America in Crisis: How is 2020 like 1968?

Policy Matters

The United States confronts a “perfect storm.” The Covid-19 pandemic has killed 110,000 Americans, a ghastly tally rising every day. The unemployment rate is reaching heights not seen since the Great Depression. And the appalling killing of George Floyd has triggered massive national protests against policing policies in specific and racism in general. Many have compared the current moment to 1968, another year of mass protests and national instability. How is 2020 like 1968? How is it different? And what lessons can we draw from a comparison?

This episode’s guest is Dr. Allen Matusow. He is the Baker Institute’s academic affairs director. He joined the Rice faculty in 1963 and is a distinguished historian and an expert on post-World War II America.