Letters from an American

Home
Now & Then Podcast
On My Mind
Support
Archive
About
Now & Then Podcast

Now & Then Podcast

How can the past help inform today’s most pressing challenges? Every Tuesday, award-winning historians Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman use their encyclopedic knowledge of US history to bring the past to life. Together, they make sense of the week in news by discussing the people, ideas, and events that got us here today.
New
Top
Community
Nostalgia & Political Power
What are the political purposes of nostalgia? Why does the GOP idealize the American past? And what can this backward-looking perspective give or take…
 • 
Heather Cox Richardson
5
The Mirage of Money (or, NFTs, WTF?)
Why have NFTs captured the American imagination? What can the recent instability in the NFT market tell us about the history of speculative bubbles…
 • 
Heather Cox Richardson
1
Free Speech: What IS Cancel Culture?
Why are Americans so preoccupied with so-called “cancel culture”? What are the lines between accountability and cancellation? And what drives citizens…
 • 
Heather Cox Richardson
Free Speech: The Government and Us
How has the federal government limited and protected free speech rights over the course of American history? How have citizens responded when Washington…
 • 
Heather Cox Richardson
3
American Jews and the American Story
How have Jewish Americans fought for their identities? And how have other American groups used Jews to define themselves? White House celebrations of…
 • 
Heather Cox Richardson
Tax Dollars and Tech Dollars: Who Supports Society?
Who should support the needy in American society? The news is filled with controversies over the use and misuse of philanthropy, from Mackenzie Scott’s…
 • 
Heather Cox Richardson
2
Don’t Say Gay: A Queer History
State lawmakers have proposed almost 250 anti-LGBTQ laws in 2022 alone. Why are we seeing such a virulent political backlash to sexual identity? And…
 • 
Heather Cox Richardson
1
© 2023 Heather Cox Richardson
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing