Has the American project failed? Eddie Glaude Jr on the US at 250

As the US prepares to celebrate 250 years since its founding, Kai Wright sits down with Eddie Glaude Jr, a Princeton University professor, to talk about the conflicts at the heart of the American project. Glaude argues that Black Americans have played a vital role in establishing the country, but their presence is a constant reminder that the American fantasy – the story of a white republic – doesn’t exist. He and Kai discuss how the Trump administration has normalized white supremacist rhetoric and the myriad ways the president is trying to whitewash history. Glaude’s book America, USA: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries, is out now.

• 'We’re witnessing the end of the America that made our lives possible’: author Eddie Glaude on US’s 250th birthday