Many episodes of this show grapple with the perhaps unanswerable question: why is America the way it is? Is there something inherent in American culture that answers where we're going? Kurt Andersen has been exploring the nature of American culture throughout his varied career, from co-founding Spy Magazine, writing for Time and The New Yorker,  writing several novels, hosting the public radio show Studio 360, and most comprehensively through his recent two volume history of America: Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire and Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America. He’s here today in conversation with Tom Knoblauch about his intellectual journey and the answers he has found in both our fantasies and our histories—and what this means for America's future.