Videos

Award-winning author Robert Caro, best known for his multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson, reflected on his life and writing career. This program was part of the Robert Caro Symposium…

How important is storytelling in writing history? A selection of members from the book and publishing world weighed in on the question. The speakers included author and New Yorker staff writer…

Washington Post reporter and author Bob Woodward offered his thoughts on the importance of history to combat disinformation. He was joined by historian Douglas Brinkley. This program was…

Barry Lewis talked about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, which was built in the 1870s. Mr. Lewis spoke about at why Manhattan needed the bridge and how transportation through the…

Barry Lewis talked about the creation and evolution of New York City’s Greenwich Village. He spoke about the many changes the neighborhood experienced since the early 19th century and its…

Abraham Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer revisited the 16th president’s second inaugural address - delivered on March 4th, 1865, just six weeks before his assassination, and generally…

Jeremy Black talked about the role of President Dwight D. Eisenhower during the Cold War. He argued that the origins of the Cold War date back to World War I and challenged some general…

Ambassador Willam vanden Heuvel talked about his book, Hope and History: A Memoir of Tumultuous Times, on his life and career in public service. He spoke with his daughter, Nation Magazine…

Historians John Marszalek and Craig Symonds looked at the military rivalry between Civil War Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. They compared Grant and Lee’s childhoods, their…

Harvard Law professor Randall Kennedy talked about the origins of first amendment rights for African American student protesters. He is author of the forthcoming book, From Protest to Law:…

Naval War College professor John Maurer traced the major events of 1918 and explored how political and military leaders eventually ended World War I with a flawed peace that he argued paved…

Richard Brookhiser addressed the question before George Washington in 1777: Could the British subdue the American rebels by capturing their capital, Philadelphia? It was Washington’s…

Professor Stephen Kotkin continued his multi-volume biography of Joseph Stalin, with a focus on Stalin’s leadership of the Soviet Union in the years leading up to World War II.

Michael Korda talked about his book Alone, in which he chronicles his life in Britain in the run-up to World War II.

Presidential historians talked about some of the country’s most influential first ladies, their relationships with their spouses, and the difficulties they faced in the White House. They…

Josiah Bunting talked about the career of General George C. Marshall, the U.S. Army chief of staff who oversaw Allied strategy during World War II. He also served as Secretary of State and…

Historians talked about the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and George Washington. They spoke about Thomas Jefferson’s opposition to Hamilton’s Federalist Party platform and how…

Historians talked about the Civil War’s Chattanooga Campaign, which took place in the fall of 1863 and resulted in Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant breaking through a Confederate…

Geoffrey Ward, principle scriptwriter for the 2014 Ken Burns PBS documentary “The Roosevelts,” spoke about the Roosevelt family. He spoke with CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl about Franklin…

Professor Akhil Reed Amar talked about the complex relationship between chief justices of the United States and American presidents. He looked back to the first appointed chief justice,…