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Craig Ferguson hits the road to ask: What makes us American?

CNN Original Series American on Purpose with Craig Ferguson

In the brand-new CNN Original Series American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson travels across the country to explore what it means to be American today — nearly two decades after becoming a U.S. citizen himself. The series takes him from iconic landmarks to unexpected corners of the country as he examines the good, the bad and the freaky stuff in between behind the American experience. In our conversation, Ferguson reflects on how the series connects back to his memoir and which parts of American life felt most essential to capture. He also opens up about identity, humor, sincerity and the question at the center of his journey.

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The series title comes from your memoir. What part of that story are you revisiting now?

Well, when I wrote the book in 2008, I'd just become a citizen, so I mean I suppose there's a little bit of catch-up, but also at the time I wrote the book, it was coming to the end of the George Bush era — just before Obama was coming in — and people were saying, oh, the country's never been this divided, and I feel like that's one take on it, but that's not the only take on what's going on with this. And look, I'm not saying that we shouldn't look at how divided America is, that's fine, but it's a market which is heavily catered for, and I wanted to just remind everybody that it's still a pretty decent place, all things considered. It's my country, and I'm happy that it is.

As you began tackling this series, what American experiences were most important for you to focus on?

I think, weirdly enough, all of them, and I know that sounds like a cop out, but it's not really. The reason why is, everybody counts, everybody matters in this country. The idea of this country is that everybody matters; every single person matters. That was the aspiration when the country was put together, and that's the aspiration now that everybody counts. So, what is important or what was important to me was to give bandwidth and curiosity to everybody I met.

America has been thought of as a melting pot. In filming this series, what is something you want the audience to think about as we continue to melt together?

I think what I wanted to do is for us to enjoy the differences. I like that, you know, some people think differently about me. I like other cultures, I like other people's food and dress and history. I think these are interesting things. The difference is what makes it fun, interesting and good. And if you know, if you have a different point of view, it's worth hearing it, and I kinda like to do that. I'm fascinated by, you know, other people's takes on the world.

How would you finish this sentence: “I knew I was American when I…”

Sheesh. Well, there's been a couple of times, but I knew I was an American when a few years ago, when I was working for CBS, I sang Sweet Caroline with Neil Diamond on the stage at the Half Shell in Boston on the 4th of July. And if that doesn't make you American, then I don't know what does. It's about as American as I can think of.

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