our guest is kevin starr. educated at st. ignatius high school in usf and has a doctorate from harvard and many other degrees, awards and honors and is currently a professor at the university of southern california. his new book tells the stories of the first three centuries of the european encounter with north america from 1500 to 1800 and opens with this bold statement, there can be no understanding of american culture and history without the understanding of the role played by catholic peoples and the unfolding drama of the american experience. who are those peoples and what were those roles. please stay with us and after the break we will talk with professor starr and charted scratch the surface of his amazing fund of historical knowledge. >>> welcome back. our guest today is professor kevin starr. author of the book, continental ambitions. let me ask you this, about your title. you say there are many fine histories of catholics in america that have a regional and national perspective and you have taken the perspective of