Now & Then

Bans, Schools, & Power: False Majorities

How do small and extreme groups take over the American political conversation? In this final installment of a three-part series on educating citizens, Heather and Joanne look at how reactionary movements utilize bullying tactics to wrest control from the majority.

Heather and Joanne offer a comparison between the path to secession at the start of the Civil War, the rise of American Nazi-sympathizing groups in the 1930s, and the current reactionary movements around COVID-19 protocols and the education system. 

Join CAFE Insider to listen to “Backstage,” where Heather and Joanne chat each week about the anecdotes and ideas that formed the episode. Head to: cafe.com/history

For more historical analysis of current events, sign up for the free weekly CAFE Brief newsletter, featuring Time Machine, a weekly article that dives into an historical event inspired by each episode of Now &amp; Then: cafe.com/brief

For references &amp; supplemental materials, head to: cafe.com/now-and-then/bans-schools-power-false-majorities

Now &amp; Then is presented by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can the past help inform today’s most pressing challenges? Every Wednesday, award-winning historians Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman use their encyclopedic knowledge of US history to bring the past to life. Together, they make sense of the week in news by discussing the people, ideas, and events that got us here today. Now and Then is produced by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.