What is America?
Hi! I'm John, and this is "What is America?" podcast. For the next year, I'm gonna drive around the country and talk to people about their lives. The goal is to help rebuild our broken politics. Wanna come?
What is America?
Ep 4: Standing alone on the world stage + the view from 100 years (with Peggy Bodine)
Ever wonder what it would be like to be a hundred years old? Or what America looks like to somebody who lived through the Second World War?
Well, don’t wonder anymore. Peggy Jemison Bodine is turning a hundred this July. In a nation that is 248 years old, she's personally witnessed over 40% of American history.
Over the course of her life, Peggy has raised a large and prosperous family, become deeply involved with the civic life of Memphis, and, by the way, lived next door to Elvis Presley. She used to watch the young Elvis play touch football in the yard with her kids.
This week, Peggy and I discuss the fracturing of the national narrative, the secret to a long and happy life, and the new season of Matlock.