Austin, TX

Transcript: Historian H.W. Brands on

Published

1 year ago

December 1, 2024

The following is a transcript of an interview with H.W. Brands, Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin and author of “America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War,” on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Dec. 1, 2024.

MAJOR GARRETT: Welcome back. We turn now to author and historian H.W. Brands. He is the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair at the University of Texas at Austin, and his latest book is “America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War.” He joins us this morning from Austin, Texas. H.W., it’s great to see you. First of all, what does this “America First” clash then tell us, if anything, about today and references to “America first”?

H.W. BRANDS: The debate that I describe in the book is whether the United States should enter World War II between the time Germany started the war in September of 1939 and the United States entered the war in December of 1941. That was the narrow focus of the debate. The larger question, and the one that persists today, is, what do Americans think their country’s role in the world ought to be? Should the United States, must the United States, take a leading role in the world? Should the United States concern itself in conflicts among other nations that perhaps don’t directly address American interests? This- this was the question then, it’s a question we’re dealing with again today.

MAJOR GARRETT: If you could, sketch out briefly Charles Lindbergh’s stature at the time this debate with Franklin Delano Roosevelt was engaged.

BRANDS: Lindbergh came to the attention of the American public, indeed, to the world public, in 1927 when he flew a solo flight for the first time across the Atlantic Ocean. He became this national hero. He became a world celebrity for accomplishing this great technical feat, but it was also a feat of personal daring. He was a darling of the United States, a darling in other countries. He was decorated by foreign governments. He became an early celebrity in an age when celebrity was first starting to take form. So that was his position as of 1927. His celebrity took a different turn in the early 1930s when his and his wife’s infant son was kidnapped and murdered in what then was called the “crime of the century,” which gave raise- which gave rise to the “trial of the century.” And so this golden boy, all of a sudden, had a dark shadow cast across his life. And so he was, in some ways, this star crossed hero, at that point. He continued to be influential in aeronautical engineering circles. He knew a lot about aircraft, but in the American mind, he was this- he was this great celebrity. And many people were surprised, actually, that he did take a leading role in the debate over American policy, because he was not a political figure. He eschewed politics.

MAJOR GARRETT: And in that debate with Roosevelt, did Roosevelt and his administration regard Charles Lindbergh as a potential political threat? And if so, how did they deal with him?

BRANDS: It’s a little bit hard to say. Franklin Roosevelt, at some point, decided that he wanted to run for a third term. This broke a long standing informal rule of American politics. And he knew that Republicans were constantly going up to Charles Lindbergh and saying, you could be president, you’d be a great candidate. Lindbergh’s father had been a congressman, but Lindbergh took from his father’s experience, which- which turned out badly because of his opposition to American policy during World War I, that he didn’t want to have anything to do with politics or politicians. He considered politicians a bunch of liars, people who could not be trusted, and he considered politics this low and sort of mean occupation that he wanted to have nothing to do with.

MAJOR GARRETT: When this debate began in 1931, Lindbergh was in one place. When it ended in 1941, he was in a different place in the public mind. Some accused him of being a Nazi sympathizer. Some editorialists described him as an antisemite. Where do you come down?

BRANDS: The one thing I should say is that everybody who called him an antisemite or a Nazi sympathizer had political reasons for doing so, because Lindbergh became the face of opposition to American intervention in the war. And it served his opponents’ purposes to paint him in this negative category. In terms of his Nazi sympathy, he- there were American Nazis. There was an American Nazi Party. They were clearly Nazi sympathizers. Lindbergh was not a member of the party. In fact, the America First Committee, of which Lindbergh was a part, took pains to keep its distance from those. Lindbergh did not want Germany to win the war. His position was that the United States should not place its frontier of security in the middle of Europe,the way Franklin Roosevelt and the interventions appeared to be doing. But because he took that position, and it was a position that the Germans supported, the Germans didn’t want the United States to enter the war. There was this objective sense in which one could say that when Lindbergh gave a speech, it served the purposes of the German government.

MAJOR GARRETT: How about his appraisal of American Jews wanting to push America into the war and then exercising outsized influence culturally in our country?

BRANDS: So, the charges of antisemitism against Lindbergh really are associated with a single speech he gave in the autumn of 1941, in which he identified three groups that, in his opinion, were most influential in pushing the United States toward war. One was the British government. Britain was already at war, and he explained it was natural that they would try to get the United States involved in the war. The second group, he said, was American Jews, and he said it’s perfectly understandable that they should want the United States to get into the war, given what Hitler and the Nazis have done to their relatives, friends, co-religionists in Europe. And the third group was the Roosevelt administration. He was most critical of the Roosevelt administration because Lindbergh claimed that Roosevelt was using the excuse of the war to further his own political ambitions. Now, merely for mentioning American Jews in the context of war policy, the sky fell down upon Lindbergh. Everybody who wanted to make sure that they weren’t accused of antisemitism, everybody who opposed Lindbergh’s policy, came down and pointed the finger of antisemitism at Lindbergh. To what extent was Lindbergh actually an antisemite? Well, I would say- I would- I put him in the category of the sort of, not in my country club, kind of antisemite, which was extremely common in the United States at the time.

MAJOR GARRETT: Very quickly, H.W., there’s a clash over information and disinformation, both sides warn each other and the American public about that. Unspool that for us, if you could, real quick.

BRANDS: The British government and the German government, the two antagonists that were at that point, were both engaged in propaganda campaigns in the United States. And so when the British government would plant editorials, features, in American newspapers, often unknown to the reading public, then Lindbergh and his side would say, well, look what the British government is doing. When the German government would do something similar, then the Roosevelt administration would say, look at what the German government is doing. So each side then, the governments of the two sides, they were doing their best to sway American public opinion, because they realized that, in the end, it was American public opinion that had to be persuaded.

MAJOR GARRETT: Foreign interference in American public opinion, then and now. H.W. Brands, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you so much. And we’ll be right back

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Austin, TX

Inside a Historic Austin Property’s Modern New Hotel

Published

39 minutes ago

January 19, 2026

Press Room

Inside a Historic Austin Property’s Modern New Hotel

For those of a certain age, the name Green Pastures will conjure memories of exquisite Sunday brunch buffets, or fancy wedding receptions, or big birthday celebrations. It began its life as a restaurant in 1946, set among a sprawling grove of ancient live oaks in South Austin and housed in an elegant Southern manor, gleaming white with a large wraparound porch and, starting in the sixties, resident peafowl. For decades, Green Pastures was a true icon of the Austin dining scene. “When it comes to putting seafood and cream sauce inside puff pastry, the kitchen has the act down pat,” said a Texas Monthly review from 1983.

The brand-new Inn at Green Pastures, which opened its doors to guests this past December, is indeed just the latest chapter for a property with a long and rich history in the capital. The original home, constructed in the late nineteenth century, served as a farmhouse in what was then rural South Austin. In 1916, it was purchased by attorney Henry Faulk and his wife, Martha “Mattie” Faulk. Among the Faulks’ five children was John Henry Faulk, who was raised on the property before becoming a well-known radio host, humorist, First Amendment warrior, and one of Texas’s great raconteurs. Eventually, one of John Henry’s sisters, Mary Faulk Koock, along with her husband, Chester Koock, made the residence her home. And it was Mary, a talented chef (with the guidance of one James Beard, she authored the noteworthy Texas Cookbook), who first launched Green Pastures into its restaurantdom.

Through the years, Green Pastures has changed hands a few times, most recently in 2015, when it was acquired by the local La Corsha Hospitality Group, which breathed new life into the restaurant with necessary and extensive renovations to the tune of $10 million. Green Pastures became Mattie’s, named for Martha “Mattie” Faulk. Opened in 2017, the restaurant gained due acclaim for its Southern fare. A Texas Monthly review from its opening year described it as “a delightful update of that old-Austin icon” that was “carefully recrafted in a sleek yet stately way.”

Since then, in a wise move that included not attempting to fix what wasn’t broke, the La Corsha folks, who are behind such projects as the Hotel Settles, in Big Spring; the East Austin Hotel, in Austin; and the upcoming Baker Hotel, in Mineral Wells, among others, have simply enhanced the property with the construction of the hotel. Mattie’s remains fully intact, fully functional, and the central focus of Green Pastures’ sprawling six acres. But this new draw is a standout addition.

A double queen room at Inn at Green Pastures — A double queen room at the Inn at Green Pastures.Casey Dunn

The inn’s 63 rooms and suites (rates start at $325 a night) are strategically tucked into the southeastern rear of the lot (Mattie’s is located in the center), and the three-story structure is barely visible from the street. The surrounding portion of the Bouldin Creek neighborhood is a quiet, mostly residential enclave in the midst of otherwise-bustling South Austin. The hotel’s bucolic setting appealingly belies the fact that the inn sits adjacent to busy-ish South First Street and within walking distance of pulsing South Congress Avenue.

I had the pleasure of experiencing an overnight stay in early January. Upon entering Green Pastures from West Live Oak Street, I meandered beneath a leafy canopy along a twisty drive to a valet stand (valet parking is mandatory). From there, a slightly elevated wooden walkway took me to the hotel’s front doors and small lobby. La Corsha teamed up with Austin design firm Clayton Korte (the Commodore Perry Estate, in Austin; Albert Hotel, in Fredericksburg; Pullman Market, at Pearl in San Antonio), and the result is a stylishly polished yet somewhat understated space, both inside and out. Natural woods, mostly blond oaks, and mid-century-modern-ish furniture and decor are warmly welcoming, as is the wood-burning fireplace found in Henry’s Nite & Day, a hip space that functions as the hotel’s bar and casual restaurant, serving coffee, breakfast, lunch, and dinner late into the night.

Henry’s is an accessible supplement to Mattie’s (which was closed for a short winter break while I was there), and I can personally vouch for the excellent service, caviar-and-dill-enhanced deviled eggs, delicious smashburger, out-of-this-world cornmeal pancakes and slab bacon, and generally relaxed vibes. Bartenders double as deejays, tending to the vinyl collection and accompanying turntable.

Though the early-January temperatures did not allow me to indulge, the hotel has a perfectly modest swimming pool, which will surely be a draw in the warmer months. Food and drinks are serviced by Henry’s Poolside, Henry’s Nite & Day’s alfresco alter ego. On the wellness front, a better-than-average hotel fitness studio featured Technogym equipment, and the next enhancement for Green Pastures, a luxury spa, is set to open in 2028.

The rooms are similarly mid-century-modern-ish. My standard king pool-view room had a combination of oak hardwood flooring and rich green carpeting, Sferra linens, a fluffy bathrobe and slippers, a spacious walk-in shower, bath products by Lather, a flat-screen television, a Tivoli Bluetooth speaker, and a minibar with mostly locally sourced beverages and snacks. True boutique-hotel bona fides were displayed by way of a kind and welcoming handwritten note left for me on my coffee table, along with two complimentary bottles of water and a “small indulgence,” which consisted of a pair of gluten-free vanilla bean shortbread cookies with caramelized white chocolate.

Though I live in Austin, I took the opportunity to get out after my dinner at Henry’s and sample a little of what South Austin has to offer. The hotel provides complimentary bicycles, but it was nice out, so I chose to walk the short distance to South Congress. As I made my way there (twenty or so minutes), with an eye toward catching some local music at the venerable Continental Club, I passed plentiful good dining options along South First. Right near Green Pastures are the casual, vegetarian Bouldin Creek Café; the upscale, farm-to-table Lenoir; and the always-great Vietnamese boulangerie Elizabeth Street Café. Visitors wanting to experience South Congress will find plenty more there: excellent restaurants (Perla’s, Home Slice Pizza, Aba, Maie Day, and Joann’s Fine Foods, to highlight just a few), live-music venues (the Continental Club, C-Boy’s Heart and Soul), and high-end shopping (Hermès).

As it was Wednesday night, I took in a set from Austin stalwart Jon Dee Graham, who maintains a residency at the Continental. As I made my way back to Green Pastures on foot, I felt invigorated by the evening and my whole in-town excursion. I would be a little sad at checkout time.

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Austin, TX

3 Takeaways From Texas A&M’s Win in Austin

Published

13 hours ago

January 18, 2026

Press Room

3 Takeaways From Texas A&M’s Win in Austin

The Texas A&M Aggies were able to avenge their first conference loss against the Tennessee Volunteers last Tuesday with a win over the Texas Longhorns at the Moody Center in Austin Saturday night, 74-70.

Rashaun Agee clocked in another double-double, and the Aggies took the lead early in the first half and never handed it back to their rivals, no matter how close it seemed that the Burnt Orange was to coming back.

In the end, the Ags reigned supreme and clutched their first win over the Longhorns in the state capital for the first time since the 2002 season.

The Notebook: Three Takeaways

Texas A&M Aggies forward Rashaun Agee (12) dunks against Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) during the first half at Moody Center. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Rashaun Agee Does It Again

For the fourth time in the past six contests, A&M forward Rashaun Agee recorded a double-double, this time with 17 points and 11 rebounds Saturday, continuing to show his presence as a playmaker for the Aggies in the short amount of time he and the rest of the team have been a part of the team.

Thanks to his professional-level performances, Agee is close to averaging a triple double for the season, with 13.3 points and 8.7 rebounds so far in the 2025-26 season, and the Aggies are undefeated whenever Agee scores in double figures in points and rebounds, except for their overtime contest to the SMU Mustangs where Agee scored 13 points and 11 rebounds in the 93-80 loss.

History Does NOT Repeat Itself in Austin

And Texas A&M couldn’t be happier for it.

Last year’s visit to Austin saw the Aggies up by 20 points late in the first half, only for the Longhorns to ride the comeback and take the 70-69 win with a layup by Tramon Mark with three seconds left to stun the Maroon and White.

Thankfully, that wasn’t case Saturday night, but it seemed like the stars were aligning for it to happen again, as the Aggies built up a double-digit lead midway through the second quarter, and then it was like the Longhorns couldn’t miss, and had there been a few more minutes on the clock, a repeat of last year could’ve definitely been in store.

However, Jacari Lane was able to sink the free throw that made it a four-point game and completely dashed Texas’ chances for victory, moving the Aggies to 4-1 in conference play.

“Bucky Ball” Continues To Shape Into Form

The assist numbers were slightly down for the Aggies, only getting 14 on the night, but the three-point percentage was right at 40, and the shooting was much more efficient as the game went on, making over half of their field goals on 27-of-53 shooting.

After just under 20 games, Bucky McMillan’s game plan seems to be translating over to College Station just fine, with the occasional struggles at the three-point line and slight inconsistencies at the charity stripe.

Texas A&M will look to keep its momentum rolling in conference play as it takes on the Mississippi State Bulldogs back home in College Station at Reed Arena Wednesday night at 8:00 PM.

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Austin, TX

Swims You Might Have Missed On The Final Day Of The 2026 Austin Pro Swim Series

Published

1 day ago

January 18, 2026

Press Room

Swims You Might Have Missed On The Final Day Of The 2026 Austin Pro Swim Series

2026 PRO SWIM SERIES – AUSTIN

As the Austin Pro Swim Series draws to a close, there were a few swims on the final night that you may have missed.

Van Mathias made a lot of noise in the breaststroke events this week, but had a stunning swim to take 2nd in the 50 fly last night. He hacked six tenths off a second off his best of 23.62, set in the semi-finals, to notch 23.06 and rise to third in the world this season. Not only that, but he is now the 5th-fastest U.S. man in history in the event.

Ryan Erisman has thrown down some speedy swims on freestyle in Austin, but closed out the meet with the 200 fly, an event he hadn’t swum since 2024. He knocked 1.47 seconds off his best of 1:59.47, going 1:58.00 for 3rd place.

Bobby Finke also tried the 200 fly on for size, swimming the third-fastest time of his career in 1:59.34. That included a 29.11 final 50 which took him from 8th to 4th.

Brinkleigh Hansen set a big best time en route to silver in the women’s 800 free, knocking seven seconds off the 8:42.75 she swam 18 months ago. She swam 8:35.78 tonight, beating Claire Weinstein by over a second, and now ranks 39th in the 15-16 age group.

Luc Dionne notched another breaststroke personal best, slicing a second and a half off in the 200 to go 2:13.31. He also ranks highly in the 15-16 age group, moving up from 18th to 6th, just ahead of American Record holder Matt Fallon.

Emma Harvey lowered her own Bermudian record in the women’s 50 fly last night, shaving eleven-hundredths off to go 26.59 and place 4th overall. She neared her nati0nal standard of 28.34 in the 50 back later in the session, swimming 28.70 for another 4th place finish.

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