The episode explores the currents of hatred and intolerance throughout history, focusing on the United States' legacy as a colonial power, the institutionalization of race, the Nazi "exclusion" program and its Western antecedents, and the plunder of the African continent.
The episode examines Christopher Columbus's voyages and their devastating impact on the indigenous peoples of the Americas, presenting the history from an indigenous perspective and challenging traditional narratives of discovery and colonization.
The episode looks back at the history of human migration, trade, weapons, industrial steel, and militarism, examining George Washington’s efforts to promote American arms manufacturing, the Monroe Doctrine, and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The episode explores the challenge of reconciling America's true history with its professed principles of freedom and democracy, drawing connections to the modern resurgence of white nationalism, fascism, slavery, colonialism, and Nazism.