In this episode, Laura interviews author and Yale historian Greg Grandin about his new book The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America. They explore how America’s foundational myth of progress has given way to protectionism. Will opposition to the wall finally force us to reckon with the white supremacist conquest of the American frontier myth? And what can we do to replace destructive myths with productive truths?
“The thing about the ‘frontier thesis’ is it marginalized extremism on both sides of the political spectrum. The constant moving out and forward allowed the US to constantly defer its extremism. All of the trauma created by the last war could be rolled over into the next war… We no longer have that option.”
Guest
- Greg Grandin, Yale professor, historian and author
