The United States of Amnesia

Marshall Newman, Blake Henke, and Mike Mendenhall

Welcome to The United States of Amnesia, a podcast exploring the lessons we’ve forgotten, misunderstood, or never learned. As the saying goes, history repeats itself. Mark Twain allegedly refined this: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.” Yet over time, history, politics, and religion have been distorted by bias, oversimplification, and myth. Check out our website to learn more: www.usofamnesia.com. Misunderstanding the past means misreading the present and misstepping into the future. This podcast aims to cut through the fog, reconnecting past and present to help us think more clearly about the world we’re in, and the one we're heading toward. Join us as we delve into the great struggle of humanity: to reconcile who we were with who we are becoming.

  1. 301: A Christian Nation? - The Founding Intent

    May 27

    301: A Christian Nation? - The Founding Intent

    Was America founded as a Christian nation? Some say yes, some say no, and the real answer is more complex than you might think. Blake takes the reins as the leader of this series, discussing the role (or in some cases, perhaps, the lack thereof) of Christianity in the establishment of the colonies, the founding of the nation, and the early evolution of the United States. In this premiere episode, Blake, Marshall, and Mike start with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and from there go on to discuss what the Founding Fathers, who wished to avoid the religious strife that had plagued Europe, seemed to have intended for religion in American public life. Did the Founders "design" America as a Christian country? If the United States had an official church, which denominations would qualify as "Christian"? How would the official church function within civic life in matters of law, public policy, voting, and taxation? Would non-Christians be suppressed? The discussion also covers deism and its influence on the Founders, whose beliefs ranged from borderline atheism through deism and "Christian rationalism" to devout Christianity.

    47 min
  2. 211: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Another Day, Another Country, Another Misunderstanding

    May 13

    211: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Another Day, Another Country, Another Misunderstanding

    Marshall, Blake, and Mike wrap up the "Tea, Drugs, and Jesus" series with a review of how the United States misunderstood China in various ways at various times during the history of relations between the two countries between the late 18th century and 1972, as well as what broader themes of misunderstanding recurred throughout that history. They then discuss how the United States continues to misunderstand China today, and how it similarly misjudges the motivations, behaviors, and actions of many other countries, leading to mistakes and failure — all because of America's incuriosity about the world, its resulting lack of cultural literacy, and its propensity to ignore or fire experts who tell American leaders things they — and often the American public — do not want to hear about the world around them.

    1h 29m
  3. 210: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Only Nixon Can Go to China

    Apr 29

    210: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Only Nixon Can Go to China

    When Chinese "volunteers" intervened in the Korean War in 1950, American relations with the People's Republic of China fell into an icy abyss from which they did not emerge until President Richard Nixon made his momentous decision to transform world politics by visiting Beijing in 1972. In the United States, the "loss" of China to what Americans thought of as monolithic "world communism" led during the intervening two decades to the "Red Scare," the "Lavender Scare," blacklisting, and growing U.S. involvement in conflict in Southeast Asia — all while American policymakers ignored, fired, and even ruined the reputations and careers of experts who tried to give them advice on the realities of China, Vietnam, communism, and international relations during the Cold War.

    1h 47m
  4. 209: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - White Paper to Red Scare

    Apr 15

    209: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - White Paper to Red Scare

    Marshall, Blake, and Mike engage in a wide-ranging discussion of American policy disputes over what to do about China after World War II. President Truman, Secretaries of State George C. Marshall and Dean Acheson, Madame Chiang and her family, General Claire Chennault, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, the CIA, the domino theory, the American idea of monolithic “international communism,” and anti-colonial nationalist movements in Southeast Asia all play roles as Marshall lays out three options U.S. policymakers debated between 1945 and 1950: Should the United States follow the advice of the “China hands” by turning its back on the corrupt Nationalist government of the Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek and instead recognize the Communist government of the People’s Republic of China as China’s legitimate government? Or should America take the view of policy realists that China had little strategic value to the United States and was a sociopolitical mess not worth being involved in? Or should America do what the “China lobby” — the supporters of Chiang Kai-shek — wanted and go all in with continued support to Chiang? When Communist Chinese “volunteers” intervene in the Korean War in 1950, the American idea that Communism is monolithic solidifies, leading to consequences in the United States that, ironically, give events in China far more influence over the United States than America ever had in China.

    1h 4m
  5. 208: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Cash My Check

    Apr 1

    208: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Cash My Check

    Mike walks us through the complex situation in China in the aftermath of World War II, with armed Japanese operating in the country, Soviet forces occupying Manchuria, and the Nationalist and Communist Chinese resuming their civil war with one another. The decisive phase of the civil war ensues, culminating in the Communist takeover of mainland China and the Nationalist retreat to Taiwan. Marshall then leads our discussion of the efforts of American leaders, including President Truman and Secretaries of State George C. Marshall and Dean Acheson, to determine a way forward in their China policy while Madame Chiang and General Claire Chennault lobby for continued support to the corrupt Nationalist regime of Chiang Kai-shek, whose constant demands for more American aid earn him the derisive nickname “Cash My Check.”

    58 min
  6. 207: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Flying Tigers and Burmese Roads

    Mar 18

    207: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Flying Tigers and Burmese Roads

    Mike again leads us in our narrative of how America continued to fall short of its goals for China in World War II during the second half of the war. We meet General Claire Chennault of 'Flying Tigers' fame, whose ideas for how to fight in China contradict those of his bitter rival, General Joseph Stilwell, but gain favor with Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang and, for a while, with Franklin Roosevelt. Ultimately, the war in China ends in frustration for America, and Mike, Marshall, and Blake discuss how the historiography of the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II has changed, but still can obscure a more basic American misunderstanding of Chiang, his government, his military, and his Communist rivals during the war. They also review the obstacles to the Nationalists and Communists making common cause in China, which will lead to a resumption of their civil war after World War II ends.

    1h 1m
  7. 206: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Vinegar Joe and the Generalissimo

    Mar 4

    206: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Vinegar Joe and the Generalissimo

    Mike leads our discussion of the American experience in China during World War II. Chiang Kai-shek, Franklin Roosevelt, and General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell are the central figures in this episode, which explores many aspects of the war's often-overlooked China-Burma-India Theater and introduces us to the Flying Tigers, the Burma Road, Merrill’s Marauders, and the “Over the Hump” cargo flights from India to China. Roosevelt’s postwar goals for China, differing advice FDR gets as to how to handle Chiang, and Stilwell’s fraught relationship with Chiang drive our narrative as issues of military strategy, operations, logistics, and reform lead to disagreement between “Vinegar Joe” and the Generalissimo and, ultimately, to their disdain for one another. For a more immersive experience while you listen, visit our image gallery for this series at https://www.usofamnesia.com/blog/photo-gallery-for-tea-drugs-and-jesus/. Check out our website to learn more about us: www.usofamnesia.com

    1h 1m
  8. 205: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - The Soong Dynasty

    Feb 18

    205: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - The Soong Dynasty

    Marshall, Blake, and Mike discuss America’s view of China from the 1920s through the early 1940s and the strong influence Americans raised by missionaries in China, notably Henry Luce and Pearl Buck, had on that view. Chiang Kai-shek emerges as the leader of the Republic of China, and Americans contribute money to Chiang and his in-laws, the Soongs – who have become China's new "dynasty" – in the belief that they will use it to modernize China. But Chinese corruption, Chiang’s inability to gain control of the entire country from warlords and Mao Tse-tung’s Communists, and war with both the Communists and Japan obstruct that modernization and make it unlikely that China will emerge from World War II as one of Franklin Roosevelt’s “Four Policemen” of the postwar world. For a more immersive experience while you listen, visit our image gallery for this series at https://www.usofamnesia.com/blog/photo-gallery-for-tea-drugs-and-jesus/. Check out our website to learn more about us: www.usofamnesia.com

    1h 19m
See All (18)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Welcome to The United States of Amnesia, a podcast exploring the lessons we’ve forgotten, misunderstood, or never learned. As the saying goes, history repeats itself. Mark Twain allegedly refined this: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.” Yet over time, history, politics, and religion have been distorted by bias, oversimplification, and myth. Check out our website to learn more: www.usofamnesia.com. Misunderstanding the past means misreading the present and misstepping into the future. This podcast aims to cut through the fog, reconnecting past and present to help us think more clearly about the world we’re in, and the one we're heading toward. Join us as we delve into the great struggle of humanity: to reconcile who we were with who we are becoming.

Information

  • Creator
    Marshall Newman, Blake Henke, and Mike Mendenhall
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Blake Henke
  • Show Website
    The United States of Amnesia

You Might Also Like