Set in the forests of upstate New York during the French and Indian War, James Fenimore Cooper’s 1826 novel has become one of the most enduring works of early American literature. It helped define the frontier myth, shaped American ideas about Native peoples, and influenced generations of writers, filmmakers, and cultural storytellers.
Today, as we mark its 200th anniversary, we explore its themes, its historical context, and its complicated legacy.
So in this episode, I’m asking… what is The Last of the Mohicans?
...
Special guest for this episode:
...
Highlights from this episode:
02:09 - Standing the test of time
06:21 - America's newfound sense of self
10:36 - The story of The Last of the Mohicans
15:40 - Romanticising colonisation
21:23 - What the frontier means for America
27:09 - White male heroes
31:29 - Native American representations
35:57 - National identity isn't just black and white
40:32 - A more colourful America
47:05 - I'm freakin' Hawkeye
...
Additional Resources:
...
And if you like this episode, you might also love:
How Did Slavery Impact Cherokee Nation?
...
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
Want to advertise with us and support the American Studies community?
Email [email protected] and let's talk.
Mentioned in this episode:
This episode is sponsored by What's Your Map
What's Your Map is the British Podcast Award-winning show from map expert Professor Jerry Brotton. In each episode, he invites a special guest to share a map that means something to them. It's a fascinating show, and you can listen to the new season right now: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/whats-your-map/id1766500219
America: Study Notes are quickfire explainers for all the things you want to know about the USA, but don't want to ask.
This week, A Brief History of the 50 States. I’ll explain how the United States grew from the 13 original states into the 50 states we have today, explaining the legal process of admission, major land acquisitions, political forces that shaped statehood, and the final additions of Alaska and Hawaii.
.
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
This week, we're talking about Trump showing signs of cooling on ICE in Minnesota, social media giants feel the pressure, plus Mr. Potato Head finds himself at the center of a legal dispute.
Plus, the US are lining up for a possible strike on Iran, but when will they make their move, and what will this mean for Iran, America, and the world?
All of this and more on another edition of America: A History in the Making.
.
Special Guest:
This week, we are delighted to be joined by Theo Zenou, Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University. He earned his PhD in American history from Cambridge University and writes for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal UnHerd and others.
.
Links to Stories in this Episode:
Donald Trump describes 'very good call' with Tim Walz
Judge orders ICE chief to appear in court or risk contempt | AP News
Greg Bovino, architect of Trump's immigration sweeps, departs Minneapolis | AP News
Why Rhode Island might ditch its Mr. Potato Head license plates | AP News
TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin - BBC News
Seahawks, Patriots set to meet in Super Bowl rematch - CBS News
Composer Philip Glass drops Kennedy Center world premiere over Trump takeover | Reuters
.
Want to advertise with us and support the American Studies community?
Email [email protected] and let's talk.
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
Mentioned in this episode:
This episode is sponsored by What's Your Map
What's Your Map is the British Podcast Award-winning show from map expert Professor Jerry Brotton. In each episode, he invites a special guest to share a map that means something to them. It's a fascinating show, and you can listen to the new season right now: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/whats-your-map/id1766500219
This week, we explore what is arguably the most consequential event in the creation of the United States, reshaping the Western world by enshrining new concepts of liberty, equality, and self-governance. So I want to know what really caused it, why people risked their lives for it, and how are modern day debates about power, justice and identity still shaped by it, as I ask… what is the American Revolutionary War?
...
Special guest for this episode:
...
Highlights from this episode:
02:56 - A world of empires
08:51 - Taxation without representation
17:21 - The revolution for social mobility
25:48 - Shaping American identity
29:27 - Key battles
34:12 - A mutual enemy
39:22 - The defining moments in America's victory
45:06 - Impact of independence on marginalised groups
49:29 - Liberty and equality for some
...
Additional Resources:
...
And if you like this episode, you might also love:
Why Did the USA Drop Atomic Bombs on Japan?
...
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
Want to advertise with us and support the American Studies community?
Email [email protected] and let's talk.
Mentioned in this episode:
This episode is sponsored by What's Your Map
What's Your Map is the British Podcast Award-winning show from map expert Professor Jerry Brotton. In each episode, he invites a special guest to share a map that means something to them. It's a fascinating show, and you can listen to the new season right now: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/whats-your-map/id1766500219
America: Study Notes are quickfire explainers for all the things you want to know about the USA, but don't want to ask.
This week, US time zones: what they are, why they exist, and a few quick tips so you don’t miss a lecture (or a podcast recording) ever again.
.
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
This week, on America: In the Making…
.
Special Guest:
This week, we are delighted to be joined by Emma Long, an Associate Professor in American History and Politics at the University of East Anglia.
.
Useful Links:
.
Want to advertise with us and support the American Studies community?
Email [email protected] and let's talk.
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
Mentioned in this episode:
This episode is sponsored by What's Your Map
What's Your Map is the British Podcast Award-winning show from map expert Professor Jerry Brotton. In each episode, he invites a special guest to share a map that means something to them. It's a fascinating show, and you can listen to the new season right now: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/whats-your-map/id1766500219
Today, we turn our focus to a figure who remains as enigmatic as he is iconic. Ascending to the presidency at one of the tensest moments in American and world history, he energized a nation with his call for a “New Frontier,” navigated the shoals of the Cold War, and inspired Americans with his vision for space and civil rights. Yet behind his polished image lay personal struggles, political obstacles, and a legacy marked as much by tragedy as by promise.
So in this episode, on the anniversary of his inauguration, I’m asking… who is President John F. Kennedy?
..
Special guest for this episode:
...
Highlights from this episode:
...
Additional Resources:
Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier by Barbara Perry
Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch by Barbara Perry
Miller Center: JFK Life Before the Presidency
Miller Center: Domestic Affairs
Miller Center: Impact and Legacy
JFK Library: Life of John F. Kennedy
JFK Library: The 1960 Election
National Archives: JFK in Congress
History.com: JFK and Marilyn Monroe
Encyclopedia Britannica: John F. Kennedy
JFK Assassination and Conspiracy Theories
National Archives: 1960 Election Results
University of Virginia: Barbara Perry CV and Bio
JFK Library: The Space Program
Rice University: JFK Moon Speech
Miller Center: JFK and the Space Race
...
And if you like this episode, you might also love:
What Was the Constitutional Convention?
Why Does the President Only Serve Two Terms?
Is the President Above the Law?
...
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
Want to advertise with us and support the American Studies community?
Email [email protected] and let's talk.
Mentioned in this episode:
This episode is sponsored by What's Your Map
What's Your Map is the British Podcast Award-winning show from map expert Professor Jerry Brotton. In each episode, he invites a special guest to share a map that means something to them. It's a fascinating show, and you can listen to the new season right now: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/whats-your-map/id1766500219
In July 2023, I launched a bit of a passion project, with my old lecturers at the University of East Anglia.
America: A History was born.
But a lot has changed in two and half years.
And we thought it was about time we did too...
Introducing, America: The Story of the USA, in partnership with the British Association for American Studies.
Returns 19th January.
...
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
Want to advertise with us and support the American Studies community?
Email [email protected] and let's talk.
The tree is up, the lights are on, and the presents are (probably) wrapped. Only two more sleeps until the day when sacred, family-oriented togetherness merges with ruthless consumer culture… or, as it’s more commonly known, Christmas. So in this episode we’re going to dive into the murky, tinsel-covered contradiction of the holiday season, as I ask… is Capitalism killing Christmas?
...
Special guest for this episode:
...
Highlights from this episode:
...
Additional Resources:
...
And if you like this episode, you might also love:
How to Make a Hollywood Christmas Movie
What's the History of Christmas in America?
...
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
Want to advertise with us and support the American Studies community?
Email [email protected] and let's talk.
Mentioned in this episode:
This episode is sponsored by What's Your Map
What's Your Map is the British Podcast Award-winning show from map expert Professor Jerry Brotton. In each episode, he invites a special guest to share a map that means something to them. It's a fascinating show, and you can listen to the new season right now: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/whats-your-map/id1766500219
In our last bonus episode of the year, I wanted to share some episodes that can get you through the holiday season, linked below, and give you a little tease of what's to come in 2026.
Spoiler alert: we are going bigger, better and bolder than ever before, so follow the podcast right now and be part of something mega!
...
And if you like this episode, you might also love:
Is Disneyland the Happiest Place on Earth?
Why is Santa So American?
...
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
Want to advertise with us and support the American Studies community?
Email [email protected] and let's talk.
Last year, I asked ‘Who is Santa Claus?’ We discussed the origins and early incarnations of the figure we now understand to be Santa through a more global lens. So this year, I want to continue this conversation, but look specifically at how he became America’s poster boy for Christmas, and why this could be challenged in future, as I ask… why is Santa so American?
...
Special guest for this episode:
...
Highlights from this episode:
...
Additional Resources:
Amazon.com: The Last Gift: The Christmas Stories of Mary E. Wilkins Freeman edited by Thomas Ruys Smith
Searching for Santa Claus: An Anthology of the Poems, Stories and Illustrations That Shaped an American Icon by Thomas Ruys Smith
Selling Out Santa: Hollywood Christmas Films in the Age of McCarthy by Vaughn Joy
'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
A Mischievous St. Nick from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
A Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus (1907)
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (1897)
Is There a Santa Claus? By Jacob Riis
Miracle On 34th Street 1947/ 1994 Double Pack
The Little Messenger Birds: Or, the Chimes of the Silver Bells by Caroline Butler
...
And if you like this episode, you might also love:
How to Make a Hollywood Christmas Movie
What's the History of Christmas in America?
...
Contact us: [email protected]
Join the community: https://www.patreon.com/cw/americathestoryoftheusa - use code USA26 for 50% off your first month
Get the newsletter: https://america-the-story-of-the-usa.beehiiv.com/
Brand & advertising enquiries: [email protected]
Want to advertise with us and support the American Studies community?
Email [email protected] and let's talk.
Mentioned in this episode:
This episode is sponsored by What's Your Map
What's Your Map is the British Podcast Award-winning show from map expert Professor Jerry Brotton. In each episode, he invites a special guest to share a map that means something to them. It's a fascinating show, and you can listen to the new season right now: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/whats-your-map/id1766500219