Today is the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth — and so on Between the Covers, we have a podcast with Michael J. Kline, author of The Baltimore Plot: The First Conspiracy to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln. The events he describes took place just before Lincoln’s inauguration, as the president-elect made his way to Washington by train. Years ago, I studied this episode closely, for my own edification, and I can say that Kline’s book is excellent. Kline even discusses a possible link between the Baltimore plotters and John Wilkes Booth–he admits that it’s highly speculative, but it’s also really interesting and was completely new to me. So check out the interview.

Now, here’s what makes it super-cool. Have you seen that candid-camera Coke Zero commercial, in which a couple of guys from Coke meet with a lawyer to discuss a lawsuit against Coke Zero for taste infringement? It’s a nutty idea, and that’s what makes it amusing. Anyway, the lawyer in the commercial is Kline. By day, he’s an attorney for Coke. He says that going in, he didn’t know it was a set-up, but he quickly caught on and played along.

So listen to his podcast, then watch his commercial.