Videos

Author Masha Gessen delivered the Arthur Miller Lecture followed by an interview with Samantha Bee as part of the 2017 PEN World Voices Festival. Ms. Gessen books include The Future is…

David Grinspoon talked about his book Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet’s Future, in which he reports on the “anthropocene” phase of Earth’s history and describes the impact humans…

Pankaj Mishra talked about his book Age of Anger: A History of the Present, in which he examines the catalysts in society, past and present, that give rise to nationalist groups and hate…

Professor Timothy Snyder talked about his book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, in which he reflects on how many democracies failed throughout Europe during the 20th…

Historians talked about about Jesse Owens and his legendary performance in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and how black athletes confronted Nazi white supremacy propaganda during the games.

Historians talked about the relationship between food and societies throughout world history. Using Rachel Laudan’s book, Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History as a starting point, they…

Ella Morton, co-author of Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders, talked about her book. She spoke at the 2016 Wisconsin Book Festival, held at the Central Branch…

Candice Millard talked about her book Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill, in which she recalls the actions of future British Prime…

Adam Hochschild talked about his book Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, in which he provides a history of the Spanish Civil War. He spoke at the 28th…

Judy Gaughan talked about her book, Murder Was Not a Crime: Homicide and Power in the Roman Republic, about how families were given the power to carry out their own forms of punishment, including murder,…

Lonnie Bunch and Paul Gardullo talked about the Smithsonian’s participation in a global consortium called the Slave Wrecks Project. They spoke about the discovery of a slave ship that…

Scott Christianson talked about his book, 100 Documents that Changed the World: From the Magna Carta to Wikileaks.

Panelists talked about world history. Panelists included Mary Beard, author of SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome; Mark Molesky, author of This Gulf of Fire: The Destruction of Lisbon, or Apocalypse in…

Professor Jonathan Petropoulos talked about his book, Artists Under Hitler: Collaboration and Survival in Nazi Germany. This interview, conducted at Claremont McKenna College, is part of Book…

Peter Ross Range talked about his book 1924: The Year That Made Hitler, in which he looks at Adolf Hitler’s nine months in prison in 1924 for his failed attempt at overthrowing the German…

Bill Yenne talked about his book, Operation Long Jump: Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill, and the Greatest Assassination Plot in History, about the Nazi plot to assassinate Roosevelt, Stalin,…

Historians and authors talked about how totalitarian regimes destroy cultural sites and artifacts in order to obscure historical memory from the public.

Barry Lando talked about his book, Web of Deceit: The History of Western Complicity in Iraq, from Churchill to Kennedy to George W. Bush, published by Other Press. He argued that the current situation…

David Pietrusza talked about his book 1932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR-Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny, in which he examines the events that marked presidential races…

Professor Robert Paulett talked about Caribbean sugar and its role in the development of Britain’s Atlantic colonies, especially in regards to ideas of race and slavery in the 1600s. He…