A Time of Perfect American National Unit...

In August 1863, as Lee's army retreated from Gettysburg and Vicksburg fell to Grant, the Union's Anaconda Plan deployed hundreds of ships to strangle 3,500 miles of Confederate coastline, triggering hyperinflation and economic collapse as the South lost its ability to export King ... Show More

Pompeii's story is usually told through the lens of catastrophe—perfectly preserved bodies frozen in ash, a civilization erased in hours, sort of like a Roman version of the Chicxulub impactor that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago —but the real tragedy isn't just that Mo ... Show More

When St. Francis of Assisi was near death in 1226, he joked with companions that his corpse would be practically as valuable as gold. And he was right: In medieval Europe, relics, or the physical remains of saints, weren't just symbols, they were the center of an entire economy. ... Show More

In this episode we discuss the history of Nationalism and the idea of a nation state. What does it mean to be an American? What is an american? To whom should we be loyal? How should a government relate to its people? 

When the United States of America was founded, it was only a union of a small number of states. By the beginning of the 20th century, the United States had become an empire; with states and territories and colonies that spanned the globe. As a result, the country began to not onl ... Show More

<p>The philosopher and cultural theorist Kwame Anthony Appiah argues against a mythical, romantic view of nationhood, saying instead it should rest on a commitment to shared values.</p><p>He explores the history of the idea, born in the 19th century, that there are peoples who ar ... Show More

The founding of the United States on July 4th, 1776, changed the world, and inspired other colonies to control their own destinies. The men responsible for writing and signing the Declaration of Independence - the Founding Fathers - have gone down in history as legends, with an a ... Show More

<p>“Manifest Destiny” is a uniquely American idea. The phrase captured the sense of inevitability—and entitlement—many citizens still feel. But in the 19th century this idea consumed American’s thought and identity.</p><p>In the minds of white settlers moving westward, expansion ... Show More

Andrew Lambert, Professor of Naval History at King’s College, London, author of eighteen books, and winner of the prestigious Anderson Medal—turns his attention in a book that historian Felipe Fernandez Armesto describes as full of ‘ambition’, ‘verve’ and at times ‘brilliance’ - ... Show More

The Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. Every part of your life - the words you speak, the ideas you share - can be traced to our&nbsp;history, but how well do you really know the stories that made&nbsp;America? We'll take you to the events, the times and the pe ... Show More

The white nationalist ideas of Madison Grant influenced Congress in the 1920s, leaders in Nazi Germany, and members of the Trump administration. This week, we share an episode we loved from It's Been A Minute with Sam Sanders that explores a throughline of white nationalism in Am ... Show More