Welcome to The United States of Amnesia, a podcast bringing history to the present!
The United States of Amnesia

America First Posts

Content related to our America First series (Series 100) about the origins and history of the "America First" movement in the United States.
Old Man Trump
Jan. 18, 2026

Old Man Trump

There have been some questions involving the arrest of Fred Trump at the Klu Klux Klan rally in 1927 (see Episode 102). Could he have been there to protest the Klan?  Did his presence really imply an acceptance of the Klan's doctrine of white r…
Theodore R. Johnson's Washington Post Column on the Fragility of U.S. Citizenship
Jan. 15, 2026

Theodore R. Johnson's Washington Post Column on the Fragility of U.S. Citizenship

Theodore R. Johnson's Washington Post column of January 14, 2026, discusses the "fragility" of U.S. citizenship in which he describes the injustice and danger of allowing the United States Government to decide capriciously who does and does not belo…
Ishaan Tharoor's Washington Post column on Sparta and Athens
Dec. 31, 2025

Ishaan Tharoor's Washington Post column on Sparta and Athens

Washington Post columnist Ishaan Tharoor's December 30, 2025, column from the newspaper's Today's WorldView newsletter discusses how right-wing politicians in the United States and globally are embracing an ethos based on the militaristic myth …
Fareed Zakaria on U.S. Isolationism and Opposition to Immigration (The Washington Post, December 19, 2025)
Dec. 20, 2025

Fareed Zakaria on U.S. Isolationism and Opposition to Immigration (The Washington Post, December 19, 2025)

Columnist Fareed Zakaria assesses the Trump administration's 2025 National Security Strategy and draws parallels between it and American opposition to immigration in the 1920s and American isolationism in the 1930s in his Washington Post column of D…
Karen Tumulty on U.S. Nativism (The Washington Post, December 7, 2025)
Dec. 7, 2025

Karen Tumulty on U.S. Nativism (The Washington Post, December 7, 2025)

Columnist Karen Tumulty compares U.S. nativism of the 1920s with that of today in her Washington Post column of December 7, 2025, discussing themes we also covered in our "America First" series. If you have access to The Washington Post's content, y…
Episode 2 is Out!
Oct. 15, 2025

Episode 2 is Out!

The sequel to our debut episode is here! Episode 102: America First- Part 2 picks up where we left off and dives into the birth of the “America First” ideology, including its roots in post–World War I paranoia, the Red Scare, and t…
Image Gallery for America First
Oct. 1, 2025

Image Gallery for America First

This gallery of photos, maps, and other images add to our America First audio series about the rise and evolution of the "America First" movement in the United States from the 1880s through World War II. The gallery includes links to episodes for ea…
Debut Episode is Live!
Oct. 1, 2025

Debut Episode is Live!

We are proud to present the first episode of our podcast, The United States of Amnesia, now available on all major streaming services! A lot of work went into this episode, including researching and structuring, investing in supplies and equipment, …