When Donald Trump won the 2016 election the New York Times declared he’d made the US a laughingstock. Lately, however, there has been a shift in how America is spoken about and portrayed in popular culture. Video essayist and podcaster Mina Le explored this change in her recent video, “Why is ‘America’ Cool Again?” She observed that while America has long been culturally dominant, patriotic sentiment has resurfaced in pop culture, which is reflected in country music’s growing popularity and a renewed focus on the midwest.

But what has fuelled this shift from deep embarrassment over the US to a renewed sense of pride? And is it possible, or even right, to love America under Trump while it continues to commit so much injustice both domestically and globally?”

This episode is hosted by Halima Jibril and Laura Pitcher, with research by Solomon Pace McCarrick. It was edited by Oliver Gale, and the executive producer is Harry Slater.

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