Heather Cox Richardson on America’s Vibe Shift
7/20/202657 min
If historian Heather Cox Richardson ever had an agenda, it’d be protecting democracy. The history professor and author of the “Letters from an American” Substack joins Nicolle this week to consider the knock-on effects of economic pain at the grocery store and unpredictability at the podium on voter’s perception of Trumpism. She reflects on violence from ICE officers in her home state of Maine, the whiplash messaging in the war with Iran and concerns about the cyclosporiasis outbreak — which she sees as emblematic of places “where the federal government used to protect American families and are no longer.” Throughout, Richardson seamlessly adds historical context to our modern-day political struggles. And she makes it clear that we may already have what we need to recover: “What Americans are really doing in this moment is recovering their agency,” she says. “That’s a vibe shift.”
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Heather Cox Richardson· Guest0:45
What Americans really are doing in this moment is recovering their agency, remembering that, you know, they don't wanna just watch an image of what it means to, to be a president, that actually there is joy in the creation of a community that is safer. There's joy in the creation of getting, you know, your college degree. There's joy in the creation of a new business, or of a stable family, or of health. And that joy of creation and creating a government that reflects those things, that's a vibe shift.
Nicolle Wallace· Host1:18
[upbeat music] Hi, everyone. If you make a list of the people you admire most, and then you ask those people who they admire most, chances are