Newt talks welcomes Brenda Hafera of The Heritage Foundation to discuss the Heritage Guide to Historic Sites, an interactive website launched ahead of America's 250th anniversary that profiles historic sites across the original 13 colonies, with more states to follow. Hafera and Newt reflect on the power of visiting places like Mount Vernon, Gettysburg, and Independence Hall, where history can be felt rather than just read. The conversation turns to growing efforts to distort America's founding story, including a major foundation's push to remove monuments to figures like Washington and Lincoln in the name of "inclusivity." Hafera explains why preserving accurate, accessible history at the local level is essential to civic education and to passing on an informed, grounded patriotism to the next generation.

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Newt is joined by legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns to discuss The American Revolution, his sweeping six-part, twelve-hour PBS series exploring America's founding struggle through leaders and ordinary citizens alike. Burns reflects on what he calls "emotional archeology" — his lifelong approach to history — and shares why he considers the Revolution the most consequential event since the birth of Christ. The conversation turns to his star-studded voice cast, including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Paul Giamatti, and the decade-long journey of bringing the project to life. Burns and Newt close on a deeper theme: the idea that there is "no them, only us," and what that means for America as it marks its 250th anniversary. The American Revolution streams free on PBS platforms through July 12th.

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Newt talks with legal scholar Jonathan Turley about his bestseller, Rage and the Republic. Turley reveals why Thomas Paine — flawed, brilliant, nearly impossible to like — was the most fascinating figure he's ever researched, and traces Paine's improbable rise from failed Englishman to "penman of the revolution" under Benjamin Franklin's wing. The conversation turns to the French Revolution's unbound passions versus America's structured path to liberty, drawing uneasy parallels to today's unrest in cities like Minneapolis. Turley and Newt dig into socialism's resurgence among young Americans and Europeans, the EU's bureaucratic unraveling, and the coming disruption from AI and robotics. They close on America's 250th anniversary and what it truly means to be American in a revolutionary age.

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Newt welcomes back historian Dr. Allen Guelzo to discuss Abraham Lincoln's enduring legacy as America approaches its 250th anniversary. Dr. Guelzo, a leading Lincoln scholar, explores what makes the 16th president endlessly fascinating: his resilience, humor, and remarkable ability to learn the presidency on the job despite having no prior executive experience. They examine underexplored areas of Lincoln scholarship, including his pre-1854 political career, his complicated relationships with his generals, and his dealings with Congress. The conversation turns to how the Civil War reshaped federal power and dispels myths about Northern industrialization versus Southern agriculture. Dr. Guelzo speculates on how Reconstruction might have unfolded had Lincoln survived. Their discussion closes with reflections on America's persistent political polarization throughout history versus today's deeper cultural divisions, and Dr. Guelzo shares how he'll spend the Fourth of July at Gettysburg.

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Newt talks with Bret Baier, Fox News Chief Political Anchor about his new book, “The Case for America: An Argument on Behalf of Our Nation.” Baier makes the case that the United States remains resilient and exceptional despite its flaws. Their conversation moves through American history, tracing the book's structure around six pivotal presidents, from Washington and Jefferson's bitter rivalry-turned-friendship to Lincoln's reframing of the Declaration of Independence. They examine why the nation chooses unity despite constant dissent, the often-overlooked surge of bipartisan legislation in Congress, and the lessons learned from Baier's "Common Ground" segment. They close looking ahead, discussing AI, freedom, and what the next 250 years might hold for America—plus Baier's plans for celebrating the country's 250th birthday on July 4th.

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Newt talks with bestselling author Eric Metaxas about his new book, “Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World,” and the deeply Christian roots of America's founding. Metaxas explains why he titled the book simply Revolution, arguing the American Revolution stands apart from failed revolutions like the French and Bolshevik uprisings because the founders explicitly looked to God rather than rejecting him. They explore John Adams's overlooked role, the brutality of British forces during the war, and how figures like George Washington and Samuel Adams saw divine purpose in the fight for independence. Metaxas also pushes back on the secular narrative taught in schools, insisting the founders' faith is inseparable from understanding the Revolution. As America marks its 250th anniversary, he urges listeners to rediscover this history and recognize it as a gift worth defending and passing on.

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Rachel Campos-Duffy, cohost of FOX & Friends Weekend and New York Times bestselling author, joins Newt to discuss her new book, All American Patriotism: Celebrating 250 Years of America's Greatness. Rachel shares why she set out to counter decades of what she sees as a "narrative of shame" surrounding American history, and how she gathered her Fox colleagues to write essays on what America means to them, revealing the country's rich regional diversity. She also opens up about her family's Great American Road Trip, inspired by her husband Sean Duffy's own childhood memories, and the deeply personal story of her father's journey from poverty in a Mexican American mining town to the American dream. Newt and Rachel discuss the decline — and possible resurgence — of patriotism among young Americans, the politicization of history curricula, and what the nation's 250th birthday means at this pivotal moment.

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Most Americans know George Washington as a general and president — but few know him as an obsessive surveyor and land speculator with his eye fixed on the West. In this episode, Newt talks with award-winning historian Brady Crytzer about his new book, “The National Road: George Washington and America's First Highway West.” Crytzer traces Washington's lifelong fixation on connecting the Potomac to the Ohio River, the five crises that threatened westward expansion during Washington's presidency, and the unlikely partnership with Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin — a Swiss-born frontiersman who turned Washington's river-centric dream into America's first great federally funded highway. They explore how the Cumberland Road became a blueprint for the modern interstate system, why it was simultaneously "too early and too late," and what lessons this audacious infrastructure project offers a nation marking 250 years of independence.

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