Intelligence Squared

In August 2017, over a thousand neo-Nazis, fascists, Klan members, and neo-Confederates descended on a small southern city to protest the pending removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. What happened in Charlottesville—and why did so few see it coming? What does it reveal about the myths we tell ourselves about America? In this episode, we speak with Deborah Baker, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Charlottesville, about the harrowing events of August 2017, when a violent far-right rally turned a quiet college town into a national flashpoint. But rather than focus solely on the extremists, Baker turns her lens on the city itself—its institutions, its history, and the people who tried to stop the violence before it began. From clergy and activists to officials who failed to act, Baker unpacks the deeper story behind the chaos. And in a startling historical parallel, she traces the echoes of a long-buried plot from decades earlier—one with chilling similarities to what unfolded in 2017. If you'd like to b