In short
A trailer for “Tocqueville Road Trip,” framing Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1831–1832 nine-month U.S. journey and his book Democracy in America, then using his route to reassess whether the “idea” of America still holds as the country approaches its 250th birthday.
Guest backgrounds
No named guests in the transcript; the host, John Priddo (US editor for The Economist), says he’ll interview Americans across social strata.
Key claims
Tocqueville is likened to a “superhero” foreign correspondent; America is portrayed as an exportable “idea” like a religion. Today, faith in U.S. leadership is questioned.
Notable examples
Interviews range from New York high society (“cut back…on a diet”) to Sing Sing prisoners (“We made choices”) to January 6-related political figures (“framed subpoena…”) and detainee conditions (“bugs…feces…nasty”).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOExploring America Through Tocqueville's Eyes
1:10 to 3:04
Discover how the podcast will examine contemporary America inspired by Tocqueville.
“That book has been my companion since I first arrived in Washington as a correspondent 13 years ago.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:03Alexis de Tocqueville is the nearest thing foreign correspondents have to a superhero. He arrived in America on a boat from France in May 1831, a young aristocrat on a mission. The US was still a long way off being a superpower back then. It was barely 50 years old. But Tocqueville caught a glimpse of what it could become, a new kind of society that would give the world a spectacle for which history had not prepared it. a land with no kings or queens, where citizens made the rules. And so he set off on a nine-month road trip to figure out how it worked. He spoke to Americans from all walks of life.
0:49He filled up 14 notebooks and dozens of letters with his observations. Then he returned to France and wrote a book called Democracy in America. For my money, it's still the single most insightful thing ever written about the United States.
1:10I'm John Priddo, the US editor for The Economist. That book has been my companion since I first arrived in Washington as a correspondent 13 years ago. Tocqueville's big insight was that America was much more than a country. it was an idea, one with the power to inspire followers and converts all over the planet, almost like a religion does. But now, two centuries after Tocqueville, more and more people are questioning their faith in the United States and its right to lead the world. To make sense of this change, I'm returning to Tocqueville to try to see this America through his eyes. For a new podcast series, I'm going on my own road trip, following the route Tocqueville took.
2:04Talking to Americans from all walks of life, just like he did. From New York's high society. Oh, now everybody wants you to cut back. We're all on a diet. To prisoners in Sing Sing. I made choices. We made choices. Unfortunately, that let us here, right? But it's also, we made choices to have us sitting in this room with y 'all now. So we're learning, and that's America. And from acolytes of the president... I do have a framed subpoena from the January 6th committee on my wall, which I'm very proud of. ...to victims of an unchecked government. This holding cell had bugs, it had feces on the wall.
2:43It was nasty. It was really, really disgusting. Well, the Constitution's been thrown in a dumpster fire. It's not even followed. I hope that following in Tocqueville's footsteps will help me figure out what's happened to America as it reaches its 250th birthday. Is the country he described in Democracy in America still there? Or has this great guidebook to the future passed its expiry date?
3:17To listen, search for Tocqueville Road Trip, wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.
From the publisher
When Alexis de Tocqueville visited America from France in 1831 he saw a new kind of society. Not just a country, but an idea that would change the world. His book “Democracy in America” was a big influence on later generations of political analysts, including The Economist’s US Editor John Prideaux. Now, 250 years after its birth, the vitality of that democracy is under question. In this series, John retraces the route Tocqueville took to find out how much of what inspired Tocqueville about America remains—and how worried we should be about what’s changed.
Launching in June
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
