How Will History Judge Joe Biden?

About this episode

The episode examines Joe Biden's political journey and the implications of his leadership in the context of American history and politics.

A year on, what does Trump’s comeback say about Biden’s understanding of the country he led? Was his vision of America already obsolete — a relic of the bipartisan consensus forged in the 1950s when young Joe was coming of age?  In this episode, we trace Biden’s life through the long arc of American politics over the last 80 years, examining the forces that shaped him and the decisions that defined his time in office, his personal story—tragedy, perseverance, and decades of political ambition—and his commitment to a particular vision of America, as the last best hope of earth.   In the end, what do Biden’s undoubted successes and ultimate, era-defining failure tell us about that optimistic, exceptionalist vision of America in which he so passionately believed?  Adam Smith is joined by Franklin Foer, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future. And Bruce Schulman, William E. Huntington Professor of History at Boston University, and pre-eminent scholar of American political history. The Last Best Hope? is a podcast of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of…

People in this episode

Host: Adam Smith

Guests: Franklin Foer, Bruce Schulman

Topics covered

• Joe Biden
• American politics
• Trump's comeback
• bipartisan consensus
• political ambition
• vision of America

Keywords

• Joe Biden
• Trump
• American politics
• bipartisan consensus
• political history
• exceptionalism
• Franklin Foer
• Bruce Schulman

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Atlantic, Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford

Books & works: The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future

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