The Preamble – Details, episodes & analysis

Did you know that Star Wars almost started a war in real life, over a sand crawler model? Would the film have been so wildly successful if someone else had been cast in the role of Han Solo, such as – let’s say – Christopher Walken? How would a band today be received if their drug use was so integral to their music, that they considered thanking their dealer in the liner notes? And let’s take that iPhone from your pocket and compare it to the speed of an Apple II computer in 1977, which was 3,000 times slower. Join us as we explore revolutionary cultural shifts in the late 70s, and how these phenomena have evolved in the last four decades.

A happenstance introduction to Charles Manson. Assassination attempts against President Ford, a man who was never elected to the vice presidency or presidency. And the kidnapping of a college student and newspaper heiress, 19-year-old Patty Hearst, that rocked the nation. Following Nixon’s resignation and the end of the Vietnam war, the country was in freefall. When, and how, did the U.S. begin to mend its wounds from political scandal and years of a grueling war? And what role did an unconventional campaign and powerful grassroots efforts have, regarding a certain peanut farmer who would later become president?

During the Great Depression, Detroit officials carved up vacant lots and handed exhausted families seeds and tools. It wasn't a hobby — it was survival. And a lesson for today: hope isn't just a feeling, it's a habit you practice.

Then Rainn Wilson — yes, Dwight Schrute — joins Sharon to talk about the loneliness epidemic, the rise of cynicism, and why posting about something isn't the same as changing it. 

Be sure to read our newsletter at ThePreamble.com – it’s free! Join hundreds of thousands of readers who still believe understanding is an act of hope.

Credits:

Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon

Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks

Audio Producer: Craig Thompson

(00:00:00) A story on how to practice hope

(00:07:50) The loneliness epidemic

(00:22:41) Rainn Wilson’s on his faith

Joseph Stalin had his young daughter fooled. Svetlana had no idea what he was doing to people outside the palace walls, and to her, he was a doting father. But all that changed when she finally learned the truth about what happened to her mother. 

Credits:

Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon

Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks

Audio Producer: Craig Thompson

Writers/researchers: Mandy Reid, Amy Watkin, Kari Anton, Sharon McMahon, Melanie Buck Parks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joseph Stalin finally has the power he’s been working decades to achieve. But as the new leader of the Soviet Union, he thinks everyone around him is a threat– even friends and defenseless peasants. And for some reason, Stalin can’t stop obsessing about his old enemy Leon Trotsky. But, a devious plot just might rid him of his nemesis once and for all.

Credits:

Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon

Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks

Audio Producer: Craig Thompson

Writers/researchers: Mandy Reid, Amy Watkin, Kari Anton, Sharon McMahon, Melanie Buck Parks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joseph Stalin’s bank robbing days have earned him a top spot as a Revolutionary, just as things are falling in place for Russia’s government to be toppled. The allure of communism has spread, but the message of course, wasn’t the reality. Stalin takes on a new role as an enforcer, a position that would show just how brutal and heartless he was. And this time, he has a new, very young, love interest by his side.

Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon

Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks

Audio Producer: Craig Thompson

Writers/researchers: Mandy Reid, Amy Watkin, Kari Anton, Sharon McMahon, Melanie Buck Parks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new mission, a new identity. Joseph Stalin, using the name Koba, takes on his latest role in the name of the Revolution: bank robber. He still found time for romance, though, falling hard for the only woman he would truly ever love. Now he faced a choice: fatherhood… or the Revolution?

Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon

Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks

Audio Producer: Craig Thompson

Writers/researchers: Mandy Reid, Amy Watkin, Kari Anton, Sharon McMahon, Melanie Buck Parks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joseph Stalin was born the third, but only surviving son, to his parents Keke and Beso. His mother begged God to let him live, and when he did, she told her son he would devote his life to God. His family and friends called him Soso, and while his mother doted on him, he was often the victim of his father’s alcohol-fueled rages. Soso learned early that violence got results, a lesson that would carry through to every facet of his life as an adult. This little boy, raised in poverty, growing angrier by the day, would one day rule all of Russia. 

Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon

Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks

Audio Producer: Craig Thompson

Writers/researchers: Mandy Reid, Amy Watkin, Kari Anton, Sharon McMahon, Melanie Buck Parks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our newest docuseries on Joseph Stalin. Over the course of this series you will learn how a little mama's boy called Soso became one of the most ruthless leaders in history. 

For decades a movement was growing. The Russian people were frustrated and angry with how the country was being run. Take a deadly war, a lack of jobs and food, combined with a leader who was totally oblivious to the problems his people were facing, and a revolution sounded like a pretty good idea.

There was only one thing in the way: Tsar Nicholas Romanov. But the revolutionaries, including Stalin, had a plan. 

Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon

Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks

Audio Producer: Craig Thompson

Writers/Researchers: Mandy Reid, Amy Watkin, Kari Anton, Sharon McMahon, Melanie Buck Parks

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wonder how you can get involved in your community but in a way that fits your interests and lifestyle? Authors Sami Sage and Emily Amick have the answer to that question. They see civic engagement as a form of self care, and say even the smallest action can have big results. The book provides a series of exercises to help readers understand their civic priorities and values, using special quizzes, to figure out exactly the best way to get involved.

Special thanks to our guests, Sami Sage and Emily Amick, for joining us today. 

Host: Sharon McMahon

Audio Producer: Mike Voulgaris

Production Assistant: Andrea Champoux

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.