And Thomas Edison was like that. And his mother also refused to harness him in that way

and let him be free and he became who he was supposed to be. And the Lankans are the same. I mean, I opened the book. This book is a lot of fun in particularly the early part. I mean, they're hitching

billy goats to dining room chairs and racing through the East Room during cocktail parties. And Mary Todd Lincoln says, oh, let the boys be boys. They're just having fun. Let them be. Of course, the staff is ripping their hair out. Some of them in historical accounts called Tad a hellion, you know, completely out of control. But to the Lincolns, he was being a boy and he was a joyful expression of what they felt and what they hoped would happen on the far side of that war. And, you know, Lincoln, now every time I think of Thanksgiving, I'm going to think of Tad and Abraham Lincoln, and I hope everybody who reads this book will. Lincoln, I didn't realize Abraham Lincoln was the

man who issued the proclamation to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. And he did it the same year that he and his son start this national tradition of pardoning the turkey, which you can read about in the book. But in his proclamation, he says he sees this as a season of forgiveness and mercy for the sake of peace and unity. And boy, if we ever needed that as a country, it's today. And so I encourage everybody also, I do highlights of it in the back of the book, that proclamation. It's worth reading, his Thanksgiving proclamation, and how it came out of the lived family experience, which is all of our stories, really. You know, Raymond, was it last year that you wrote the book on the Three

Wise Men, which was fantastic. The year before, yeah. It was wonderful. We still read that to the kids as well as we come into the Christmas season. Wonderful book, bringing this biblical story to life for young readers. But to Rachel's point on what you're talking about, to life for young readers. But to Rachel's point on what you're talking about, Thomas Edison and Tad Lincoln, again, we're bringing in young readers, like we talked about Harry Potter. We're talking about a family conversation. But what is lost today is history, Raymond. There's been this shunning of history. We don't want to teach our kids in schools history. And if we do teach them, it's a fake and false history of this country. And in a small way, your books are maybe bringing history alive again for young readers that might inspire them to go, you know what? I actually like this. I should read more about history and find out what really happened in this country. Who

are some of the great leaders and great thinkers? and I want to read about their lives. And so that's also a really important point for a young reader to get this taste of history and really enjoy it. Well, that's what the whole Turnabout Tales series is about. I wanted to focus on great American lives, but young great American lives, so kids could see themselves. And, you know, our motto for the series Turnabout Tales is challenges faced, decisions made, history turned. And that's what happens in every one of these young, incredible lives, but also in our own lives. And it's important to remind kids, obstacles are not the end of your journey. They're the beginning of your destiny and your calling. the end of your journey. They're the beginning of your destiny and your calling. That's what they are. And in the case of Edison, Tad Lincoln, my next Turnabout Tales book, all of these moments

of crisis and obstacles are really just challenges that I think God has put in your path to orient, turn you toward your calling. And it's important to remind kids of these historic figures because the lessons there, they never get old. And it's the same challenges we face. Do you talk about young Tad, young Thomas Edison? What was young Raymond like? A lot like young Tad and young Edison, rambunctious, talking out of turn in school. I still do this stuff. Nothing has changed. You know, I would finish my work in class and talk to the girl behind me, or I'd start singing in class. All the things I continue to do now.

So my parents, thank goodness, they obviously disciplined me. They sent me to a very tough school run by the Christian Brothers here in New Orleans. But they learned to channel that that, you know, fervor and excitement and move it into a way that would be productive. But they didn't crush my spirit. They never did that. And it's a good lesson to us. Rebecca is very good about that. I know you're the same with your children. You have to let them find their way a little bit. And I love that both Mrs. Edison, as well as the Lincolns, did that with their children. And that too is an important lesson. And you all, I mean, the way you've loved Valentina and she has loved you is also such a beautiful example of just

what the tab Lincoln book is all about. But it's also the opposite. It's also the opposite of what we're doing to boys. We're, we're actually medicating boys who have energy and imagination in a way that that's actually, I mean, I think it's a national crisis.

We have a culture Raymond that's pushing these boys down. And I think this is a good reminder for parents. You are the educator and you are the one who's going to rear this little one. Don't put them in any place where they're going to have their spirit crushed. And let their spirit run free in your home. Again, get a little crazy and get a little wild. You want to raise good kids, but don't crush the spirit. And if you send them to a school where they're want to raise good kids, but don't crush the spirit. And if

you send them to a school where they're trying to do that, get them out, try to get them somewhere else. Because again, without Mrs. Edison, what would have happened to Thomas, right? If you didn't have this woman who allowed him to thrive and grow and be a little boy, you wouldn't have the light bulb maybe, I don't know. We'd be in the dark and talking with a bullhorn. That's where that's right. But the thing but, you know, it's to bring this full circle to what Rachel was talking about earlier, Mother Teresa. When I when I finished this book and read it, I thought, you know, Mother Teresa had a line and she told it to me one day when I was interviewing her. She said, because I was struck by the way we were talking over here, it was the day Princess Diana was coming to visit her house in the Bronx. And we were at the house

and walking into the, and Princess Diana's in the house, by the way, okay, the nun's residence there. And we get out of the car and I was right behind them. And Mother Teresa stops and she crosses the street and she picks up this little baby this lady was holding. And when she came back across the street, I said, what did you, you know, what do you do? Why did you stop everything and go embrace this baby? She said, children are a sign that God hasn't abandoned us. And when I read this story i think whether abe lincoln articulated it that way or not his one remaining child in the house was a sign that god had not abandoned him or the country or the country the memorial that they created together the white house turkey

part i'm going to start crying is a is really a living tradition of that love between the father and the son that reaches all of us and should reach us. And I think it's an important story for families to encounter and to and to embrace because it will deepen. It will deepen your Thanksgiving and your holidays and hopefully your humanity a little bit. We'll have more of this conversation after this. Yeah, I love that, Raymond. I love it, too. The healing that the country

needed at that time. Yeah. It has so much to do with what was going on even in the, you know, the drama in the family. Yeah.

The drama in the country. Right. And then rising above to go, let's bring everyone together. I think it's important that you talk about the forgiveness

that he was an example of in trying to unify the country. Fascinating story for kids. As we think through this conversation, I do think it is so important, Raymond, that we have these stories told that are healthy, they're heartfelt, and you can read them with your family. There's so many stories today that we're reading about in American libraries and school libraries, they're not. You can't even read them at school boards, Sean, without blushing. So you can sit around. But this does come back to your own family, Raymond, I really do believe that, is that you can sit around together and you can share a book and a conversation. And we always talk about how important dinners are together because you do get that conversation, but you also get it from a shared book. And I

think you've done a lot to bring families closer. And I think that's wonderful. I was just saying, Raymond, it's so important to like, Sean talked about the dinner table. We talk a lot about the dinner table, but there is something magical. In fact, I interviewed a woman who wrote The Golden Hour, which was what she talked about. I want to remember Megan Copsturden, a dear friend of the Wall Street Journal. Great book. It's a great book. It talks about what happens to families, to children's brain development, all of that from reading aloud. Last night, I was, you know, I should have been preparing for my post-debate analysis. And I was reading to my kids a book named Shiloh, which I think is a beautiful book as well about a little dog.

Shiloh, which I think is a beautiful book as well about a little dog. But, you know, reading with your family is another lost thing. Sean, you have such beautiful stories about your mom reading to you, the whole family even. We used to sit down at my house, Raymond. They had no TV. We had no TV. And so if someone, whether it was Where the Red Fern Grows or if it was The

Hobbits. The Lord of the Rings? The Lord of the Rings series. We have a number of stories. By the way, Where the Red Fern Grows, people are getting up and walking out to the kitchen and crying because they didn't want to cry. Everyone just sees them crying.

At the end, it was Old Dan Dies and then the land comes up They didn't want everyone to see them cry at the end. It was old, old, old, old, old Dan dies. And then the land comes up after. And anyway, beautiful, beautiful stories. But again, a really fond memory of my family meeting together. And I think we want to make sure we keep it alive for today's family. And you're doing such a service because there is such a vacuum for good children's literature. I tried to do my little bit.

Raymond, you helped me through that process. But you are doing it on a much grander scale. And I'm super, super proud of you for what you've done. I mean, really, I think it's a service to American families. And I hope this story, I hope people get it. We're coming upon that season. On that point, Raymond, I guess I don't have a copy yet, as evidenced by the fact that you had to show us the last page. So, Raymond, when can we actually get the book? We want to read it. We haven't got a copy yet. Is it out?

Sean Duffy, do you have a Barnes & Noble in your neighborhood? Walk down the street. My copy is out right now. It's available now, but I'm bringing you your own copy signed and inscribed to all the Duffys when I'm in New York. And I look, it's one of the only covers you'll ever see Lincoln laughing. I told my illustrator I want because this is historic.

They used to say he would double over in name laughter whenever Tad was in the room. And I'll give a little spoiler alert. You can mute us for this little thing. But it is is the turkey pardon came after his brother died. Tad befriended this turkey that they brought to the White House. He taught her tricks. He walked it on a leash. They bonded. He even named it after a playmate. Christmas comes. They collect the turkey to naturally make it the centerpiece of the dining room table dinner. And Tad freaks out. He takes the turkey upstairs.

He barges into his father's cabinet meeting and he demands that his father pardon the turkey. And Abraham. That really happened. Yes. Abraham Lincoln listens to the argument. And out of the mercy that Tad had seen him offer to soldiers and the South and the country, he pleads on that same mercy to spare his turkey. And Lincoln does it. And we still do that tradition today. It's such an incredible, I mean, it is an incredible story. You know, my mom, Raymond, you know, my mom, she's going to love this story because she's really upset because sean and i ordered a pig to be slaughtered for the home and she would and my mom's such an animal activist she loves animals and um she's very upset that we that we um that we're doing that we had a we had a lamb last year and lambskin sits in the living room so my mom's not happy about that. She would like a tad pardoning for all of our animals.

Only tofu at the Doofy's table? I don't think so. Yeah, everyone go out and get this book. What a wonderful way to bring in the holidays. They're upon us. I'm already seeing Halloween decorations out. So that means Thanksgiving's around the corner. What a beautiful way to bring in the holiday,

to truly understand the meaning of it. By the way, great idea to buy two copies, one for you and one for the school that your child's in, because every teacher is looking for a great story to read, one that also has some historical significance. It's based on a true story and nieces and nephews, nieces and nephews. You don't have to. Yeah, it's a wonderful way to do that. And, you know, if you go to Raymond Arroyo dot com, I'm also I have some tour dates. I'm going to Nashville and New Orleans and Florida, Orlando, and I'm all over the place. So come and see me. I'll sign your books as well. That's for the book. Can we also tease what you're doing musically?

We talked a little bit about about music at the beginning when you were too cowardly to take on the swifties but you are but you are gonna take on um jose feliciano so let's talk about that what's happening with that yeah well it's called christmas merry and bright uh it's a new christmas album i wanted to do something like this a long time i and you all know I've sung on my EWTN show every Christmas with Andy Williams and Johnny Mathis and Jose, Aaron Neville. But I never thought of recording anything. And an executive came to me and said, would you do a Christmas album? And I said, no. And then they called me again and said, if we get this orchestrator, Kevin Koska, who did The Greatest Showman and Jungle Book and all

these incredible things. Would you do it then? I said, OK. So I went back into vocal training. I really haven't sung professionally in 25 years, but went back into vocal training. We had a 20-piece orchestra. Jose Feliciano does a new version of Feliz Navidad. It's at RaymondRoyoChristmas.com.

But as the season draws upon us, I'll come back and we'll talk about that. Raymond, Raymond, can you really quick just tell us, when were you singing? What was this all the singing 25 years ago? In the past? A lot of people don't know about that. I was doing musicals. I was trained as an actor in New York, worked in London. I toured with musicals.

I did Fiddler on the Roof. I did all kinds of stuff. So I did sing in my earlier life. And it's very natural to me. It's not like, you know, it was not, I really felt at home with the orchestra. It was an education because these guys have been playing for 30 and 40 years together. So you just kind of get on the surfboard and ride their wave. Okay. But it was, it was incredible. And I love Christmas music. I love me too.

So I hope people will enjoy it. Raymond Royal, you are an onion. We just keep peeling layers. Oh, there's another layer underneath it. And it's like, we just know,

I thought you were saying in the history of the more you peel, the smellier it gets, but okay. I'll take you. I just find out new things that you can't you can't you can't the whenever you peel one layer there's going to be another remnant or royal layer underneath it i didn't know you sang and the next time you come we're going to have to get you to uh talk about what you think about mariah carey's All I Want for Christmas song. Because that also brings a lot. I'm not saying anything. I love her album. I'm all about that.

I'm all about her. I'm not going to criticize her. Well, Raymond Arroyo, we are playing you. Joining us at the kitchen table. The title of the book is The Magnificent Mischief of Tad Lincoln. It just dropped, so get

it as you come into this holiday season. Get it as a gift as well. A great read. Bring your family around. And one of those magical moments that you share as a family that your kids remember for a long, long time when they're adults as well. So, Raymond Arroyo, always a pleasure. Thank you for being at our kitchen table from your dining room. We love you, Raymond. Thanks for joining us today. Thank you, guys.

See you soon. Okay, take care. If you like a podcast, you can rate, review, subscribe wherever you get your podcast. You can always find us at foxnewspodcast.com. Please subscribe. We drop every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday,

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