If you’ve found your way here, chances are you’re trying to make sense of America. Well so am I.

For years I’ve been fascinated by the stories we tell ourselves as a nation—not just the political stories, but the cultural ones as well. The songs we sing. The movies we quote. The books we read. The heroes we celebrate. The protests we join. The speeches that inspire us. The moments that divide us.

Taken together, they reveal something larger than yesterday’s headlines or text in a history book.  They tell the story of America. 

And that story has never been simple. It is an ongoing story of extraordinary ideals and painful contradictions. It is a story of remarkable achievements and missed opportunities. It is the story of people who expanded freedom—and others who fought to limit it. 

Today, that story feels more contested than at any time in my lifetime. Our politics have become more polarized. Our media environment more fragmented. Artificial intelligence is changing how we create and communicate. Trust in institutions continues to erode, and even basic facts are increasingly disputed.

At the same time, popular culture has become inseparable from political power. Musicians shape public debate. Comedians influence elections. Social media creates celebrities overnight. Presidents become television personalities, while entertainers become political activists.

Understanding America now requires more than following the news. It requires understanding the culture that shapes the it.

That’s why I created That’s What We’re Talking About. 

This isn’t a news site. It isn’t a political blog. It isn’t a nostalgia project. It’s an ongoing exploration of America through five different—but deeply connected—windows. 

One window looks at the Baby Boomer generation (yes, I’m a Boomer born in 1952) and the extraordinary events that shaped our values. 

Another asks what 250 selected songs from the Woodstock generation can teach us about the American experience.

A third examines the remarkable current collision between presidential power and popular culture. 

A fourth explores the nation’s capital itself—its history, its personalities, its protests, and its hidden stories. 

The fifth shares communication lessons I’ve learned over a lifetime spent as a student, a journalist, a teacher, an educational consultant, an online writer, a published author, a podcaster, a tour guide, and a Smithsonian lecturer.  

Each division asks different questions. Together, they explore the same larger one: Who are we as Americans today? Who were we?  Who are we becoming?

You won’t find quick takes here. You’ll find long looks. You’ll find history placed alongside current events. Bruce Springsteen beside Donald Trump. Woodstock beside Washington. The Constitution beside classic rock. Politics beside popular culture. Yesterday in conversation with both today and tomorrow.

Sometimes we’ll celebrate. Sometimes we’ll criticize. Sometimes we’ll simply ask questions that deserve more attention than they usually receive.

My hope isn’t to tell you what to think. It’s to give you something worth thinking about. If an article or podcast or video sends you back to an overlooked historical event, a classic film, a Supreme Court decision, or a conversation about an issue, then it has done its job.

Truly understanding America has always involved conversation. So, thanks for visiting this page.  I hope you’ll come back often, explore widely, disagree thoughtfully, and actively join in our conversation because, after all, That’s What We’re Talking About.