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Letters from an American
Heather Cox Richardson
Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics. heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
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Podcast · RSS feed
Heather Cox Richardson
Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics. heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
Loading the latest episodes…
Our Weekly Newsletter
The week's most-shared posts, checked. What they claimed, how they argued, and what held up.
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53 episodes
Not checked · Oct 20, 2026 · 9:27
October 19, 2026 Ten 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…
Not checked · Oct 19, 2026 · 9:08
October 18, 2026 Putin 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…
Not checked · Oct 19, 2026 · 5:55
October 17, 2026 People 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…
Not checked · Oct 17, 2026 · 11:24
October 16, 2026 Chaos 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…
Not checked · Oct 16, 2026 · 15:23
October 15, 2026 The idea that when a democratic system is taken over by a single party it quickly becomes corrupt describes what is happening in Trump’s orbit, In the last few days, multiple examples of corruption have emerged, Kimberly Guilfoyle was forced to resign from her…
Not checked · Oct 15, 2026 · 14:35
October 14, 2026 Ukraine’s military relies on two satellite systems related to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and last night SpaceX restricted speed limits, debilitating Ukraine’s drones even as Russian forces launched strikes against the country’s infrastructure, President Zelensky noted…
Not checked · Oct 14, 2026 · 9:25
October 13, 2026 The attacks on James Talarico were likely an attempt to get ahead of another damaging story about Ken Paxton, The Wall Street Journal reported that Paxton spent New Year’s Eve in Dubai partying along with two fugitives from US Justice, While the administration…
Not checked · Oct 13, 2026 · 17:51
October 12, 2026 Billionaire Elon Musk has put at least $366 million into trying to elect Republicans in the midterm elections, Republicans are publishing material accusing Democrats of being radicals, But it is the right that is radical, attempting to consolidate power in the…
Not checked · Oct 11, 2026 · 14:12
October 10, 2026 Trump is openly backing Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, Trump blamed President Zelensky for prolonging the war waged by Russia, Trump has issued a warning to Zelensky, The US previously stood against Russia’s invasions of Ukraine, In 1991 Russia agreed to…
Not checked · Oct 10, 2026 · 15:47
October 9, 2026 Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump's ambassador to Greece, was revealed to have asked Eric Deters, who wanted help from the administration with tax and legal issues, for money to pay her credit card bill, The grifting and corruption of Trump’s family and associates…
Not checked · Oct 10, 2026 · 11:21
October 8, 2026 On October 8, 1871, the Peshtigo Fire burned through the Midwest, and claimed between 1,500 and 2,000 lives, The Peshtigo Fire was the deadliest wildfire in US history, The Great Chicago Fire happened the same day, but was smaller and less deadly, Yet the Great…
Not checked · Oct 8, 2026 · 3:01
October 7, 2026 On October 7, 2016, the story of the Access Hollywood tape broke, in which Trump told tv host Billy Bush about his approach to women, Five years later on October 7, 2021, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s draft report on its investigation into Trump's attempt to…
Not checked · Oct 7, 2026 · 14:54
October 6, 2026 Trump’s social media posts suggest he is panicking, Trump is blaming Ukraine for driving up oil prices, He is incensed about reports that people aren’t turning out for his rallies, He accuses the New York Times of doctoring a picture of Trump National Doral where…
Not checked · Oct 6, 2026 · 13:11
October 5, 2026 The US Southern Command struck another small boat in the Caribbean, bringing the number of strikes to more than 70, The administration has not made its justification for the strikes public, although there was a DOJ memo, US District Judge Engelmayer has demanded…
Not checked · Oct 5, 2026 · 12:41
October 4, 2026 Saying he will make a payment to seniors, and also pay all Americans if Republicans win in the midterms, Trump is openly talking about using taxpayer money to buy votes, Trump is increasingly worried about Democrats winning control of Congress in the upcoming…
Not checked · Oct 4, 2026 · 5:06
October 3, 2026 The Power to the People festival on October 3rd, organized by Tom Morello, had a legendary line-up of musicians, Attendees could find ways to get involved in government and a portion of the proceeds went to VoteRiders, a nonpartisan organization working to…
Not checked · Oct 3, 2026 · 11:59
October 2, 2026 Trump held a campaign rally in Mobile, Alabama today, Mobile is where his MAGA rallies really took off in August 2015 when more than 30,000 people showed up, In 2015, Trump tapped into the anger of people who felt they had been dispossessed, Trump promised to…
Not checked · Oct 3, 2026 · 12:38
October 1, 2026 The Trump administration is defying Congress, taking funds appropriated for specific purposes and redirecting them, Some of those funds were used to pay for the ads boosting Trump before the midterms, The destruction of the fundamental separation of powers at the…
Not checked · Oct 1, 2026 · 9:43
September 30, 2026 After more than two decades, the deaths of countless Iraqi civilians and more than 4,500 US troops, the wounding of more than 30,000 US military personnel, and a cost of more than $2.8 trillion, the US has pulled out the last of its forces from Erbil Air Base…
Not checked · Sep 30, 2026 · 13:58
September 29, 2026 At a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Jack Smith was questioned about the case charging Trump with using fraud and deceit to overturn the 2020 election results, The courts have interpreted the language in the Constitution that protects speech in…