The Case for Speechmaking in the Age of Doomscrolling

The Case for Speechmaking in the Age of Doomscrolling

From The Next Big Idea by Next Big Idea Club

May 28, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

Ben Rhodes discusses the importance of great American speeches and their impact on identity and politics.

America's a funny place. It's not a country with a fixed geographic or religious identity. We don't have a common story of divine creation. "What we have," writes Ben Rhodes in his new book, ⁠All We Say⁠, "are words." The words of the founding documents, yes — but also "the words of speeches spoken by Americans who call us to be that better version of ourselves." Ben has spent more time with great American speeches than just about anyone. For eight years, he was a speechwriter in the Obama White House, crafting some of the defining oratory of the era. His new book is a 250-year tour through 15 speeches that built the country, challenged it, and raised its sights. He tells us how FDR changed the course of WWII from behind the lectern, how MLK ad-libbed one of the most famous lines in American history, and what Obama's 2008 speech about race can teach today's politicians about storytelling. And he makes the case that America needs great oratory now more than it has in a long time. 💬 LINES WE LOVED: “Try to imagine American identity without speeches. It's hard to do. It's almost like secular scripture. Think about the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's second inaugural, the ‘I Have a…

People in this episode

Guest: Ben Rhodes

Topics covered

  • speechmaking
  • American identity
  • political oratory
  • history
  • communication

Keywords

  • speechmaking
  • American speeches
  • politics
  • identity
  • oratory

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: All We Say

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