I Was Too Melancholy About America. Let Me Try Again. (w/ Clint Smith) | Bulwark Podcast

It's hard to be in a celebratory mood about America 250. The administration only wants to tell a narrow story of the country without all the contradictions and complexities of its history. And for the past 18 months, it has also been a particularly challenging time for black members of the military under Hegseth, who brazenly disregards their service, blocks promotions of black officers, or expunges them from the ranks. But the aspiration of America as a multiracial, multiethnic, multi-faith democracy is a noble one, and our job is to keep trying to build the country we want it to be. Plus: the man who's trying to stop the magafication of the Smithsonian, advice for how to talk to kids about the country's history, and the simple joys of a July 4th cookout. The Atlantic's Clint Smith joins Tim Miller for the holiday weekend pod. This episode is sponsored by The New York Times. SHOW NOTES: Clint's piece on being black in Hegseth's military: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/07/black-military-patriots-hegseth/687306/?gift=AO0MhSsTDaHgiP_RxFGfBzd1Rek5q5qTih_7cCPC5ko Clint on the man who's put himself between Trump and the Smithsonian: https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/06/trump-bunch-smithsonian/687660/ Clint's "How the Word Is Passed": https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-the-word-is-passed-a-reckoning-with-the-history-of-slavery-across-america-clint-smith/af2776bd47d437e6 Thursday's "Morning Shots" on the words of Gerald Ford: https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/this-july-4th-ignore-trump-listen-to-gerald-ford-nation-of-immigrants-independence-day Tim's July 4th playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ekcosMTqalwOr7uj0ZKT4 This week only, a full Bulwark membership for everything we offer on our website is $86 a year. That's 14 percent off at http://thebulwark.com/july4