The American experiment is failing. Division, mistrust and misinformation are now the country’s defining characteristics. The storming of the Capitol, the prosecution of Donald Trump and battles over gun rights and abortion raise the spectre of further political violence.

We often hear that these events are unprecedented. On the contrary, author and journalist Nick Bryant suggests that the hate, divisiveness and paranoia we see today are in fact a core part of America’s story. His remarkable new book is titled ‘The Forever War: America’s Unending Conflict with Itself’.