Letters from an American
Hosted by Heather Cox Richardson
About this Show
Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics. heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
Latest Episodes
The 1866 Midterm Election
TOctober 31, 2026Andrew Johnson traveled around the country in advance of the 1866 midterm election, to drum up support for his party, He denounced Congress and called certain Republican members of Congress traitors, and compared himself to Jesus Christ, The Democrats were the party of slavery an...
Not Moving the Needle, Anywhere
October 30, 2026Stories of fraud continue, Last summer, the Department of Homeland Security paid more than $495 million for a 1,600 bed prison that the state of Minnesota declined to purchase at a selling price of $75 million, Trump Media and Technology Group, of which Trump owns 41%, received $3...
Free and Fair Elections
October 29, 2026Flàvio Bolsonaro’s escape from Brazil to Miami was arranged in part by White House officials, Trump ordered the State Department to give Bolsonaro and his family temporary status, Trump asserts that Lula’s victory was rigged, Trump posted at length on social media about the East P...
Signs of MAGA Collapse
October 28, 2026Flàvio Bolsonaro, who lost the election to become president of Brazil, arrived in Miami with his family, in spite of his being barred from leaving Brazil, His defeat strikes a blow to Trump’s campaign to install right-wing leaders across Latin America, Trump apparently intends to ...
Manipulating the Media
October 27, 2026After a student-led democratic movement ousted Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić from power, Serbian TV apologized to viewers for failing to report what had been happening under his regime, In Brazil, Flávio Bolsonaro lost the race for the presidency to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva i...
Erratic and Corrupt
October 26, 2026Trump posted his longest-ever social media post last night, Giant turnout for rallies by Obama illustrate the changing mood of the country, Images of the packed venues for Obama, compared to the dwindling crowds for Trump, circulated on social media, Trump’s determination to keep...
Momentum
October 25, 2026In the last days of the 2026 midterm campaign, Democrats are picking up momentum, MAGA is pursuing what has worked in the past: a false narrative undergirded by cruelty, That narrative does not seem to be attracting voters, Republicans are avoiding any mention of tariffs, Trump is...
A New Approach
October 24, 2026The election of 1920 gave the Republicans control of the White House and Congress, Republicans rejected the Progressive Era’s idea that government should regulate business and protect workers and consumers, and turned the government over to businessmen, At first industrial product...
Oil Deals
October 23, 2026The restrictions that have been crippling Ukraine’s ability to protect itself from Russia continue in spite of Trump’s statement to the contrary, Oil deals explain Trump’s rush to normalize relations with Russia, The Polar LNG project, designed to liquefy natural gas in Alaska, wi...
Out of Whack
October 21, 2026The president’s behavior is becoming more and more erratic, He has abandoned the traditional allies of the US to align with Vladimir Putin and Russia, Trump claims he had nothing to do with the slowing of Starlink over Ukraine, but Congress members have vowed to hold whoever was r...
The White House Betrays Ukraine
October 20, 2026Elon Musk ordered SpaceX to slow down its Starlink service in Ukraine, It is unclear if Musk operated with or without input from White House officials, The slowdown caused a public uproar, whereupon representatives from SpaceX and the White House coordinated their messaging, Musk’...
Two Observations
October 19, 2026Ten years ago, Hillary Clinton, who was running for president against Donald Trump, warned that Vladimir Putin hoped to have a “puppet” in the White House, and that Trump was that puppet, Trump protested, but ten years later he is openly embracing Putin and working to destroy the ...
Things Have Changed
October 18, 2026Putin has proposed a meeting with Trump and Xi Jinping to decide the fate of Ukraine, Such a summit would formally acknowledge that the US has broken from Europe and allied with Russia, In just over a week, Trump has lifted sanctions on the sale of Russian oil, i which will send d...
No Kings: Vote Early
October 17, 2026People around the US and the world gathered at more than 3,000 No Kings:Vote Early events, Events were designed to encourage people to vote early, Republican dominated state legislatures have restricted access to the vote since 2020, Since the 2024 election, 22 states have passed ...
Making Voices Count
October 16, 2026Chaos reigns in the Trump administration with the resignation of new pick for WH press secretary after 5 days. Trump has walked back from braodcasting the execution of Nidal Hasan, The debilitation of Ukraine’s military defenses by SpaceX has led a bipartisan group of senators to ...