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Jun 9, 2026 25 min

America's birthday blues

from Today, Explained Hosted by Vox

America's 250th birthday party has gotten political. So did its last big one. This episode was produced by Kelli Wessinger and Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by David Tatasciore and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King. The Capitol and Lincoln Memorial near a video display showing "250" projected on the Washington Monument during an America250 kickoff celebration. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠

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America's birthday blues

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