A California native, Mike Caires got his Ph.D. in history at the University of Virginia, where he studied under Gary Gallagher. For the past year, he worked at the American Civil War Museum in downtown Richmond. Mike has a book coming out next year on the economics of the Civil War. He and Colin discuss everything from ska music to the class divide in America, the continued importance of the Four Freedoms, and the perils and pleasures of grad school.