History Through Fiction - The Podcast

by Colin Mustful

Season 11

Stephanie Dray on Abigail Adams, Frances Perkins, and the Work of Democracy

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful speaks with historical novelist Stephanie Dray about two women who helped shape the United States from outside the official centers of power: Abigail Adams, featured in A Founding Mother, and Frances Perkins, the subject of Becoming Madam Secretary. Their stories offer a vivid way into an enduring question: who gets to define freedom, and what does democracy demand from ordinary citizens? The conversation begins with Abigail Adams—wife of John Adams, mother of John Quincy Adams, and a forceful thinker in her own right. Dray describes Abigail raising children, managing a farm, seeking financial independence, and challenging the revolutionary promise of “all men are created equal” with her famous appeal to “remember the ladies.” From there, the episode moves to Frances Perkins, the New Deal architect whose work helped shape Social Security, labor protections, workplace safety, and the nation’s evolving social contract. Dray also reflects on the family history that led her to recognize Perkins’s impact on her own relatives’ lives. A novelist of women whose contributions have often been overlooked, Stephanie Dray brings together archival research, historical imagination, and close attention to voice. She discusses the challenge of transforming letters and public records into emotionally immediate stories, the changing dynamics of co-writing, and the perseverance required to carry a major project through unexpected obstacles. (Draft guest framing based on the episode transcript; please verify final credits before publishing.) At History Through Fiction, the past becomes most vivid through story, conversation, and the craft of imagining lives that official histories have too often left at the margins. Discover the catalog of historical novels, workshops, events, and community at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

S11 · E16

Aug 31, 2026

29:31

Kerri Maher on Summer of Love: Sisterhood, Sobriety, and the 1967 Bay Area

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, Colin Mustful speaks with Kerri Maher, author of Summer of Love, about the myths and realities of the 1967 Bay Area counterculture. Through the lens of family, art, addiction, and reinvention, this conversation invites listeners to look beyond flower-crown nostalgia and into the emotional complexity of a turbulent era. Together, they explore Maher’s dual-timeline novel, which follows two sisters pulled in different directions by the cultural upheavals of the late 1960s and a later-generation storyline shaped by questions of sobriety, memory, and healing. The discussion moves from Berkeley and San Francisco to Napa wine country, tracing how place, research, and lived family stories helped Maher create a world that feels both vivid and deeply human. Kerri Maher is the author of Summer of Love and several historical novels, including The Kennedy Debutante. Drawing on her California roots, family stories from the 1960s, and a long, hard-won writing journey, she brings both personal insight and narrative craft to a novel about longing, change, and the search for connection. History Through Fiction is a home for readers, writers, and history lovers who believe the past comes alive through story. Explore more historical novels, discover workshops and events, and join the wider community at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

S11 · E15

Aug 24, 2026

25:44

Rhys Bowen on The Castle in the Glen, the Isle of Skye, and Writing a Mystery Within a Mystery

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful welcomes bestselling author Rhys Bowen to discuss her new novel, The Castle in the Glen. Set against the stark beauty and quiet danger of Scotland’s Isle of Skye, this conversation explores how place, memory, and layered storytelling can transform a historical mystery into something haunting and unforgettable. Together, Colin and Rhys dive into the origins of the novel, from Bowen’s early memories of Skye as a place of both beauty and threat to the intricate structure of a story built around a famous novelist, a young writer, and a mystery that may be rooted in real events. They talk about writing across multiple timelines, creating a novel-within-a-novel, and building suspense by slowly peeling back each layer of danger and discovery. Along the way, Rhys also reflects on research, historical authenticity, collaboration, pen names, audiobooks, and the unexpected ways stories can matter deeply in readers’ lives. Rhys Bowen is the internationally bestselling author of numerous historical novels and mysteries, including the Molly Murphy and Royal Spyness series. In this episode, she offers a fascinating look at the craft behind The Castle in the Glen and the creative choices that help bring both landscape and history vividly to life. If you enjoy stories where history, atmosphere, and literary craft come together, this episode is for you. To discover more historical novels, podcast conversations, workshops, and events from the History Through Fiction community, visit https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

S11 · E14

Aug 17, 2026

22:40

Saifedean Ammous on The Gold Standard, Bitcoin, and How World War I Changed Money

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, Colin Mustful speaks with economist and author Saifedean Ammous about The Gold Standard, a book that blends history, alternate history, and economics into one provocative thought experiment. Together, they explore what might have changed if the world had stayed on the gold standard—and why that question still matters for anyone trying to understand war, inflation, freedom, and modern money. Their conversation moves from the real monetary world of the late nineteenth century into Ammous's imagined turning point of 1914, where faster aviation and entrepreneurial ingenuity create a radically different financial future. Along the way, they discuss World War I, central banking, the Wright brothers, Louis Blériot, the logic behind alternate history, and the connection Ammous draws between gold, Bitcoin, and decentralized control over wealth. Saifedean Ammous is an economist, educator, and author of The Bitcoin Standard, The Fiat Standard, Principles of Economics, and now The Gold Standard, his first work of fiction. A former university professor with a background in engineering and economics, he brings a distinctive perspective to questions of money, history, and human progress. At History Through Fiction, we love conversations that bring the past to life through imagination, research, and bold ideas. Explore more historical storytelling, discover novels and authors, and connect with a wider community of readers and writers at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

S11 · E13

Aug 10, 2026

30:43

Dietrich Kalteis on Rust and Bone, German Villages in Ukraine, and Survival at the End of World War II

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, Colin Mustful welcomes author Dietrich Kalteis to discuss Rust and Bone, a haunting novel set among German settlements in Ukraine as the Second World War collapses around them. Through family memory, deep research, and historical imagination, listeners are invited into a lesser-known story of displacement, endurance, and the fragile hope that survives in the midst of ruin. Together, Colin and Dietrich explore the civilian side of World War II through the intertwined journeys of Jacob, a teenage boy fleeing a village destroyed by Soviet troops, and Frida, a young girl trying to survive the devastation near Berlin. Their conversation moves from the settlement history of Germans in Ukraine to the brutal realities of forced flight, bombed trains, hunger, cold, and uncertainty. Along the way, Dietrich reflects on how oral history from his father and the lived experience of his mother helped shape the novel’s emotional core, and how research allowed him to render trauma, fear, and resilience with both restraint and force. Dietrich Kalteis is a novelist known for crime fiction as well as historical work, including Under the Outlaw Moon and Rust and Bone. In this conversation, he speaks not only as a writer of suspense and atmosphere, but as someone drawing on family stories rooted in wartime Ukraine and Berlin—bringing rare immediacy to a story about survival, memory, and what young people discover when the world they were taught to trust collapses around them. At History Through Fiction, the past becomes most vivid when it is carried through story—through the novels, questions, and human voices that help us feel history as well as learn it. Explore the broader world of historical novels, workshops, events, and community at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

S11 · E12

Aug 3, 2026

22:40

Donna Jones Alward on Ship of Dreams, Titanic, and the Women at the Heart of History

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful speaks with Donna Jones Alward, author of Ship of Dreams, about reimagining the Titanic through female friendship, class, courage, and the emotional lives of the women aboard. Listeners will discover how a story everyone thinks they know can feel newly intimate when the focus shifts from spectacle to character. Together, Colin and Donna explore the real-world details that shaped Ship of Dreams: the opulence of first-class life, the strange and haunting atmosphere aboard the brand-new ship, the Halifax connection to the disaster, and the many small conditions that made the tragedy possible. They also talk about why historical fiction works best when history provides the structure but human relationships provide the heart. Donna Jones Alward is the author of Ship of Dreams and When the World Fell Silent. A longtime novelist now writing historical fiction after a career in romance, she brings deep attention to character, research, and the emotional complexity of women’s lives. In this conversation, she reflects on writing female friendship, balancing historical fact with story, and building novels that are both deeply researched and moving. History Through Fiction is more than a podcast. It is a place for readers, writers, and lovers of the past to discover new historical novels, learn from working authors, and explore the craft of storytelling. To find more episodes, books, events, and community offerings, visit https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

S11 · E11

Jul 27, 2026

32:37

Marie Gage on War Brides, Sisterhood, and the Aftermath of WWII in A Touch of Promise

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, Colin Mustful is joined by Marie Gage, author of A Touch of Promise, to explore the overlooked history of the women who crossed the Atlantic for love after World War II and found themselves rebuilding their lives in unfamiliar places. Through the story of Pearl Griffith, listeners are invited into a moving conversation about belonging, resilience, and the quiet ways war continues long after the fighting ends. Set in 1947, A Touch of Promise follows a young English war bride adjusting to life in Canada while facing emotional isolation, culture shock, and a difficult mother-in-law. In their discussion, Colin and Marie explore the real history behind the novel, the support systems women created for one another, and the lasting impact of wartime trauma on families trying to move forward. The conversation also reflects on why stories of ordinary people matter so deeply, especially when they illuminate the human side of history that often goes untold. Marie Gage is a Canadian author whose historical fiction draws from genealogical research, lived experience, and the stories passed down through family memory. In this episode, she shares how her mother-in-law’s experience as a war bride helped inspire the novel and how her own professional encounters with long-term psychiatric trauma shaped her understanding of the postwar world she brings to the page. History Through Fiction is a home for readers, writers, and history lovers who believe the past comes alive through story. Explore more episodes, discover historical novels, and learn more about the broader community, workshops, and events at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

S11 · E10

Jul 20, 2026

23:42

Janyre Tromp on The Scorpion Thief, Burning the Raven Tree, and Myth-Infused Historical Suspense

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful speaks with bestselling author and editor Janyre Tromp about the historical mysteries, political tensions, and mythic undercurrents behind The Scorpion Thief and Burning the Raven Tree. From King Tut’s U.S. tour and Cold War maneuvering to haunted Michigan woods and questions of justice, this conversation invites listeners into the places where history grows stranger, darker, and more revealing through story. Together, they explore how a surprising piece of research about the King Tut exhibition sparked The Scorpion Thief, why family conflict became the emotional engine of that novel, and how myths such as Horus and Set—or the tree-of-life traditions that echo across cultures—can deepen historical suspense. Tromp also shares how myth seems to press its way into her fiction, how she balances research with emotional truth, and why she sees story as a safe place to wrestle with difficult questions about grief, memory, justice, and hope. Janyre Tromp is a bestselling and award-winning author of deeply researched historical suspense novels infused with myth, legend, and emotional depth. She is also a longtime developmental editor whose love of language, history, and story shapes both her fiction and her work helping other writers draw out emotional truth on the page. History Through Fiction is a home for readers, writers, and history lovers who believe the past becomes most vivid when it is told through compelling human stories. Explore more episodes, discover historical novels, and learn about workshops, events, and the wider History Through Fiction community at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

S11 · E9

Jul 13, 2026

33:09

Widowhood, Freedom, and Partition in British India with Jatinder Koharki | Against the Odds of Tradition

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, Colin Mustful speaks with Jatinder Koharki, author of Against the Odds of Tradition, about a novel that begins with a woman fleeing death and unfolds against the upheaval of late colonial India. Listeners will discover how widowhood, forbidden love, national independence, and personal reinvention collide in a story that asks what freedom really means when a society denies women a future of their own. Their conversation moves from the brutal legacy of sati and the restrictions placed on widows in 1930s India to the emotional sweep of Mina’s journey through remarriage, identity, and the chaos of Partition. Jatinder reflects on the historical realities behind the novel, the voices often left out of Western conversations about World War II and empire, and the ways private lives are transformed by public history. Jatinder Koharki was born in Punjab, India, moved to Queens, New York, at age ten, and later built a long corporate career before turning toward writing and publishing. Drawing on family stories, historical research, and her own cross-cultural perspective, she brings a deeply personal lens to a novel about women’s autonomy, resilience, and survival. History Through Fiction is more than a podcast—it is a place for readers, writers, and history lovers to explore how story brings the past to life. To discover more episodes, historical novels, workshops, and events, visit https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

S11 · E8

Jul 6, 2026

26:46

Jackie Lapin on The Historic Traveler, Historical Fiction, and the Places That Bring History to Life

In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, Colin Mustful sits down with Jackie Lapin, founder of The Historic Traveler, for a conversation about what happens when a love of historical fiction spills off the page and into the world. From historic cities and hidden landmarks to the novels that make them unforgettable, listeners will discover how books can become a doorway into travel—and how travel can deepen the way we experience the past. Together, Colin and Jackie explore the idea at the heart of The Historic Traveler: pairing real places with the historical novels, history books, photographs, and cultural resources that bring those locations to life. Their conversation moves from Jackie’s lifelong passion for historical fiction to the many ways readers, writers, and travelers can use story to connect more meaningfully with the places they visit. Along the way, they reflect on research travel, reader curiosity, and the special power of fiction to make history feel personal, immersive, and alive. Jackie Lapin is the founder of The Historic Traveler, a platform that connects history, travel, photography, and books for readers eager to explore the past in a more vivid way. A longtime writer and serial entrepreneur, she previously built a major sports public relations agency and later launched Conscious Media Relations before creating a project that brings together her enduring passions for history, storytelling, and place. At History Through Fiction, we believe the past comes alive through story, setting, and the imaginative work of seeing history from new angles. Explore more podcast episodes, discover historical novels, and connect with a wider community of readers and writers at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.

S11 · E7

Jun 29, 2026

31:24

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