America: The Story of the USA

From the war on Disney to the calamitous Presidential campaign launch on Twitter, Ron DeSantis is no stranger to the news, but what do we really know about him? In this episode, we take a closer look at Trump's early challenger for the Republican nomination. Where does he come from? What does he stand for? And what does his meteoric rise through the GOP tell us about politics in America, as we ans...

When you think of slavery, you most likely picture an African American on a white southern plantation, but the roots of slavery extended to Native American communities too. In this episode we take a closer look at Cherokee freedpeople, why emancipation didn't necessarily mean freedom, and the complicated relationship with the federal government as we answer... how did slavery impact Cherokee Natio...

From peanut farmer to Nobel Peace Prize winner via the White House, Jimmy Carter is a man driven by his strong faith in God, and a strong desire to succeed. But what exactly did the 39th President achieve, and what will his enduring legacy be? In this episode, we dive a bit deeper in our first Presidential biography as we ask... who is Jimmy Carter? Our guests this week are: Iwan Morgan, an emerit...

The American Dream has come to define what every American should reach for. You'll hear it in almost every Presidential campaign speech, you'll read about it in every American novel, and you'll see it depicted in every classic American painting (basically anything by Edward Hopper), but do we even know what it is? Is it the same for everyone? And how can you get it? In this episode we are going to...

On average, there is at least one mass shooting in America every single day. News of the latest school shooting has become a regular occurrence, as gun crime in America draws attention not just domestically, but around the world. Gun violence is an epidemic that shows no signs of stopping, but why? Why is banning guns so controversial? Who is standing in the way? And why would anyone still be in s...

When you think of the Civil Rights Movement, you probably think of Martin Luther King, the back of the bus, or maybe even the Klu Klux Klan. Over time, the battle for civil rights in America has been simplified, tweaked, even fabricated. So in this episode we take a closer look at a struggle which has torn apart, reshaped and defined the United States of America as we ask... what do we get wrong a...

The Super Bowl has evolved from just an American football game to an annual entertainment spectacle. But how did the Super Bowl manage to live up to its name so much? Why is football so deeply rooted in American life? And what does America's love of sport tell us about their national identity? In this episode, we explore how a national sport became a multi-billion dollar economy as we answer the q...

When you think of US history, do Native Americans come to mind? In this episode, we begin our journey into the history of indigenous people of North America, their complicated relationship with the US federal government, and their ongoing fight to protect the land they call home, as we answer the question... who are Native Americans? Returning from the faculty today is Jacqueline Fear-Segal, Profe...

The US Supreme Court is not averse to grabbing headlines. It caused a major recent controversy for overturning Roe v Wade in 2022. The decisions made by the Supreme Court set precedence and define the US legal landscape. However, the small group of justices are comprised of individuals nominated by the President. In this episode we're going to look at the politics of the Supreme Court - who are th...

Over the past 250 years, the United States of America have grown from 13 founding colonies to 50 states and multiple territories, but what does it take to become a state? Why is expansionism so important? And what about Native Americans? In this episode, we explore how colonialism created a blueprint for modern America as we answer the question... how did the 50 states become the 50 states? We're...

In the mid 1980s, author Winston Groom published a story which would, thanks to its Oscar-winning Hollywood adaptation, come to be a quintessential American tale. Forrest Gump's life zigzags around some of the most important moments in 20th century American history. But where's the line between fact and fiction? In this episode we dive into a modern classic and do a bit of fact-checking to answer...

The President of the United States is arguably the most high profile head of state, and not an easy job to win. But what does it actually take to get to the White House? How is it possible for someone to lose the national vote and still win the election? And how is it that America's democratically elected Presidents can be as divisive as Donald Trump, or as scandalous as Richard Nixon? In this epi...

It's almost impossible to talk about American history without looking at slavery. The slave trade and slavery became one of the economic foundations of the US throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, but a growing anti-slavery movement created a huge political divide which ultimately led to the American Civil War. Today, it's hard to imagine why anyone would risk their life to preserve the in...

The US Constitution has been the bedrock of United States law since its creation shortly after the American Revolution. But how does something drafted over 200 years ago remain so relevant? What exactly is the difference between the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Amendments? And what exactly is the difference between federal and state law? In this episod...

In this special preview episode of America: A History Podcast , we ask some of our faculty and special guests... what is America? From gun control to Black Lives Matter, the US is a land of opportunity and contradiction; a 'land of the free' but also one of the last countries to ban slavery; the 'home of the brave' where guns are the single biggest killer of children. America is a country with a c...

Welcome to America: A History Podcast, where we have a dream to do US history more bigly than anyone has done it before and make podcasts great again. Launching on July 4th 2023. Each week, host Liam is joined by an expert from the University of East Anglia and a special guest to explore the people, places and events that make the USA what it is today, answering a different question like 'how are...