This week on Scandalized, we go back to the 1850s, and things get violent. A U.S. Senator clings to life after being beaten in the halls of Congress by one of his colleagues. The caning of Senator Charles Sumner; its causes, its consequences, and its familiar political divisions.

In 2009, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford disappeared without a trace from the state he was supposed to be running. Where did he turn up, and how did he handle the messy aftermath? The answer is pretty scandalous.

As Barack Obama burst onto the presidential stage in 2008, American voters saw a candidate who might deliver change they could believe in; but Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich saw a “golden” opportunity that would land him in a world of political trouble.