It is almost impossible to comprehend Donald Trump's political rise and fall and rise without the work of Kevin M. Kruse.

Kevin is a historian who specializes in segregation and the civil rights movement, the rise of religious nationalism, and the making of modern conservatism. He co-edited the book Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies of Our Past and is the author of White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism and One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America.

His scholarship makes him the perfect person to discuss the RNC, the DNC, and the whitewashing of January 6th. He also has exceptional insights into the wild significance of the first Black woman presidential candidate taking on an insurrectionist casino owner from Queens who has become the braying avatar of Christian Nationalism and the Southern Strategy.

And Kevin’s passion for myth-busting makes him the perfect person to pierce the BS histories reactionaries invent to justify their victimhood and their support for the ultimate victim, Donald Trump.

You’re probably already following him on Bluesky and Threads where he makes both apps worth joining.

I also have to personally thank Kevin for boosting Downballot for Democracy, our effort to ensure people know the smartest places to put their money so freedom wins in November. We’re nearing $50,000 raised, and we couldn’t have done a tenth of that without him.

Catch up on all the episodes of “How are you feeling about democracy?” here.