You Can't Understand America Without Understanding New York - Russell Shorto

Open Book with Anthony Scaramucci · Jun 9, 2026 · 30m

Before New York was New York, it was New Amsterdam, a Dutch colony built on pluralism, capitalism, and a radical idea that tolerance could be a competitive advantage. Russell Shorto joins me on Open Book to tell the story of how a bloodless standoff in 1664 didn't just transfer a city from one empire to another, it set the genetic code for everything New York, and really America, would become. Russell Shorto is the best-selling author of eight books, including Smalltime, Revolution Song, Amsterdam, and The Island at the Center of the World. He is the director of the New Amsterdam Project at…