Trailer: Tocqueville Road Trip
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Who was Alexis de Tocqueville and why is he called the foreign correspondent’s superhero?
Alexis de Tocqueville is the nearest thing foreign correspondents have to a superhero. He arrived in America on a boat from France in May eighteen thirty one. A young aristocrat on a mission. The US was still a long way off being a superpower back then. It was barely fifty years old. But Tocqueville caught a glimpse of what it could become. A new kind of society that would give the world a spectacle for which history had not prepared it. A land with no kings or queens, where citizens made the rules. And so he set off on a nine-month road trip to figure out how it worked.
How did John Prideaux first encounter Tocqueville’s *Democracy in America* and why does he call it the most insightful book on the United States?
He spoke to Americans from all walks of life. He filled up 14 notebooks and dozens of letters with his observations. Then he returned to France and wrote a book called Democracy in America. For my money, it's still the single most insightful thing ever written about the United States. I'm John Prideau, the US editor for The Economist. That book has been my companion since I first arrived in Washington as a correspondent thirteen years ago. Togville's big insight was that America was much more than a country, it was an idea, one with the power to inspire followers and converts all over the planet, almost like a religion does. But now, two centuries after Tocqueville, more and more people are questioning their faith in the United States, and its right to lead the world.
To make sense of this change, I'm returning to Tocqueville to try to see this America through his eyes.
Why are people today questioning the American ‘idea’ that Tocqueville described as a quasi‑religion?
For a new podcast series, I'm going on my own road trip. Following the route Tocville took. Talking to Americans from all walks of life, just like he did. From New York's High Society.
Oh now everybody wants you to Cut back. We're all on a diet. To prisoners in Sing Sing.
What is John Prideaux’s modern road‑trip plan and how does it follow the original Tocqueville route?
I made choices, we made choices. Unfortunately, that letters here, right? But it's also we made choices to have a sitting this room with y'all now, so We learn it, and that's America. And from acolytes of the president. I do have a framed subpoena from the January sixth committee on my wall, which I'm very proud of. To victims of an unchecked government. This holding cell had bugs, it had feces on the wall, it was it was nasty. It was really, really disgusting.
Is the America Tocqueville documented in the 1830s still alive on its 250th birthday, or has his guidebook expired?
Well the Constitution's been thrown in a dumpster fire. It's not even foul. I hope that following in Tocqueville's footsteps will help me figure out what's happened to America as it reaches its 250th birthday. Is the country he described in Democracy in America still there? Or has this great guidebook to the future passed its expiry date? To listen, search for Tocville Road Trip, wherever you get your podcasts.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
Who was Alexis de Tocqueville and why is he called the foreign correspondent’s superhero?
0:03–0:46
2
How did John Prideaux first encounter Tocqueville’s *Democracy in America* and why does he call it the most insightful book on the United States?
0:46–1:56
3
Why are people today questioning the American ‘idea’ that Tocqueville described as a quasi‑religion?
1:56–2:19
4
What is John Prideaux’s modern road‑trip plan and how does it follow the original Tocqueville route?
2:19–2:46
5
Is the America Tocqueville documented in the 1830s still alive on its 250th birthday, or has his guidebook expired?
2:46–3:22