25 Years Later 9/11 is Shifting From a Memory Into a History Lesson
Airdate: Friday, September 11, 2026 at 9am
It’s been 25 years since the United States experienced the deadliest terrorist attack in our history on Sept. 11, 2001. The attacks profoundly changed our nation from how we view ourselves and treat first responders to how we balance national security and personal privacy. For many Americans, the attacks fractured our nation and created a stark before-and-after. But now, a quarter of a century later, close to a third of people in the U.S. were born after the twin towers fell, or were too young to retain any memories of it. Sept. 11 is morphing from a memory into history. We’ll talk about how the attacks reshaped our national psyche, identity and sense of security within our own borders and what we want younger generations to know about it.
Guests:
- Wajahat Ali, author, “Go Back to Where You Came From”; co-host, Democracy-ish podcast; writer, The Left Hook substack.
- Barbara Lee, mayor, Oakland; served as U.S congressmember representing parts of East Bay from 1998-2025
- Michael Mark Cohen, American and African American studies professor who teaches the course, History of the Present: The U.S. After 9/11, UC Berkeley
- Geraldine Baum, former New York correspondent and bureau chief, Los Angeles Times