Podcast
Letters from an American
Hosted by Heather Cox Richardson · EN
Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
609episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Trump’s Broken Promises
Apr 1300:13:50Summary readyApril 12, 2026War with Iran has pushed inflation to 3.3% - the fastest rate of growth in almost two years, Energy costs skyrocket as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, J.D. Vance negotiates with Iran in Pakistan but quickly announces that the negotiators could not reach an agreement, While negotiations were underway in Islamabad, Trump watches a UFC match in Miami, Trump announces a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Viktor Orban, championed by MAGA, loses bid for re-election in Hungary, Pope Leo XIV speaks out against the administration’s claim that the war in Iran is a holy war, Trump attacks Pope Leo XIV in response.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Summary
Attack on Fort Sumter
Apr 1200:11:38Summary readyApril 11, 2026On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on South Carolina’s Fort Sumter, South Carolina had left the Union the previous December, When Abraham Lincoln took office in March, 1861, seven Southern states had left the Union, forming their own provisional government, The Confederate government rested on the belief that Black men are not equal to white men, Northerners rejected the white southerners’ attempt to destroy the principles of the Declaration of Independence, After the attack on Fort Sumter, Lincoln called for troops to put down the rebellion against the government, The Civil War would take hundreds of thousands of lives at huge cost, But by its end, the institution of human enslavement was destroyed.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Summary
Has Something Shifted?
Apr 1100:09:35Summary readyApril 10, 2026Donald Trump’s genocidal threats earlier this week terrorized millions of Iranians and thus violated the Geneva Conventions, Trump continues to try to assert his power over Iran, Trump has issued further threats in an interview and on social media, Trump is throwing the economic might of the US behind authoritarian Viktor Orban of Hungary in his run for re-election, Trump’s actions this week have given momentum to those trying to rein him in, Democrats are asking the president’s physician for a detailed report on Trump’s health, Pushback is being seen across the US, and rock and roll legend Bruce Springsteen is giving voice to that power.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Summary
Falling Apart
Apr 1000:10:44Summary readyApril 9, 2026Trump’s ceasefire immediately begins to fall apart, Israel does not accept an end to its bombardment of southern Lebanon, Iran closes Strait of Hormuz in response to Israel’s continued bombing, Actual terms of the ceasefire remain murky and Trump backs away from his celebratory statements, Democrats return early to Washington DC to try to force a vote to end the war on Iran but Republicans shut them down, Melania Trump makes statement to the press about Jeffrey Epstein, Trump rages on social media at former allies and at the Wall Street Journal, and then posts a graphic video of the murder of a woman, accompanied by more wild and racist attacks. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Summary
Meeting at Appomattox
Apr 900:03:47Summary readyApril 8, 2026General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee agreed to meet at the home of Wilmer McLean in Appomattox on the afternoon of April 9 to work out the terms of the surrender of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, Upon signing the papers, the grandly dressed Lee told the somewhat disheveled Grant that his men were starving, Grant did not hesitate to agree to provide the soldiers with provisions, The Civil War was not won, as the South had imagined, by wealthy aristocrats, but by ordinary men of the Union Army who, like Grant, knew that they had a job to do.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Summary
Trump’s Mad and Desperate Threats
Apr 800:09:36Summary readyGet full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Summary
Lies and Non Sequiturs
Apr 700:10:07Summary readyApril 6, 2026According to Aaron Rupar, “It is difficult to cover him in a way that conveys how unhinged he is,” The story is the president, himself, At the White House Easter Egg Roll Trump makes outrageous claims, Trump tells lies to reporters and to children attending the Easter Egg Roll, At a White House press conference Trump continues with lies and non sequiturs and alarming statements about destroying Iran’s infrastructure, Both chambers of Congress are away, and Republicans show no sign of calling them back in spite of Trump’s looming threats, NY mayor Zohran Mamdani is illustrating how a different kind of governing works.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Summary
The President’s Ultimatums
Apr 600:08:54Summary readyApril 5, 2026In a rant on social media, Trump threatens Iran again, Trump’s post threatens to commit war crimes, Post pushes back the deadline for extreme measures, possibly in an effort to affect the stock market, Trump claims talks are underway but Iran is not dealing with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Kushner and Witkoff have deep financial ties to the Middle East, Saudi investments in the US are under review, Senators, journalists, former intelligence officers,, and predictions markets are expressing significant concerns about Trump’s cognitive state.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Summary
Exerting Their Will
Apr 600:06:46Summary readyApril 4, 2026Pete Hegseth fires US Army chief of staff, Iran shoots down a US fighter jet and hits a Warthog aircraft and a helicopter, One airman was missing but later rescued, Strikes come two days after Trump's claim that Iran has been beaten, No one in the administration has commented to the public about the strikes, A post on Trump’s social media suggests that he may be about to attack civilian targets. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Summary
NATO
Apr 400:06:45Summary readyApril 3, 2026April 4 is the anniversary of the creation of NATO - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, After WWII, the US and its allies recognized the importance of peacetime alliances, The pact enlisted the US to stand behind the security of Western Europe, All 12 member states agreed to defend one another against an attack by a third party, Since 1949, the alliance has expanded to include 32 countries, Originally concerned mainly with resisting Soviet aggression, recently NATO has resisted the aggression of Putin’s Russia, NATO countries stand together without being identical, creating a diverse organization dedicated to the cause of freedom and peace. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Summary