Podcast Summary: The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Episode: Jill Lepore on the Long Sweep of American History
Host: David Remnick
Guest: Jill Lepore
Date: September 24, 2018

Overview

This episode features David Remnick in conversation with Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore, on the occasion of her sweeping new book, These Truths: A History of the United States. The discussion uses Lepore’s book as a lens to examine America’s turbulent, often painful history, stretching from the 15th century to the Trump era, and tackles ongoing debates about identity, immigration, press freedom, and national narrative.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Ambitious Undertaking of These Truths

• Scope of the Book: Lepore’s book traces over 600 years of American history—from 1492 through the election of Donald Trump.

  • Quote:
    “You’ve decided to do a survey of over 600 years of American history from 1492 to last week.”
    — David Remnick (02:11)

• Motivation and Challenge: Inspired partially by a dare from her publisher, and a desire to write the comprehensive history she wished existed.

  • Quote:
    “Partly, I really can’t turn down a dare...I wish there was a book like that. And I decided someone should try.”
    — Jill Lepore (02:35)

The Foundations of American Ideals and Historical Atrocities

• Beginning with Grim Truths: The nation was shaped by vast suffering—colonization, enslavement, decimation of Native populations.

  • Quote:
    “It is actually the assassination of worlds...that profound loss and suffering...that makes possible the ideas on which this nation is founded.”
    — Jill Lepore (03:30)

• The Role of the Powerless: Political ideals like equality and rights didn’t arise in a vacuum, but in reaction to oppression and protest by the marginalized—slaves, servants, Native peoples.

  • Quote:
    “It is that conversation that sparks all this political thought that makes possible...American independence...Their origins are darker and more complicated.”
    — Jill Lepore (04:27)

Who Counts as an American? – History and Modern Immigration Debates

• Immigration’s Place in History: Restrictionist arguments are historically untenable—the founding era had, in effect, open borders for over a century.

  • Quote:
    “Importantly, there are no federal laws restricting immigration until the 1880s...Open borders are the most scandalous thing in American history. No...they’re actually the founding ideal.”
    — Jill Lepore (05:40)

• Present Context: Modern controversies over travel bans, detentions, and deportations echo longstanding anxieties over national identity and belonging.

The Power and Dangers of Moral Crusades in Politics

• Rediscovering Mary E. Leese: Leese, once the most famous populist speaker before William Jennings Bryan, believed that empowering women was key to remedying political powerlessness and exposing corruption.
  • Quote:
    “She was very tall...She said, ‘Man is man, but woman is superwoman...’”
    — Jill Lepore (08:06)
• Legacy of the Moral Crusade: The tradition of using “moral crusades” in American political life is longstanding, wielded by both progressives (abolition, suffrage) and conservatives (prohibition, anti-feminism, McCarthyism, Goldwater, Reagan).
  • Quote:
    “Populism becomes a female crusade...and then it turns into prohibitionism...by now, the crusade...is just a great big giant wrench in the American political campaign toolbox.”
    — Jill Lepore (08:54)
• Trump and the Crusade Tradition: Trump uses the language of crusade but is chiefly anointed by figures from that tradition (e.g., Phyllis Schlafly), not a crusader himself.
  • Quote:
    “No, I wouldn’t think so, no. No. But he uses the language of a moral crusade and he...is anointed by people who are associated with the moral crusade.”
    — Jill Lepore (09:24)

The Free Press and America’s Political Communication

• Roots of Press Freedom: The unique importance of a free press in the U.S.: democracy needs an informed citizenry to function.
  • Quote:
    “They do understand that if people are going to be able to vote for their representatives...the people need to have enough information to cast informed ballots.”
    — Jill Lepore (10:25)
• Conflict is Old, Not New: Fierce arguments, accusations, and anger toward the press are not new—even Jefferson was scathing about newspapers—but he still affirmed their necessity.
  • Quote:
    “This is the famous thing of Jefferson saying...every newspaper should be divided into four sections: truths, lies, improbabilities, and impossibilities.”
    — Jill Lepore (11:37)

Assessing America’s National Mood: Is This the Worst It’s Been?

• Historical Perspective: Lepore provides scale—while the current political climate feels chaotic and anxious, previous eras (slavery, internment) were far worse for many Americans.
  • Quote:
    “If we are talking about...all of the American past...there is no day before the Emancipation Proclamation that isn’t worse than today, not a single day...”
    — Jill Lepore (12:39)
• Current Atrocities: Recent episodes, such as the detention of immigrant children, are “as great a moral travesty...as anything done in the name of the American people at any point in our history.”
  • Quote:
    “That...is as great a moral travesty and atrocity as anything done in the name of the American people at any point in our history.”
    — Jill Lepore (13:38)

The Myth of Inevitable Progress

• Illusions of Moving Forward: The belief in continual American progress is itself an ideological stance, not an inevitable reality.
  • Quote:
    “That notion of the forward progression itself is the illusion...I don’t actually think it represents the real patterns to be discerned in [the] American past.”
    — Jill Lepore (14:47)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• On the Book’s Ambitious Scope:
  "You’ve decided to do a survey of over 600 years of American history from 1492 to last week."
  — David Remnick (02:11)
• On the Crucible of American Ideals:
  "It is that...crucible of violence that makes possible the ideas on which this nation is founded."
  — Jill Lepore (03:45)
• On Immigration’s Historical Reality:
  "Open borders are the most scandalous thing in American history. No, they're not. They're actually the founding ideal."
  — Jill Lepore (06:18)
• On Political Mythmaking:
  "That notion of the forward progression itself is the illusion."
  — Jill Lepore (14:47)
• On Moral Outrage and Atrocity:
  "That...is as great a moral travesty and atrocity as anything done in the name of the American people at any point in our history."
  — Jill Lepore (13:38)

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• [02:25] — Why undertake a single-volume history of America?
• [03:30] — How the suffering of the powerless shapes American ideals
• [05:18] — What immigration debates reveal about American identity
• [06:37] — Mary E. Leese and the roots of the moral crusade in politics
• [09:19] — Is Trump a “moral crusader”?
• [10:25] — The origins and necessity of the free press in the U.S.
• [12:15] — Has America ever been as anxious as it is now?
• [14:24] — Illusions of historical progress and national mythmaking

Style and Tone

Jill Lepore brings a blend of scholarly insight and engaging narrative style, frank about America’s tragedies but also its ideals and possibilities. David Remnick’s questions are direct, prompting Lepore to connect history to today’s most urgent debates.

For listeners and readers: This episode distills centuries of American history into core themes of struggle, inclusion, myth, and the ambivalent arc of progress, all through Lepore’s clear-eyed, deeply-researched perspective.