There’s currently a debate in America about what students should be learning about U.S. history. Some say we don’t revere American exceptionalism enough. Others say we're giving ourselves an A+ by excluding the tests we failed.

HumoristAlexandra Petri says both sides are wrong. We just don’t know enough about the things we need to know, such as how inventor Nikola Tesla fell in love with his pigeon or about the secret tapes of Nixon yelling at his dog Checkers.

This hour, an irreverent look at how we teach, learn and remember U.S. history.

GUESTS: 
Alexandra Petri is a humorist, a columnist for the Washington Post and the author of Nothing Is Wrong and Here is Why, which was a Thurber Prize finalist. Her new book is Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents
Mike Pesca is host of the podcast The Gist, author of the Substack column Pesca Profundities, and the editor of Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs In Sports History

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Lily Tyson, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show. 

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

There’s currently a debate in America about what students should be learning about U.S. history. Some say we don’t revere American exceptionalism enough. Others say we're giving ourselves an A+ by excluding the tests we failed.
Humorist Alexandra Petri says both sides are wrong. We just don’t know enough about the things we need to know, such as how inventor Nikola Tesla fell in love with his pigeon or about the secret tapes of Nixon yelling at his dog Checkers.
This hour, an irreverent look at how we teach, learn and remember U.S. history.
GUESTS: 
<ul>
<li>Alexandra Petri is a humorist, a columnist for the Washington Post and the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Wrong-Here-Alexandra-Petri/dp/1324006455">Nothing Is Wrong and Here is Why</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Wrong-Here-Alexandra-Petri/dp/1324006455">,</a> which was a Thurber Prize finalist. Her new book is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alexandra-Petris-History-Important-Documents/dp/1324006439/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20ER915TJC3E6&amp;keywords=alexandra+petri%27s+us&amp;qid=1684777512&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=alexandra+petri%27s+us%2Cstripbooks%2C92&amp;sr=1-1">Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents</a></li>
<li>Mike Pesca is host of the podcast <a href="https://www.mikepesca.com/">The Gist</a>, author of the Substack column <a href="https://www.mikepesca.com/substack">Pesca Profundities</a>, and the editor of <a href="https://www.mikepesca.com/publications">Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs In Sports History</a></li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/wnprcolin">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Lily Tyson, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show. 
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-colin-mcenroe-show/id714179884">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p?si=89RJodkWRsOo1dck5BCdMA&amp;nd=1">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvYWMwYmU5NjktZDdkZi00NjBjLWE2NmMtYTZmOTAwZTFlYmQxLzcxZGM0YTBmLWU4Y2EtNDAyMS1hZWM5LWFhMDMwMDI2MDQyZC9iNjk1Y2I4Ny1mNmE5LTRjNzYtOGYxMS1hYTAzMDAyNjA0M2IvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/colin-mcenroe-show-rsspodcast">Stitcher</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters">Subscribe to </a><a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters">The Noseletter</a>, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

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