About
Historian, author, and professor known for her bestselling books and political commentary examining American democracy through a historical lens along with her daily newsletter Letters from an American. She is especially known for her YouTube videos and Instagram content featuring political commentary, historical analysis, discussions of current events, and explanations of American government and elections which has helped her amass over 1.1 million YouTube subscribers and over 1.1 million Instagram followers.
Before fame
She earned her bachelor's degree and doctorate from Harvard University and completed her Ph.D. in 1992. She previously taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts Amherst before joining the Boston College faculty in 2011. Her first book The Greatest Nation of the Earth: Republican Economic Policies during the Civil War was published in 1997.
Trivia
She received the Baldacci Award for Literary Activism from the Authors Guild Foundation in May 2024. She was named to the TIME100 Creators list in 2025. She began uploading videos on YouTube in May 2020.
Family life
She was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Maine. She married lobsterman Buddy Poland in September 2022. She has three children from a previous marriage.
Associated with
She interviewed Joe Biden at the White House in February 2022. She appeared on Jon Stewart's podcast The Weekly Show in April 2026.
