Spectator Books: Behold, America

Is the “American Dream”, as Donald Trump claims, dead? Is “America First” a policy of national pride or a dogwhistle to white supremacists? In this week’s books podcast we take the long view. My guest, Sarah Churchwell, excavates the long histories and surprisingly variable meanings of these two phrases in her new book Behold, America:…

A white supremacist neo-Nazi group, the National Socialist Movement, hold a rally on the south steps of L.A. City Hall. 25 NSM members of the group waived neo-Nazi flags and ranted their messages of hate and white supremacy. A couple of NSM members were attacked by a large counter demonstration. (Photo by Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images)

Is the “American Dream”, as Donald Trump claims, dead? Is “America First” a policy of national pride or a dogwhistle to white supremacists? In this week’s books podcast we take the long view. My guest, Sarah Churchwell, excavates the long histories and surprisingly variable meanings of these two phrases in her new book Behold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream — and shows how central they have been to the United States’s long argument with itself about the meaning of the nation, and how they continue to be so today.

Listen to…

Is the “American Dream”, as Donald Trump claims, dead? Is “America First” a policy of national pride or a dogwhistle to white supremacists? In this week’s books podcast we take the long view. My guest, Sarah Churchwell, excavates the long histories and surprisingly variable meanings of these two phrases in her new book Behold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream — and shows how central they have been to the United States’s long argument with itself about the meaning of the nation, and how they continue to be so today.

Listen to more episodes of Spectator Books and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

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