When William Howard Taft moved into the White House, he brought with him an unlikely resident: a 1,500-pound Holstein cow named Pauline Wayne. In an era before widespread refrigeration, Pauline provided fresh milk and butter for the First Family, quickly becoming a national curiosity and one of the most famous “pets” ever to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But her time in Washington wasn’t all calm grazing and newspaper photos—at one point, Pauline vanished for two days and narrowly avoided being sent to a slaughterhouse, turning a wholesome presidential experiment into a near disaster.

In this episode of The American Presidency: Unfiltered, host Brad Pitzl unpacks the strange, charming, and revealing story of the last cow to live at the White House. Along the way, the episode explores what Pauline Wayne tells us about food safety, celebrity, and daily life in the early 20th-century executive mansion, before following Taft beyond the presidency to his unique second act as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It’s a witty yet thoughtful look at how a cow, a president, and a changing America all became part of the same unlikely history.

Step inside The American Presidency: Unfiltered as host Brad Pitzl uncovers one of the most surprising eras in presidential history. This episode dives into the buttoned-up world of James K. Polk and First Lady Sarah Polk, the couple who famously banned dancing, card-playing, and hard liquor from the White House. From temperance-inspired receptions to state dinners with carefully rationed champagne, Brad explores how the Polks transformed America’s most powerful home into the quietest social venue in Washington. With historical detail, sharp wit, and plenty of snark, this episode highlights how one devout First Lady reshaped political hospitality in ways few presidents ever attempted.

But this story is more than a quirky footnote. Brad contrasts the Polks’ strict rules with the lively traditions of other administrations, including presidents who drank heavily, gambled freely, and danced well past midnight. This episode also breaks from the show’s usual tales of rowdy banquets and boisterous political mischief, offering a fresh look at the pros and cons of a no-fun White House. If you enjoy presidential history with personality, humor, and the occasional raised eyebrow, this is an episode you will not want to miss.

In this episode of The American Presidency: Unfiltered, host Brad Pitzl dives into one of the strangest linguistic legacies ever left by a U.S. president. Martin Van Buren may not dominate modern history books, but his nickname, “Old Kinderhook,” helped popularize what would become the most universally recognized word in the English language: “OK.” From campaign slogans to political shorthand, this episode unpacks how a savvy 19th-century branding moment escaped politics and embedded itself into everyday conversation.

Along the way, Brad explores Van Buren’s carefully crafted image, the surprisingly modern nature of early American political marketing, and how a two-letter abbreviation outlived the president who inspired it. Equal parts history, trivia, and presidential oddity, this episode proves that even the most overlooked leaders can leave behind cultural fingerprints we still use every single day — often without realizing where they came from.