{"podcast":{"title":"The Excerpt","slug":"the-excerpt-742145","podcast_index_feed_id":742145,"rss_url":"https://rss.art19.com/5-things","website_url":"https://art19.com/shows/5-things","image_url":"https://content.production.cdn.art19.com/images/29/c4/eb/f0/29c4ebf0-b5c3-4838-9e30-d92e8d15e76d/88497752e60324195a25c5bb3f28f051091ea2a3a998fa22473d99c272b7bc8e7e9910c488c26d289891c53191b78ca85d242efd540b5897a9977660eddd300e.jpeg","author":"USA TODAY","episode_count":90,"summary":"Get context, not just headlines. Every weekday The Excerpt brings USA TODAY's award-winning journalists from across the nation together to unpack America's most pressing stories — from politics and culture to sports and entertainment — with host Dana Taylor.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-29T18:20:13.139640+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145"},"episode":{"title":"Who gets to define what it means to be American?","slug":"who-gets-to-define-what-it-means-to-be-american","published_at":"2026-06-01T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145/who-gets-to-define-what-it-means-to-be-american","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145","url":"https://rss.art19.com/episodes/3db1ace2-84e7-4aab-a5eb-2b746f995ddf.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","audio_url":"https://rss.art19.com/episodes/3db1ace2-84e7-4aab-a5eb-2b746f995ddf.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","summary":"In the prologue of “All We Say: The Battle for American Identity” author Ben Rhodes asks two questions that get right to the heart of this battle. What does it mean to be an American? And who gets to decide? As we approach our 250th anniversary, these are questions that many Americans are also deeply contemplating. How have 15 speeches shaped and reflected that debate over history? And can they help us understand our ongoing and evolving search for a national identity? Ben Rhodes, a former national security advisor and speech writer to President Barack Obama, joins The Excerpt to share his insights.  Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com .  Episode transcript available here .  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .","meta_description":"In the prologue of “All We Say: The Battle for American Identity” author Ben Rhodes asks two questions that get right to the heart of this battle. What do…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1188,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-excerpt-742145/episodes/who-gets-to-define-what-it-means-to-be-american/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-excerpt-742145/who-gets-to-define-what-it-means-to-be-american.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}