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and American History

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Book TV Book Club

C-SPAN Podcasts
Washington Today   Subscribe via iTunes   Subscribe via XML Feed
Catch up on the stories of the day in Washington, DC. Hear portions of key events and interviews with journalists who provide background and perspective. Programs posted after 6pmET, Monday - Friday.
Recent programs:
American History TV - Lectures in History   Subscribe via iTunes   Subscribe via XML Feed
American History TV viewers join students in the classroom to hear lectures on campuses across the country, on topics ranging from the American Revolution to 9-11.
Recent programs:
  • Lectures in History: Iran-Contra Affair (1 hr. 50 min. - Saturday)
    Metropolitan State University professor Douglas Rossinow teaches a class on the Iran-Contra affair, which took place in the mid-1980s during the Reagan Administration. The Iran-Contra affair stems from Reagan administration officials funding the Contras - who were fighting against the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua - with money from the sale of arms to Iran. The arms were being sold to Iran in the hope of gaining the release of American hostages held in Lebanon - hence the reason the affair is sometimes called as the “arm-for-hostages” scandal.
  • 1920's Culture & Society (1 hr. 16 min. - May 11, 2013)
    In this program, Georgetown University professor Michael Kazin teaches a class on 1920's culture and society. He discusses Prohibition and the exploits of the gangster Al Capone, who eventually went to prison on tax evasion charges. Professor Kazin also talks about the motion picture industry and the new production codes that sought to tamp down on sexuality in films. In addition, he addresses the 1925 Scopes Trial, in which a high school teacher faced charges of unlawfully teaching evolution in a state-funded school. Georgetown University is in Washington, DC.
  • Creek Indians & the First Seminole War (51 min. 9 sec. - April 27, 2013)
    Florida State University Professor Andrew Frank discusses the Creek Indians and the First Seminole War, which took place in the early 19th century in the southeastern part of the U.S. and Spanish-controlled Florida. The war was fought in part to prevent slaves from fleeing into Florida.
  • Lincoln, Slavery & Emancipation (1 hr. 8 min. - April 20, 2013)
    President Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862. Professor George Forgie discusses the evolution of Lincoln’s thinking on slavery, and the political and legal factors Lincoln considered when issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. This class is from the University of Texas at Austin.
After Words   Subscribe via iTunes   Subscribe via XML Feed
Book TV's After Words features the author of a recently published hardback non-fiction book interviewed by a guest host with some knowledge, background, or connection to the subject matter of the book. After Words airs on Book TV every Sunday, at 6pm ET.
Recent programs:
  • Diana West, "American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation's Character" (59 min. 24 sec. - Saturday)
    Ms. West argues that the U.S. has been "marching toward Socialism" since the 1940s, abandoning its core ideals in the process. She discusses the rise of Communism and what she calls the U.S. government's capitulation to it with Ariel Cohen, the Heritage Foundation's Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies.
  • Christian Caryl, "Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century" (58 min. 48 sec. - May 11, 2013)
    Mr. Caryl argues that a secular, left-leaning consensus developed across the western world after World War II, and that a counterrevolution, representing a new era, began in 1979 with the campaigns of conservative leaders in Britain and the U.S. and the overthrow of the Shah in Iran. He discusses the conservative realignment that began in '79 with Managing Editor of Foreign Policy magazine, Susan Glasser.
  • Vali Nasr, "The Dispensable Nation" (1 hr. - May 4, 2013)
    The former senior adviser to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke reveals that the foreign policy plan supported by the late Ambassador and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was overruled by President Obama for political reasons. He argues that the conflict over Afghanistan policy has weakened America's ability to shape policy in South Asia and the Middle East. He discusses his contentions with National Defense University professor and former CIA adviser Judith Yaphe.
  • Karen Houppert, "Chasing Gideon" (54 min. 37 sec. - April 27, 2013)
    In March of 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided in Gideon v. Wainwright that, when facing jail time, a defendant who cannot afford an attorney has the right to free representation. Karen Houppert, author of "Chasing Gideon: The Elusive Quest for Poor People's Justice," explores how the Court arrived at that decision with Jenna Greene, National Law Journal.
Newsmakers   Subscribe via iTunes   Subscribe via XML Feed
"Newsmakers" is C-SPAN's weekly Sunday interview program with the people making news and the journalists who cover them. Newmakers airs Sundays on C-SPAN at 10am ET and 6pm ET.
Recent programs:
  • Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) (32 min. 47 sec. - Sunday)
    This week on Newsmakers, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, talks about congressional strategy for dealing with the debt.
  • Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) (30 min. 59 sec. - May 12, 2013)
    Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) talks about defense issues, including this past week's Defense Department report on sexual assaults on women, defense spending and the FY2014 DOD budget, and what the U.S. should do about Syria.
  • Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) (30 min. 31 sec. - May 5, 2013)
    Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, talks about key issues facing veterans such as jobs, delays in veterans benefits claims, and why officials at the Dept of VA have been paid bonuses despite a claims backlog.
  • Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) (31 min. 20 sec. - April 28, 2013)
    On this weeks Newsmakers, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), House Armed Services Committee talks about an array of defense issues.
Podcast of the Week   Subscribe via iTunes   Subscribe via XML Feed
C-SPAN provides our viewers with a comprehensive range of public policy programs. "Podcast of the Week" is a noteworthy program drawn from the three C-SPAN networks.
Recent programs:
  • First Ladies: Lucy Hayes (1 hr. 32 min. - May 13, 2013)
    C-SPAN and the White House Historical Association are co-producing a two-season feature series on the First Ladies, examining their private lives and the public roles they played in the White House. This week: Lucy Hayes.
  • First Ladies: Julia Grant (1 hr. 30 min. - May 6, 2013)
    C-SPAN and the White House Historical Association are co-producing a two-season feature series on the First Ladies, examining their private lives and the public roles they played in the White House. This week: Julia Grant.
  • First Ladies: Eliza Johnson (1 hr. 32 min. - April 29, 2013)
    C-SPAN and the White House Historical Association are co-producing a two-season feature series on the First Ladies, examining their private lives and the public roles they played in the White House. This week: Eliza Johnson.
  • First Ladies: Mary Todd Lincoln (1 hr. 32 min. - April 22, 2013)
    C-SPAN and the White House Historical Association are co-producing a two-season feature series on the First Ladies, examining their private lives and the public roles they played in the White House. This week: Mary Todd Lincoln.
Q and A   Subscribe via iTunes   Subscribe via XML Feed
Every week, C-SPAN presents interesting people who are making things happen in politics, the media, education, and science and technology in hour-long conversations.
Recent programs:
  • S. James Gates, Jr. National Medal of Science Laureate (59 min. 15 sec. - Sunday)
    Our guest is S. James Gates, Jr., a recipient of the National Medal of Science. The award for 2011 was presented by President Obama in a White House ceremony in February of 2013. Dr. Gates discusses the process by which a scientist is nominated and selected for this distinction, which is the highest honor the U.S. government bestows upon scientists.
  • Scott Shane, New York Times National Security Reporter (59 min. 35 sec. - May 12, 2013)
    Our guest is Scott Shane, national security reporter in the Washington bureau of the New York Times. He discusses his recent New York Times Sunday feature story titled “From Spy to Source to Convict,” an examination of a former C.I.A. officer now in prison for leaking information to a reporter.
  • David Stockman, Author, "The Great Deformation" (59 min. 5 sec. - May 5, 2013)
    Our guest is former Michigan Republican Congressman and Reagan administration budget director David Stockman. He discusses his new book titled "The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America." He suggests that Wall Street and the Federal Reserve have joined forces to harm the economy, punish savers, and fuel new financial bubbles which he claims will soon burst.
  • Bob Ney, "Sideswiped" (59 min. 5 sec. - April 28, 2013)
    Our guest is former Ohio Republican Congressman Bob Ney to discuss his recent memoir titled, "Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill." Ney discusses his eleven years in Congress representing Ohio's 18th district. He describes being sent to serve for thirty months at the Federal Corrections Facility in Morgantown, West Virginia.
The Communicators   Subscribe via iTunes   Subscribe via XML Feed
"The Communicators" is C-SPAN's new weekly series featuring a half-hour interview with the people who shape our digital future. The Communicators airs Saturdays on C-SPAN at 6:30pm ET and Monday on C-SPAN2 at 8am and 8pm ET.
Recent programs:
  • Communicators at the Consumer Electronics Association Tradeshow (29 min. 31 sec. - Saturday)
    This week The Communicators airs a visit to a technology fair on Capitol Hill sponsored by CEA, the Consumer Electronics Association.
  • Communicators at the Consumer Electronics Association Tradeshow (27 min. 52 sec. - May 11, 2013)
    The Communicators visits a technology fair on Capitol Hill sponsored by CEA, the Consumer Electronics Association. We talk with several technology companies that showed off their new tech devices to members of Congress and their staffs.
  • Changes at FCC (30 min. 15 sec. - May 4, 2013)
    Blair Levin, head of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Broadband Opportunities Initiative, and Justin Lilley, President of TeleMedia Policy Corporation, look at issues facing the FCC as the commission is experiencing a membership turnover.
  • Deborah Perry Piscione (28 min. 53 sec. - April 27, 2013)
    Deborah Piscione, Author of "Secrets of Silicon Valley" talks about what makes Silicon Valley tick and why she thinks it is the capitol of innovation.

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