History Doesn’t Repeat? Look Again

Podcasts > Peter Boyles Show Podcast

Saturday, August 15, 2026

The Peter Boyles Show August 15, 2026 HOUR 2 : Peter Boyles takes a trip through history — and asks what happens when the version we remember collides with what actually happened. Peter and longtime Denver journalist Patricia Calhoun revisit the controversy surrounding Ward Churchill, the University of Colorado, questions surrounding his academic record and the larger battle over free speech. Their conversation turns to a principle both consider fundamental: protecting the First Amendment, even when the speech itself is controversial.

From George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn to disease reshaping empires and even influencing events surrounding the Louisiana Purchase, the discussion explores how dramatically our understanding of history can change when we dig beneath the familiar version of the story.

The conversation eventually comes home to Denver and modern American politics, as callers and Peter debate socialism, government dependency and whether political movements we're seeing today are genuinely new — or simply another turn through an old historical cycle. As Peter puts it, the patterns have been repetitive — and they can happen again.