As the U.S. Postal Service faces a new financial crisis in the midst of the pandemic, we take this opportunity to learn about the history of the USPS and its vital role in shaping American society and democracy with historian Richard R. John.

Richard R. John is a professor of history and communications at Columbia University. He is the author of Spreading the News: The American Postal System from Franklin to Morse (Harvard University Press, 1995) and Network Nation: Inventing American Telecommunications (Harvard University Press, 2010).

Cover photo by Pope Moysuh on Unsplash