America: The Story of the USA

America: Study Notes are quickfire explainers for all the things you want to know about the USA, but don't want to ask. Today, The Founding Fathers - who they were, how they came together, what they believed, and why they remain so consequential to the creation of the United States. . America: The Story of the USA is a Podcasts by Liam production for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mercury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠British Association for American Studies⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/ JOIN TEAM SOTUS: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/community Get in touch: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, tech bros unite to sign an accord that means they pinky promise to not destroy humanity with AI. The likes of OpenAI, Meta, Google and Elon Musk's xAI have agreed to create more robust internal checks on themselves, after OpenAI announced the postponement of their latest model due to safety failures. Meanwhile, Google are launching AI satellites into orbit, with Elon Musk's help, which is reassuring. Plus, the Senate pass new laws giving college athletes more earning potential, while on the same day Donald Trump and Linda McMahon reverse Biden-era definitions of sexual misconduct, essentially removing protections for women and the LGBTQ+ community. And, new DNA evidence has exonerated a man who was spent nearly 40 years on Death Row. To discuss this, I am joined by Jared Bahir Browsh, a cultural historian, commentator and author from the University of Colorado Boulder. He studies the relationship between culture, money, power, and identity in the United States, specifically focused on sport and pop culture. . JOIN TEAM SOTUS: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/community . 01:48 - Media Ban Update 06:16 - Protect College Sports Act 19:21 - Sexual Misconduct Laws 24:34 - AI Accord 46:43 - Death Row Inmate Freed . News Sources: Trump reinstates sexual misconduct rule: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/28/trump-administration-finalizes-repeal-of-biden-era-title-ix-rule-01094990  OpenAI halts release of new model: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/openai-halts-release-next-generation-223702291.html  SpaceX launch prototype Google AI satellite: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/spacex-launching-prototype-google-ai-satellite-next-week/ar-AA2cXFTd?ocid=BingNewsSerp  Tech firms sign AI governance accord: https://apnews.com/article/trump-ai-anthropic-musk-595796511f110fc006cca0d01329733e  Utah man freed after nearly 40 years on death row: https://apnews.com/article/utah-death-row-douglas-carter-eva-olesen-10c0bf7603c87b214e0179ecf7a4be94  Senate overwhelmingly passes Protect College Sports Act: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/press/rep/release/senate-overwhelmingly-passes-protect-college-sports-act/  Trump reinstates sexual misconduct rules: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/28/trump-administration-finalizes-repeal-of-biden-era-title-ix-rule-01094990 . America: The Story of the USA is a Podcasts by Liam production for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mercury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠British Association for American Studies⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/ Join the community: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/community Get in touch: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Americans talk about democracy, they often invoke the Founding Fathers, the Revolution, and the Constitution. But the United States did not begin as a fully democratic nation, and the framers themselves disagreed profoundly about what democracy meant and how it should be structured. The Revolution was a fight against monarchy, but it was also a moment of contradiction: a struggle for liberty in a society that permitted slavery, limited political participation, and feared the dangers of popular rule. The framers built a republic that blended democratic principles with safeguards against what they saw as instability and faction. Today, we explore how the United States chose its form of government, what alternatives were possible, and how those early choices still shape American politics. So in this episode, in the first of a four part special, I’m asking… what does democracy mean? . Special Guests: Lindsay Chervinsky, one of the leading historians of the early American republic and Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library. . Join our new 24/7 SOTUS community now: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/community . Highlights: 02:16 - What Did Democracy Mean to the Framers? 08:35 - Is the American Revolution Radical? 12:29 - The Articles of Confederation 16:16 - State vs Federal Governance 21:12 - Passions of the Mob 25:57 - Vice President vs Deputy Prime Minister 30:59 - Different Types of Democracy 37:02 - Gerry Mandering & King George 42:40 - What Does Democracy Mean to Americans Today? 46:19 - Trust in Democracy . Contact us: [email protected] Team SOTUS: ⁠⁠⁠https://sotus.beehiiv.com/⁠⁠⁠community Brands & advertisers: [email protected] . Credits: Producer - Liam Heffernan Host - Liam Heffernan Editor - Liam Heffernan In Partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠British Association for American Studies⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America: Study Notes are quickfire explainers for all the things you want to know about the USA, but don't want to ask. Today, the eleventh President of the United States, James K. Polk - his election, his presidency, his key achievements and controversies, and his lasting legacy. . America: The Story of the USA is a Podcasts by Liam production for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mercury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠British Association for American Studies⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/ JOIN TEAM SOTUS: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/community Get in touch: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, as the US and Denmark agree a landmark deal to increase national security, NATO and the world are celebrating... but is this just the start for Donald Trump? Plus, Pete Hegseth's time as Secretary of Defense/War might be about to come to an end, so he'll never see the big Arc-du-Trump being built in Washington, now complete with drones and snipers. Plus, the banning of CNN, Politico and others from the White House is backfiring in spectacular fashion. To discuss this, I am joined by Ira Chaleff, author of To Stop a Tyrant: The Power of Political Followers. . JOIN TEAM SOTUS: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/community . 02:01 - Countdown to the Midterms 08:19 - Arc-du-Trump avec Drones et Snipers 13:16 - The Greenland Deal 24:18 - Pete Hegseth 35:08 - White House News Ban . News Sources: To Stop a Tyrant: The Power of Political Followers to Make or Brake a Toxic Leader by Ira Chaleff: https://a.co/d/0j2S9Aur  Midterm early voting officially kicks off: https://apnews.com/article/early-voting-midterms-congress-10a3e620ce194144ce1af5e9d4fb6786  Trump’s Washington Arc to Include Drones and Snipers: https://www.military.com/trump-plans-turn-washington-arch-into-military-complex-with-drones-snipers-ammunition  US and Denmark Agree Security Deal Over Greenland: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c63d7lexyym1o  Pete Hegseth in Crisis: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/05/pete-hegseth-pentagon-military  Trump bans CNN and Politico from White House: https://time.com/article/2026/09/18/trump-bans-3-news-organizations-from-white-house/ . America: The Story of the USA is a Podcasts by Liam production for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mercury⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, in partnership with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠British Association for American Studies⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/ Join the community: https://sotus.beehiiv.com/community Get in touch: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices