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Hello, I'm Cleo Levin, one of the editors bringing members' exclusive Slate Plus content.

I recently spoke with host Josh Levine and senior producer Evan Chung about making this season of one year.

Then, Josh spoke with historian Tracy Campbell about his book, The Year of Peril, America in 1942.

Here's a snippet from that conversation.

There's something kind of comforting to me that in moments of great crisis people can step up,

but also that people are always people.

Yeah, I think in a strange way history can be comforting that way in ways that we're not expecting, that if we don't gloss over and create a history that never really existed, then we don't have something we have to live up to.

That human beings in all situations can sometimes rise to extraordinary levels and remarkable heroism to selflessness can also be extremely self-serving and petty at the same time.

That's the human condition, and history ought to be something that helps us

understand that rather than gloss it over with a history that never existed in the first place.

Slate Plus members have access to this full conversation. You can join us by going to slate.com

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