The History Wars and America at 250, with the Historian Jill Lepore

About this episode

<p>The two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence arrives during intense disputes about American history, as the Trump Administration demands a more glorifying view of the nation’s past at federally run historical sites and in federally funded projects. The staff writer <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/jill-lepore" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jill Lepore</a> (who won the Pulitzer Prize in History this month for her book “<a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631496080" rel="noopener noreferrer">We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution</a>”) guest-hosts a special episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour about this fraught moment, reflecting on the responsibility of academic historians to shape the public debate. She compares our moment with the bicentennial—which fell in the wake of the Vietnam War and the scandals of Richard Nixon’s Presidency—in a conversation with the Yale historian Beverly Gage. Lepore looks at the nature of the country’s war over history with <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/jelani-cobb" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jelani Cobb</a>, the dean of Columbia Journalism School and a staff writer at <i>The New Yorker</i>. They discuss the Donald Trump-approved “Freedom 250” projection on the Washington Monument, and talk about how Americans can meaningfully participate in the semiquincentennial. If “we’re sitting around waiting for the occupant of the White House to tell us what American history means,” Lepore says, “you just kind of want to walk into traffic.” </p> <p>Further reading: </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/america-at-250" rel="noopener noreferrer">America at 250</a>, a special issue of <i>The New Yorker</i></li> <li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/why-the-declaration-of-independence-went-through-seventeen-drafts" rel="noopener noreferrer">Was the Declaration of Independence Better Before the Edits?</a>,” by Jill Lepore</li> <li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/03/09/scandal-protest-goofiness-and-grandeur-at-the-us-bicentennial" rel="noopener noreferrer">Scandal, Protest, Goofiness, and Grandeur at the U.S. Bicentennial</a>,” by Jill Lepore</li> <li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/11/two-hundred-and-fifty-years-of-complicated-commemorations" rel="noopener noreferrer">Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Complicated Commemorations,” </a>by Jelani Cobb</li> <li>“<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-Land-is-Your-Land/Beverly-Gage/9781668033104" rel="noopener noreferrer">This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History</a>,” by Beverly Gage</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, <i>New Yorker</i> staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>