EP 274: Jon Meacham on the Soul of America and Donald Trump

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham helps us understand the present moment of crisis in American politics by looking back at critical times in our history when hope overcame hatred and reveals how his latest book The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels was born in the dark days following the infamous Charlottesville rally. He talks about similarities between the current age and the 1920’s, how America during Great Depression could have easily followed the path of Germany into totalitarianism, and what Donald Trump could learn from the fate of red-baiting Senator Joseph McCarthy. He discusses moments when Presidents have served as moral leaders for the nation including the day George H.W. Bush handed in his NRA card and an oft forgotten speech by Dwight Eisenhower that is all too relevant today. Plus George H.W. Bush's biographer shares some candid memories of the late former First Lady Barbara Bush.

Order Jon Meacham's book The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels on Amazon or Audible. Keep up with him at www.jonmeacham.com and follow him on Twitter at @jmeacham. Today's episode was sponsored by Citizen Watches, Grasshopper, Quip, and U.S. Markerboard.