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This is On Point. I'm Anthony Brooks, in for Megna Chakra-Bardi.

This hour, the fight over America's history.

We're talking about one of President Trump's many executive orders, this one entitled Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.

In it, Trump targets the Smithsonian Institution and its sprawling collection of museums,

which he says promote a divisive, race-centered ideology.

He says the Smithsonian needs to be restored to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.

The president claims that over the past

decade, there's been a concerted effort to rewrite our nation's history in a way that makes America

look bad. But as critics say the executive order does just that, that it's an effort to rewrite

history in the service of his political ideology. So what happens when politics collide with our effort to understand our shared history?

Well, joining us now is Jennifer Schusler.

She's a reporter at the New York Times who covers scholarship, history, and ideas.

She's been writing a lot lately about this particular executive order and the Smithsonian.

She joins us from New York City,

and Jennifer, welcome to On Point. It's great to have you. Great to be here. So I think it might

be useful just to kick off this show with just a brief description of what the Smithsonian

institution is for listeners who might not have had a chance to visit these wonderful museums

in Washington.

Tell us just a little bit about what the Smithsonian is.

Well, the Smithsonian was founded in 1848 with a bequest from an Englishman who wanted there

to be created in Washington, D.C., you know, a museum that would disseminate, promote and

...