What It Means to Be American | The David Frum Show

In this episode of “The David Frum Show,” The Atlantic’s David Frum opens with his thoughts on the nearly two decades of economic turmoil that has caused younger generations to lose faith in American institutions and led to the rise of populism in the United States. David argues that as the country stands on the precipice of a Donald Trump–manufactured economic crisis, perhaps we will learn to appreciate the basic ideas that led to prosperity in the 1980s and ’90s. Then David is joined by CNN’s Fareed Zakaria to reflect on the American ideals that captivated David and Fareed when they first immigrated to the U.S. and whether they still ring true today. As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, David and Fareed discuss whether this country remains the same one they moved to many years ago and whether America has strayed from its foundational principles. Finally, David concludes the episode with an examination of Italo Calvino’s 1972 novel, “Invisible Cities,” and a discussion about our postliterate society. Sign up for David Frum’s newsletter alert to find out when a new story is published: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/da... Subscribe to “The David Frum Show” on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Subscribe to “The David Frum Show” on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/79CBHED... Follow The Atlantic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theatlantic... Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple podcasts. Subscribe today at https://accounts.theatlantic.com/prod... Subscribe to The Atlantic on YouTube: http://bit.ly/subAtlanticYT #davidfrum #thedavidfrumshow #theatlantic 00:00 Introduction 00:54 Economic Storm Clouds 01:55 From Stability to Shocks 03:24 Populism After 2008 06:04 Fareed Zakaria 07:52 Do We Regret Becoming American? 13:19 250th Anniversary Culture Shift 21:15 Morality in Foreign Policy 28:16 System Wrecking Superpower 34:02 Postwar Alliance Miracle 38:03 Immigration Debate Turns Dark 47:03 Freedom Versus The State 50:28 Fourth Of July Reflections 54:01 Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities”