In this episode of Moving Forward: Conversations on Culture, Identity, Healing, and Hope, Linda Anderson talks with award-winning historian and author Ann Bausum about her powerful new book, White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History.

Ann grew up in Lexington, Virginia—the heart of Lost Cause mythology—and the daughter of a college history professor. Surrounded by monuments and messages that glorified the Confederacy, she spent her childhood reading, writing, collecting stories, and developing a fascination with history and current events. Those early experiences—segregated schools, integrated classrooms, and a front-row seat to the civil rights era—sparked a lifelong commitment to uncovering truth and creating books that challenge inherited myths.

With seven starred reviews, White Lies exposes the most successful propaganda campaign in American history and reveals how distorted narratives about the Civil War continue to shape textbooks, monuments, and national identity.

In our conversation, we explore:

• How Ann’s Southern upbringing inspired this book
  

• The 20 “white lies” at the heart of the Lost Cause
  

• Why myths like “the Civil War was about states’ rights” persist
  

• How misinformation shapes young people and communities
  

• What personal reckoning looks like when history contradicts family tradition
  

• Where Ann sees examples of truth-telling, healing, and hope
  

White Lies is written for teens but essential for readers of every age who want to understand how history gets rewritten—and how truth can help us move forward

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Music by Maksym_Dudchyk from Pixabay

Podcast produced by Ury Gonzalez