By — Judy Woodruff Judy Woodruff By — Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/historians-american-road-trip-examines-parallels-between-the-gilded-age-and-today Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Audio For her latest book, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Beverly Gage traveled across the country, exploring the people, places and turning points that have shaped America over its 250-year history. Judy Woodruff joined her for part of that journey, starting in Chicago. It’s part of her series, Crossroads: America at 250. Listen to this Segment More stories from this series How the Battle of the Little Bighorn reshaped U.S. policy toward Native Americans 10 min Thomas Jefferson's complicated legacy 250 years after the Declaration of Independence 10 min How satire shaped American history A look at America's founding from the room where independence was declared 13 min How George Washington shaped America Walter Isaacson on what he calls 'The Greatest Sentence Ever Written' 7 min 3 things I've learned talking with Americans about the country's 250th birthday America's 250th anniversary revives questions about religion and the founders 10 min Watch Watch the Full Episode PBS NewsHour from Aug 19, 2026 By — Judy Woodruff Judy Woodruff Judy Woodruff is a senior correspondent and the former anchor and managing editor of the PBS News Hour. She has covered politics and other news for five decades at NBC, CNN and PBS. @judywoodruff By — Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin Lorna Baldwin is an Emmy and Peabody award winning producer at the PBS NewsHour. In her two decades at the NewsHour, Baldwin has crisscrossed the US reporting on issues ranging from the water crisis in Flint, Michigan to tsunami preparedness in the Pacific Northwest to the politics of poverty on the campaign trail in North Carolina. Farther afield, Baldwin reported on the problem of sea turtle nest poaching in Costa Rica, the distinctive architecture of Rotterdam, the Netherlands and world renowned landscape artist, Piet Oudolf. @lornabaldwin