Jon Stewart

It is March 31st.

We are on the lamb side of March moving into April.

And other than that, though, I would say I am I'm having a feeling of I don't know what it's like to be on a bobsled course or on a luge course.

But that's what it feels like right now in this country.

We appear to be careening towards something.

And you're not quite sure if we are going to stay on the track or fly off and explode in midair.

And when I have feelings like this, when the complexities of the world

and the velocity of world events seem to be speeding towards a frightening conclusion, I reach to those, as Mr. Rogers would say, I reach for the helpers.

I reach for the helpers, those that can help put this in perspective.

And our guest today is just one of my favorites who I just, I love her Substack.

I love everything that she does.

But her ability to sort of create frameworks around all these things that are so difficult for all of us to process is what makes her such a valuable voice in this current moment.

So I'm just going to get on in and bring on our guest, the fabulous Heather Cox Richardson.

So, ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct pleasure and honor to welcome back once again the great Heather Cox Richardson, professor of history at Boston College.

Heather, thank you so much for being here.

First of all, let me apologize to you that in times of trouble, I hate to treat you like a salve that I reach for in times of need, a bottle of Valium.

Your experience and your knowledge of the arc of history and the narratives of history always bring me a comfort.

in that the things that we're experiencing are not necessarily unprecedented, and that there are historical analogs, which we don't want to use as a crutch necessarily.

But Heather, I'm wondering in this moment, I wanted to reach out to you because it feels there is...

a toxicity that seems to be building to some kind of volcanic eruption.