James Carville on America at 250: How the Hell Did We Get Here? episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 30, 2026 · 40 MIN

James Carville on America at 250: How the Hell Did We Get Here?

from The Lincoln Project · host The Lincoln Project

Two hundred and fifty years ago, a handful of revolutionaries bet everything on an idea no one thought would survive a decade — a country that governs itself, with no king and no crown. So how the hell did we get here? This week, Rick Wilson sits down with legendary Democratic strategist James Carville — the Ragin' Cajun himself — for a no-holds-barred conversation about America's 250th birthday and the long, strange road that led to this moment.A Democrat and a Never-Trump Republican walk through how the country actually got to the brink: the slow erosion of norms, the parties that lost the plot, the voters nobody listened to, and the economic anxiety that keeps getting ignored while Washington fights culture wars. Carville and Wilson don't agree on everything — but they agree the experiment is closer to the edge than it's been in a long time. Equal parts history lesson, gut check, and two old bulls telling it exactly like it is. America has survived worse than this. The question is whether we still remember how.•••••Follow James at https://www.youtube.com/@Politicon and on social at @JamesCarville. Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln.#JamesCarville #RickWilson #America250 #LincolnProject #PresidentialHistory #July4th #Democracy #Politics #PoliticalPodcast #Elections #CurrentEvents #Podcast👉 Hydrate your liver at the cellular level with LTVIf you’re tired, bloated, or feel like water isn’t working anymore, this could be the fix.  🔥 Get up to 64% OFF for a limited time and visit http://drinkltv.com/Lincoln#adProtect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/lincolnproject. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Trustpilot rating as of 6/1/2025. #ad

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James Carville on America at 250: How the Hell Did We Get Here?

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This episode was published on June 30, 2026.

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Two hundred and fifty years ago, a handful of revolutionaries bet everything on an idea no one thought would survive a decade — a country that governs itself, with no king and no crown. So how the hell did we get here? This week, Rick Wilson sits...

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