We’re celebrating America 250 with three-time Pulitzer winner Rick Atkinson, whose Revolution Trilogy strips the reverence off the founding to show what was actually there: the first American civil war, a continent of human loss, and a republic that has weathered worse than this. Outside of Politics, the most important question of the summer: what’s your favorite fair food?
Topics discussed:
The Revolution as America’s first civil war
Why Britain lost a war it was expected to win — and the role of allies
The human cost: Valley Forge and the letters of Sergeant Oliver Reed
The women of the Revolution and “remember the ladies”
Reliable and unreliable narrators in history
American exceptionalism, reconsidered
Outside of Politics: the glory of fair food
Want the full America 250 series, including our premium Good Morning and More to Say episodes? Join our community at pantsuitpoliticsshow.com.

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Sarah & Beth Podcasters

Pantsuit Politics is a podcast for real conversations that help us understand politics, democracy, and the news - while still treating each other like thoughtful human beings. We take a different approach to the news; our political analysis blends hard facts with important social and cultural undercurrents so you don’t miss the big picture. Over years of discussing everything from abortion to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we established basic rules of engagement, which we describe in our books, Now What? How to Move Forward When We’re Divided (About Basically Everything) (2022) and I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversation (2019). Listeners describe us as “America’s political therapists” and “our trusted, smarter friends who can help us make sense of the world.”