President Donald Trump gave a speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial last week to mark the Fourth of July. Critics and Democrats went after Trump for politicizing the occasion, though many presidents of both parties have done the same in the past. Do such knee-jerk reactions mean we have lost understanding of the importance of history? It’s personal for Kai Ryssdal, an undergrad history major who often finds the past a useful way to make sense of today. Here to talk with us about what history is and what it’s good for (and what it isn’t) is Brian Rosenwald, editor of the Made by History blog from the Washington Post.

Reema Khrais, of the podcast “This Is Uncomfortable,” co-hosts this week, in for Molly Wood. Check out her show for stories about life and how money messes with it here.