This is on point, I'm Megna Chacrabardi.

Heather Cox Richardson is one of the best-known public intellectuals of the day.

She's an historian of 19th century America, particularly the nation's rending and renewal

before and after the Civil War.

But for 21st century readers, Richardson is so much more than that.

Back in 2019, she began writing daily Facebook posts about the impeachment of Donald Trump.

Her call analysis infused with historical context, while carefully avoiding the hysterics

found in mainstream media, soon made her a go-to information source for her readers.

Then Richardson moved her posts to Substack.

Her newsletter, Letters from an American, now has more than 1.2 million daily readers,

who consider her not just an information source, but their primary news source to help

them understand history's current churn.

She is, by far, Substacks' most successful writer, filling a gaping void for Americans

who yearn for literate, principled, and clear-headed analysis of the day's news, as the Washington

Post recently put it.

Richardson's principled stance infuses her latest highly anticipated book.

It's called Democracy Awakening, notes on the state of America.

She kicked off her book tour with us at a special live conversation held at WBUR's City

Space Events venue.

So for today's show, we're honored to bring you that conversation.

I began by asking Heather Cox Richardson this question.

In the future, will a future Heather Cox Richardson look back at 2024 and pinpoint that year

...