Speeches as a Key to American Identity

The Brian Lehrer Show | Jun 8

Ben Rhodes, contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, co-host of Pod Save the World, an advisor to former president Barack Obama and the author of All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches (Random House, 2026), talks about his new book that tells the history of the United States and its central conflicts through public speeches, from Benjamin Franklin to Donald Trump.

Photo: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to supporters during his farewell speech at McCormick Place on January 10, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

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