As America turns 250, this historian says there are limits to looking back episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 8, 2026 · 42 MIN

As America turns 250, this historian says there are limits to looking back

from The Sunday Magazine

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jill Lepore says the United States is out of step with its history. She discusses how the country's tendency to look back to its origins when making legal decisions today is unique – and can be detrimental – to Americans.Plus: Want a soundtrack to America 250? Spin some jazz. Musicians Christian McBride and Terri Lyne Carrington, and musicologist Tammy Kernodle, reflect on hearing America's history – its promise, pain and highest ideals – in one of the country's top homegrown artforms.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 8, 2026

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As America turns 250, this historian says there are limits to looking back

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