The Eric Metaxas Show - Jane Cook (Encore)

Episode Date: July 8, 2024

The Submarine & The Spies is a new book from author Jane Hampton Cook, detailing the story of 3 historical figures that helped shape the American revolution. 

Folks, welcome to the Eric Metaxus show, sponsored by Legacy Precious Metals. There's never been a better time to invest in precious metals. Visit legacy p.m.investments.com. That's legacy p.m.investments.com. Did you overhear the expression, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Well, when Eric Metaxus was little, he had his own lemonade stand. And he sold so much lemonade, he became rich beyond his wildest dreams. Now he's able to do whatever he wants.

And he's now the host of a big time radio show. Welcome the guy who's so lemony sweet, Eric Matt, Texas. Folks, welcome to the program. My Joy, to speak to Jane Cook. Or is it Jane Hampton Cook? Jane, what do you prefer? Jane Hampton Cook is good for Amazon. Otherwise, you click Cook Cookbooks.

If you just do Jane Cook. There's a thousand Jane Cooks, right. Jane Hampton Cook. Jane Hampton Cook is the author of many books, no cookbooks among them. Jane Hampton Cook is also, apart from being an author and a cultural commentator, a presidential historian. Let me start there with you because I want to talk to you about some of these children's books that you've written. But when you say you're a presidential historian, we'll give us some context on that. Sure.

Well, I worked as a webmaster for President George W. Bush, his first two years of his presidency and then before that as governor. And I discovered that history was the most popular section of the website for the White House and that people would come and it was bipartisan. It didn't offend anyone back then. It does now. But, you know, and so I ended up writing books about John Quincy and Louisa Adams, James and Dolly Madison. And so I wrote these really big books about presidents and their wives and started doing, you know, cultural commentary along the way. Well, I love that. And so now you've done a whole raft of children's books. Some people know that I have written many children's books. I think it's 30 or 31 by now over the years. And I think it's very important that we communicate good ideas, great ideas, history to kids. So what are some of the books that you have written kids' books? Sure. So the series is called Revolutionary Readers for America's 250th. And in two years, America will turn 250 years old.

What? Yes. Get out of here. Really? 26. No, she talks about that. I think about that sometimes. So I'm kidding that I didn't know it. But honestly, it's like we're living in times that are so anti-patriotic, so broken that we're not celebrating this. I mean, I remember when the bicentennial was happening, people like over a year. in advance we're talking about the bicentennial, the bicentennial, they couldn't stop talking about it. The idea that we're coming up on 250 years, like, wow, in two years from now, that's a big deal. So keep going. Yeah. So I discovered that on this, there's a step into reading category for children's books, but there were no books in this category about the flag or patriotism. There were a couple books about Ben Franklin, and that was it. And so I wanted to write this series to talk about

patriotism and scale the books to different, you know, reading levels so that children can learn basic things about the flag. And so the first book is my American flag. It rhymes kind of like Dr. Seuss, and you learn about the flag. It's good for a first grader. And then we have the lyrics to America the beautiful for the second graders. And then the pledge to the flag for third. And then my country tizabeth is the fourth one. And that's for, you know, fourth grade readers. So whatever age, you know, might have elementary-aged children and some in the sear trees for them. Folks, if you're just tuning in, I'm talking to Jane Hampton Cook. Jane Hampton Cook.

The website is janecook.com. So, Jane, I love the idea that you are introducing these patriotic ideas, American history, to little kids that are just learning to read. I don't, you know, even though I've written a lot of kids' books in various, at various levels, frankly. I don't remember that level you described. What do you call it? Entering reading or something?

Steps into reading or I can read. And the books are numbered one to four based on the reading level. And there were just running any books about the flag in this category. And so that's why I decided to write this series. And so you said it kind of has this happy rhyme like Dr. Seuss. Do you remember any of the rhymes from your book? my American flag can be big. It can be tall.

It can be low. It can be small. And then you're seeing different pictures of the flag, you know, flying at half staff, being on top of a mountain. And then, you know, the flag can make us feel glad. Sometimes it makes us feel sad, such as Memorial Days. It's a great way to explain what that is to young children. But then it makes us proud. And because it makes us proud, we want to chant USA out loud.

So only the first one rhymes. The rest of them. I've written a lot of children's books that rhyme, and I have these random verses in my head of stuff that I wrote. The dumbest one I should share. Now, I wrote a book called The Birthday ABC, and then I wrote a book called The Bible ABC. I don't think people can find unless they go on eBay or something,

but the Bible ABC, I wrote, S is for Samson, whose hair held his strength, provided it grew to a certain length. So it's good to be clean-cut and handsome, but not to be clean cut and Samson. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. You've been a great audience. The birthday, the Bible ABC by Erkin Taxes,

impossible to find. But the birthday ABC is a little bit more, a little easier to find. Children's books are so delightful. Again, the fact that I've written over for 30 of them, I love children's books and classic children's books, rhyming children's books, all kinds of children's books. So you have written one recently about a submarine

I want to talk to you about that eventually. What do you want to talk about that right now? I don't want to cut you off and talking about the series. We can talk about it maybe in a second. Revolutionary Readers is the series that we're talking about. Jane Hampton Cook, revolutionary readers, if people want to find that. Yes. And so there's several books in the series, and one is just simply the America the Beautiful.

It's the lyrics to America the Beautiful set to really beautiful pictures. so a child can learn the lyrics to that song. And then we have a book on, I have a book on the pledge to the flag, which is the story behind the Pledge of Allegiance. And it shows you, you know, how that came about. And then another book is just, it's my country tithy,

and it's for a little older reader, it's the verses to my country tithy, but I have facts in between the verses where you learn when the song was first sung. And, you know, I learned in researching this that children sang my country tisipy in thousands, thousands of children gathered in Tennessee after the Civil War, and they did the same thing in New York.

And you realize that these patriotic songs meant something to Americans that brought healing to people after the Civil War. And so when was my country tisity? I don't know anything about that song, but when I was a kid, we sang that every morning, every morning in the Greek Orthodox parochial school that I went to, we sang my country tis of the every morning. Just think about how beautiful that is.

And this was, you know, or, you know, in the early 70s. But my goodness, in a Greek Orthodox parochial school, we saying that instead of the Star-Spangled banner, I guess, because, you know, that's too difficult. We did the pledge. So I want to, so how did those two things you just referred to, the pledge and my country just they had, how did they come about? So my country, Tizafi, was first sung on Independence Day, July 4th, 1831.

It was a group of children, a children's choir sang it at a church. And then it took off. The lyrics were published in newspapers, and then it took off. And it became a go-to song. And then the Pledge of Allegiance was thought about by Francis Bellamy in 1892, because he saw all these immigrants coming from Italy. from Eastern Europe. There were Jews coming, and he wanted a way to bring these new Americans and unite them with longstanding Americans. And so he planned for everybody, every school across

the country to say the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time at the same time at 9.15 a.m. And they brought in veterans. They had scripture. They had prayer. And then that's what kicked off schools starting their day with the Pledge of Allegiance. It's hard to imagine how far we have drifted in this country. The idea of patriotism, it's like become a dirty word for the cultural elites, for the left. They don't understand the value of patriotism. I don't care what country you come from, to celebrate who you are in your culture. And in this country, we have less than no excuse for celebrating the values that made it possible for people to be free.

and we need to talk about it. So it's just, it's vital that we talk about it. Folks, I'm talking to Jane Hampton Cook. You can find her at janecook.com. We'll be right back. Set me free. Hey, it's Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs, and I've got a movie coming out on June 27th,

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Legacy p.m. Investments.com. Check it out. Welcome back. I'm talking to Jane Cook. Her middle name is Hampton. Jane Hampton Cook. You can find her at janecook.com. So you've written all these kids books. you've written books for adults. But there is something beautiful, as I was saying about children's books.

I've written so many children's books over the years. And it's beautiful to be able to communicate truth to kids and beauty and goodness. And I know that's a big part of what you care about. You have all this knowledge, right? And so to be able to pass that along in a simpler form to children is really beautiful. And, you know, John Adams talked about how the preservation of liberty depended upon the intellectual and moral character of the people. and that as long as truth and virtue were diffused among the people,

then they wouldn't become politically enslaved again to England or to any other entity. And, but he was concerned that people's understanding would be debased if they weren't given the truth. And so that's why it's important to pass along patriotism to children and to adults as well. I mean, this is an opportunity for me to say, I wrote a book called If You Can Keep It, the forgotten promise of American liberty. And what you just said is at the heart of that my book, if you can keep it. It's not a kid's book, but it is something that can be read by any teenager, certainly any high schooler, and a lot of high schoolers have read it.

But it talks about the idea that you were just mentioning that, first of all, the founders, John Adams, among them, understood that if we do not have virtue, and if we do not teach virtue, we will not be able to be. able to remain free. Freedom on the model of the American founders is not something that is amoral. There's the issue of morality is at the center of it. The issue of virtue is at the center of it. And that is one thing that we've drifted from. So in my book, if you can keep it, I talk about this. And it's interesting to me, Jane, that we have drifted far from this in this country. The cultural elites and the left, they're at war with even discussions of virtue.

To them, it's a dirty word. Virtue, honor, dignity. They don't talk about that anymore. They used to talk about that. But after the 60s, it's almost like they said, well, we don't want to get into that. And it's part of why we are where we are in the culture. Yes. And that's why you need, not only are they not talking about it, many of them are attacking it. And so you have these attacks that hit like the appeals to heaven flag or, you know, the Betsy Ross flag. And people don't know how to defend it because they're not historians. You know, they're going about today, and they're like, well, that doesn't sound quite right, but I don't know exactly what it is. And so it is important. And colors of the flag have virtues assigned to that. The means behind the color blue. Red means valor. Why means innocence?

And we're protecting the innocent children when we, you know, talk about patriotism and other things. that's part of our job as adults is to help foster their innocence. And I think also, and I write about this in my book, if you can keep it, is we've got to take responsibility, not just for teaching these ideas, which are centrally important, vital, but also to tell the stories so that every generation celebrates the stories over and over and over. One of the stories that is so powerful is the story of Paul Revere's Ride, to know the history of the revolution, to know the history.

And so I love, I actually write about it in my book, if you can keep it. There's a whole chapter on Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride, and it's so beautiful. But the idea is that by communicating that story through that beautiful poem to generations of young people, many of whom memorized it through the decades, we're communicating something vital. These stories need to be known and taught over and over and over again. And I know that's part of what you do in some of these books. At some point I want to talk to you about your new book about the submarine, because unless you know these stories, you're just sort of drifting along

and taking in whatever the news media is feeding you today. That's very true. And, you know, the submarine book is called The Submarine and the Spies, and it's about friendship and vigilance in the American Revolution. And you had three young men at Yale College who were studying together. They became friends. And they all made a significant contribution to the American Revolution. And their friendship played a role in some of the decisions that they made during the American Revolution.

And so, you know, they're a true story. Yeah. Yes. So it's about Nathan Hale, Benjamin Talmadge, and David Bushnell. David Bushnell was the first person to invent. the submarine that was used in warfare and successfully navigated underwater. And that- I want to tell you, you got to forgive me for interrupting,

but I want to tell you, Jane Cook, I did not know that Bushnell or Talmadge went to Yale. I knew that Nathan Hale went to Yale, but you're saying that Benjamin Talmage and Bushnell went to Yale? Oh, yeah, they were friends. They were in the same social club. Okay, this is where I tell my audience, ladies and gentlemen, I'm not pretending to be ignorant. I am genuinely ignorant. It drives me crazy

when I discover something like what you just said. I'm thrilled and then I'm annoyed. Like, how have I gotten this for on life? And I didn't know this. So God bless you, Jane Hampton Cook, for writing a book about this. So tell the story. This is, I am so excited. I mean, I really did not know that they knew each other. Talk about this. And forgive me for being ignorant of it. I'm ashamed. Well, so the story is about, it starts off at Yale and their time at Yale. how they became friends. And David was a little different because he was thinking about building a machine

that could blow up a ship, you know? But they all became, they became friends. And then when David was ahead of them in terms of he knew that he felt like war was coming. And Nathan and Benjamin were like, they weren't quite there yet. But when after Lexington and Concord happened, they all joined.

And David worked on this submarine, George Washington, and tapped him to deploy it. It was called the turtle, ladies and gentlemen. That much I know. It was called the turtle. It was the first submarine. And it's really, you know, if you're claustrophobic, I don't think you want to get inside the turtle.

It held one person. And it could go underwater for about 30 minutes. And so it was just, it was, they were hoping that if the turtle could blow up a British ship, that that might end the war. That's what they wanted to happen. The torpedo aspect of it didn't work, but it did navigate under the ship of the enemy. And then Nathan joined, and he was in a regiment that stayed on Manhattan Island. Benjamin Talmud's regiment went to Long Island to fight, and Benjamin was one of the first to, one of the last to leave the Battle of Long Island and witnessed the big miracle that happened where this fog enveloped,

the Continental Army and kept... You're putting together. You're connecting dots for me, Jane Hampton, Cook. I can't tell you because I have quoted from the journal in the book that I'm mentioning, if you can keep it, I talk about the miracle of the Battle of Long Island, the fog. It's a total miracle of God. And I quote Benjamin Talmadge. I did not know that he went to Yale.

And I did not know that David Bushnell, who created the turtle submarine, went to Yale. Like, you have to understand, I was at Yale. at a time when they were anti-patriotic. Of course, now they are even more so. They've gone over to the dark side. They're basically a Marxist recruiting center. But the idea that it has this history is so, so beautiful. And I write about Nathan Hale in the book, if you can keep it.

I wasn't planning to talk about my book. But when you bring up this stuff, I get so excited about knowing these stories. The story of Nathan Hale is one of the most beautiful stories. And I write about it at length in my book. Again, it's not a kid's book. But so this kid's book that you've written, what is the title? We haven't even covered that. So it's the, it's called the submarine and the spies, friendship and vigilance in the American Revolution.

And it's for ages 12 and up. So it could be used by a teacher to teach the hero's journey and the American Revolution at the same time. So good, you know, middle school, high school, you know, and adults can enjoy it as well. And it, you know, what I realize is that that David and, I'm not David, I'm sorry, Benjamin, and Nathan were such good friends that I really think the death of Nathan Hale led to Benjamin deciding that when he became Washington's spy master, he was not going to do anything that would risk the identities of his spies. I think Nathan's death just had such a profound effect on him that that made him understand he could not tell anyone, not even other generals in the Continental

Army, the names of his spies on Long Island. And I think there was a, correlation there. You know, and Nathan was all happened right where I live. I mean, I live in New York City. And this all happened. I mean, I think less than a mile from where I live, there's a plaque that says near this spot, Nathan Hale was hanged by the British. He was 21 years old.

I mean, it's just, it's just extraordinary to history. Just 30 seconds left in this segment. We've got plenty more time. Go ahead. Well, just, you know, their friendship in how so many of the students at Yale left the school to go fight. And we don't think about that. And just how faith was an important part of Yale at that particular time.

There were ministers teaching classes. And yet they played a really important role in the American Revolution, the students of Yale. It's just so beautiful. We'll be right back. I'm talking to Jane Hampton Cook. You can find her at janecook.com. The new book we're talking about is called The Submarine and the Spies. I don't know about you, but I really want a copy.

And I'm going to get a copy. The Submarine and the Spies, Jane. Hampton Cook. We'll be right back. Hey, this is Eric Mettaxas. For years, I've told you about Nutrametics, a professional supplement brand trusted by doctors since 1993. Nutrametics offers a variety of health bundles. Whether you want to support your immune system, improve your sleep, promote joint comfort or detoxification support, Nutrametics has a health bundle right for you. The best part about Nutrimetics, every year they donate a minimum of 50% of their profits

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Welcome back. I don't know about you, but I'm talking to Jane Cook. Jane Cook.com. Her middle name is Hampton. Jane Hampton Cook has written many, many books. We're talking right now about your kids' books, and we're talking about the brand new book called The Submarine and the Spies. Do you have a copy that you can hold up for the camera?

Sure. Here we go. Folks, if you've got a really great radio, you can see this. The submarine and the spies. And you can't see it in the picture. But in his head is the turtle. There's a little, like he's thinking about the submarine. It's in his.

Oh, I see it. Yeah. Oh, I can see if people watch the video. Well, listen, the idea that Nathan Hale, Benjamin Talmadge and David Bushnell all knew each other, that's amazing to me. The fact that they went to Yale, this was at a time when there was real patriotism at a place. like Yale University. And of course, that existed. You know, I keep bringing up my book, if you can keep it. In the book, if you can keep it, I write about Nathan Hale, and I say that the dorm where Nathan Hale, where he lived when he was at Yale, it's still there. It's called Connecticut

Hall. It is still there. They use it. Freshman stay in it. So it's still there. And in front of it, around World War I, they put a gorgeous statue of Nathan Hale in front of it. And in this statue, it's very, it's very noble. I mean, I wish I could get a replica of it or a miniature of it. It's so beautiful. But it pictures him in the moment before he steps into eternity. His hands are tied behind his back, and he's just about to be hanged. It's so powerful.

But the reason I bring it up is that that was 1914. or thereabouts when it was commissioned and it still stands there. But the class of 1975, this is, I don't know, about eight or nine years ago, they thought it would be fun for their reunion to have a little bobblehead dolls made of the Nathan Hale statue. And I thought, you want to talk about bad taste? Do you want to talk about bad taste? And so I wrote about it in my book, if you can keep it. I was scandalized, utterly scandalized.

I wrote to the Yale Alumni Magazine about it. But it shows you how far we've fallen that here's a young man literally giving his life for his country. And they don't see the gravity of it to the extent that they would make a bobblehead doll, like, oh, this is kitchy, this is cute. It's so sick. And so in case you want a metric of how far Yale has fallen since this is just World War I, this is a little bit over 100 years ago. But that's kind of where we are in the country. And it's why people need to read books like the ones we're talking about. and tell the stories like the ones we're talking about.

And, of course, right now we're talking to you, Jane, about your book, The Submarine and the Spies, which you say is for 12-year-olds and up. So when did the book come out? Is it just brand new right now? It came out last summer. Okay. It's still new. It's a year old.

Yeah, yeah. And, you know, Nathan, what happened is that one of the things that happened is that someone collected all the letters in diaries. of Nathan Hale and published it, you know, in the 1800s. And that's how we know things about him that otherwise we wouldn't have any clue. And he, we know that he corresponded with a young lady who referred to the play Cato about a year before he died. And he's saying at his death, I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.

Those words that comes from the play Cato. And we now, we now know that he knew of the play for sure, because he's writing a about it with was was cato written by addison yes this is this is obviously the 1770s right and remind us if you would who cato was i mean because this is part of what we've lost is how the revolutionary era had a link going back to rome to ancient greece they had cincinnatus societies bursting out they were aware of the roots of freedom, the idea of a republic, of democracy. They were aware of that. So talk about the play of Cato or talk about who Cato was. Yeah. So Cato, you know, was someone from the ancient history world, you know, and George Washington was very familiar with his story

about, you know, he dined for the Republic. And he wanted to pass that along. And he allowed his men to put on the play Cato. by Addison. And it was an inspiration. His story of self-sacrifice was an inspiration. Washington allowed his men, the men under his command to see this play. I'm amazed by this. It was when they were at Valley Forge.

It was the end. It was in the spring. So right before they went into, you know, the Battle of Monuments. And so they had, he allowed them to have a play. And apparently the, guy that played Cato did a good die. Is how one of the men described. Did a what?

He died very effectively on the stage. Yes, died very effectively on stage. But let me ask you, is this in your book, The Submarine and the Spies? Do you write about this? I don't remember if I said this. I think I know I've written about it. I can't remember which book. In one of your many books, I know it's a problem, isn't it?

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I think I wrote about it in the book, War of Lies. because I think it fit better in that book. What was the book? Sorry. Well, book is called The War of Lies when George Washington was the target and propaganda was the crime. And it was about counterfeit letters that were written in George Washington's name. And I think I figured out who was the counterfeiter.

And these were published. Wow. Yeah. Because the literary record left behind of those four suspects, one has a real definitive pattern that fits time, place, and manner of the, crime, you know, the propaganda that was used to. That's so interesting. We'll be right back. Final segment. Folks, I'm talking to Jane Cook, Jane Hampton Cook. You can find her at Jane Cook.com. Jane has written many books, including the one we're discussing right now, the submarine and the spies. I can't wait to read it. I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days

that I thought would never end. Welcome back. I'm talking to Jane Cook, Jane Hampton Cook, about her children's books. And this book, the new one, the submarine and the spies, how did you come to write this book? And again, I'm astonished, I'm embarrassed. I didn't know that David Bushnell, Benjamin Tomich, and Nathan Hale, all knew each other, all went to Yale. I'm just astonished to hear this and thrilled, frankly, to hear it.

Well, one weekend when my husband took my oldest son to visit a college, I thought, oh, I'll write a little article about the seven months. And then I kept digging and kept finding information about David Bushnell submarine. And I realized that there was a novel there that you could bring, use the story, use the motif of the hero's journey. And I just started writing and researching and it just kind of flowed out of me in a way that I really cannot explain. And I kept finding really fascinating things like they played a version of football. David, Nathan Hale's diaries say that he played football while he was a soldier. And it may have just been a kicking game, but I was able to use that in the book.

And just to see how far back, you know, some of these ideas. And I know modern football didn't get its rules until, you know, much later in the 1800s. But just to realize that these three men, they put their lives on the line for their line for their country. And it was love of country. You know, Nathan Hale would probably have been president of Yale one day if he had not. gone into the military because he was on track to be a teacher and it was just brilliant. He was the best debater at Yale when he was a senior. And, you know, you just...

What is the best book on Nathan Hale? Can you think of a good book on Nathan Hale? I would, well, I would say the correspondence of Nathan Hale gives you the best picture of who he was. You can read from Benjamin Talmadge to Nathan and you can find out when he had a crush on a girl. I mean, you know, just all sorts of things. What's amazing to me is how young he was. I think either in my book or someplace, I say that he's 24, and I realize, no, I don't know where I got that from.

He was 21. So this extremely mature, brilliant young man was 21 when he gave his life for his country. And I think that we act like, well, you know, guys don't really grow up until they're in their 30s or something. This man, he was a man in his late teen years. He already had tremendous maturity. And I think we asked too little of our young people. And we need to make them understand that someone like this lived a life. We're talking about him today because of his tremendous maturity and dignity and courage and intelligence, all of these things.

And that he went to glory at age 21. and he was a profound Christian. Let's not forget. He was a very serious Christian. Beautiful. Yes. And, you know, back then in school, they memorized a lot of things. They memorized a lot of passages from literature.

And you get that, you see that in his writings, how important that was. And yes, I think the maturity and the faith element, you know, they were very, they were mature. And they didn't have things to dull their minds. You know, we have. a lot of cultural things that kind of keep us from learning sometimes. And they just had it all in spades. And you just that when we think about July 4th and Independence Day, you know, they witnessed the first Independence Day. They got to hear the Declaration of Independence read out loud to the Army on July 9, 1776, you know, and what that meant to them and how

just everyone was ready to say goodbye to England and to, trade royalty for representation. They really wanted a representative government. And yet, you know, it's the responsibility of every generation to pass along love of country. And I want to do that through stories, whether it's the submarine and the spies or the new children's books, my American flag, you know, just to help people connect to America's story. You know, George Washington said the name American belongs to you in your national capacity and must always exalt the just pride of patriotism. And he wanted America, the name American, to unite us. It was great to be a Virginia. It was great to be from Pennsylvania. And I think if he were alive today, Washington would

like football. But above all of those things, what unites us is that we are all Americans. And that was important to them. And that's what they want to pass along. Really, it's so beautiful. Folks, I cannot stress how important all of this is. I hope you'll go to janecook.com and see what Jane has written, I hope you'll get a copy of the submarine and the spies. I hope you'll get a copy or read the copy you already have of if you can keep it because these ideas are vital. And it's vital right now with the fourth coming up really soon, really, really, really soon that we celebrate this nation. So buy these books just to celebrate with your family, to read these things out loud. It's our job, I think, to communicate. I think, I know, to communicate.

these ideas and these stories. I want to ask you in your book, The Submarine and the Spies, I don't know whether you talk about what happens to Benjamin Tomich and David Bushnell after this period. We know that Nathan Hale gives his life for his country at age 21. But do you say or do you know what happened to Benjamin Talmage and David Bushnell? So at the end, I have a summary of the rest of their story, of their life story. You know, and Benjamin Talmadge went on to serve and Congress. He moved to Connecticut. He was originally from Long Island. He moved to Connecticut. He got married, had kids. David Bushnell wasn't quite as successful in what we might consider family world, you know, but he became a teacher and he didn't have a family of his own, although I have a

friend who's descended from his brother. And so, you know, the risk and the genius of inventing this submarine that was successfully navigating underwater in 1776 is just amazing and how it was it's really you know part of our nation's military history is this submarine and so they you know they it's it was fun to read the obituaries of these men in the newspaper and how they put all of the things that they did in the revolution and in their next phase of their life you know into perspective um and they just loved their country In my class at Yale, Class of 84, I was very good friends with Tom Edmund. His middle name was Talmadge.

And he would always tell us that he is related to the Tompages. And so he goes back to Benjamin Tomic. I didn't realize at the time that Benjamin Talmadge went to Yale as my friend Tom Edmund was at Yale. But it just, this history is so beautiful and we need to be proud of it. And we're out of time, but I'm so grateful Jane Cook to you for these books. Folks, go to janecook.com. Jane Hampton Cook. God bless you.

God bless America. Thank you. Thank you so much, Aaron. Folks, welcome back. I want to highlight some of our friends on the program and some of the web. Do we still have friends on the program? I thought they broke up. We've got a lot of friends.

And I want to highlight some websites because I just, I always want to provide a resource to people. Because people always say, where can I go? Where can I look? That's part of what we try to do on this. show is to steer people in the right direction. For example, everywhere I go, I meet homeschoolers. They are the most mature, socially mature, educated, bright young people that I ever meet. And so everywhere I go, I get the opportunity. I say it, you should homeschool your kids. Get them out of these satanic Marxist indoctrination camps.

that we call the public education system, get them either in quality Christ-centered K-12 education or in homeschooling. People say, how do I do that? Well, I'm here to tell you, the folks at the Herzog Foundation are here to help you. There's no catch. The folks at the Herzog Foundation are good people.

We know them. And they exist to help people do quality, Christ-centered K-12, of education. They have a ton of resources as somebody who homeschools our kids, and by me, I mean my wife. No, I do a little bit. But yeah, we're always looking for great places to kind of augment and sort of pump up our curriculum at home. So this is a really great place.

Well, I'm just telling you, folks, this is important. It's important. And people need to do it. And they say, but I don't know how. And go to Herzog Foundation.com. please look, look them up. They're just delightful and they're there to help. I also want to mention our friends at Americans for Prosperity Foundation.

They have taken hundreds of concerned citizens to the border, to see the border for themselves. Imagine something Kamala Harris has never, ever done, visited the stinking border. Yeah. I believe she's been through the Taco Bell Drive through several times. That's a run. They used to say run to the border.

You know what? I take it back. I take it back. Yeah, she's been through the Taco Belt Drive Thru. But other than that, she's ever been to the border. The Americans for Prosperity Foundation has taken hundreds of concerned citizens, all of whom are more qualified to be vice president than Kamala Harris. They've taken them into the border, and they have turned them as a result of this into informed activists. That's what we need in America is for us not just to be citizens, but to be informed activist citizens who care about freedom,

who care about the things that matter to preserving our freedom. like, oh, yeah, having a border. So Americans for Prosperity, you know, help us understand what we need to have a border. For example, more border agents, more walls. Remember walls? Remember Trump talking about the wall? More technology.

That's what makes Americans for Prosperity unique. They do the tough work of organizing and mobilizing everyday Americans. Yeah. Having a border is pretty important. It's sort of like wearing a belt. You know, if you don't have a call on, things are that ugly pretty.

quickly, you know. Call me crazy, but a border is important. So you can learn more at SecureBorder, secureamerica.com. That's secure border, secure america.com. Before we go, I want to remind people, please visit Socrates in the City on YouTube or visit Socrates in the city. You can go to Socrates and City.com. Tons of resources to feed your mind at Socrates in the city. Amazing conversations. Socrates in the city, please check it out, share it on social media, just tremendous conversations. And then before we go, a letter to the American church, that website, Letter to the American Church, is loaded with all kinds of stuff. If your church hasn't done a screening, you can sign up, you can get the study guide, you can get the book. It's being part of a movement to save this country,

folks. I think you know if you're listening to this program, we got to get busy. Please visit Letter to the American Church.com. You can watch the film there, actually. Letter to the Americanchurch.com. And if you want to buy any of my books, go to ericmetaxis.com. Ericmetaxis.com. Sign up for the newsletter. Just lots of great resources.

God bless you. God bless America.