Best John F Kennedy Presidential Library Podcasts (2024)

1
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy - A Political Matriarch 58:35

2M ago58:35

58:35

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was the mother of a 20th century political dynasty. In this episode, we’ll explore her history through the museum she helped create at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site and speak with historian Barbara Perry, author of Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch.…

1
From Moonshot to Earthshot 18:35

2M ago18:35

18:35

This Earth Day, the JFK Library Foundation announced the Earthshot Innovation Challenge: Northeast U.S. Edition. The challenge is a $100,000 prize to ignite regional innovations to address climate change. Foundation Executive Director Rachel Flor discusses the award and when winner’s will be announced.…

1
A Conversation with U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan 32:41

2M ago32:41

32:41

In 1934, the National Archives and Records Administration was created to oversee the protection and dissemination of governmental and historic records of the United States. In this episode, we speak with the Dr. Colleen Shogan, the 11th Archivist of the United States.By JFK Library Foundation

1
Hemingway's Letters 47:32

3M ago47:32

47:32

The Hemingway Letters Project seeks to publish a comprehensive edition of the writer Ernest Hemingway’s letters. In this episode, we talk with two of the project's editors, Verna Kale and Sandra Spanier, in advance of the publication of volume 6 of the series. We talk about the detective work they’ve done and how Hemingway’s letters give a deeper u…

1
Being the President 43:03

3M ago43:03

43:03

What did President Kennedy think of the presidency himself? And what makes a president? In this episode, we hear from JFK himself and talk to historian Alexis Coe about her project at New America on the presidency, as well as her work as an historian.By JFK Library Foundation

1
Bayard Rustin: The Man Behind the March 1:06:42

4M ago1:06:42

1:06:42

On August 28, 1963, 250,000 people of different races, religions, and economic backgrounds convened on the nation’s capital for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The man behind organizing the event – Bayard Rustin – is profiled in a new Oscar-nominated film “Rustin.” In this episode, we speak with producers of the film, Tonia Davis and …

1
Let Us Begin: A Legacy Continued 1:00:38

7M ago1:00:38

1:00:38

In February 1963, President Kennedy said, “A man may die, but an idea lives on.” In this episode, we look at the legacy JFK left behind and how some are continuing the spirit of his work. We speak with NASA astronaut Victor Glover who represents the new generation of space explorers and is set to be the first black man to travel to the Moon. We als…

1
Let Us Begin: The Torch Has Been Passed 42:19

7M ago42:19

42:19

President Kennedy’s trip to Texas was meant to rally support for his programs and policies and lay groundwork for the 1964 election. But instead, something happened that changed the course of history: the president was assassinated. The world seemed to stop as John F. Kennedy’s state funeral was arranged. This episode brings you into the White Hous…

1
Let Us Begin: A New Generation of Leadership 51:35

8M ago51:35

51:35

Sixty years after President Kennedy’s administration, fewer than 1 in 5 people in the United States have a living memory of the President. But his legacy continues to live on in those generations that have come after him. In this episode, we speak with the next generation of leaders who will help carry the torch left by President Kennedy. This epis…

1
Let Us Begin: The Peacemakers 38:25

8M ago38:25

38:25

In 1963, President Kennedy came home to Ireland, the land of his ancestors. During that visit, he called upon the Irish to take their place among the world’s peacemakers. In the decades that followed, Ireland would experience first hand the difficulty of peacemaking. Sixty years after Kennedy’s visit, the country would live up to Kennedy’s challeng…

1
Let Us Begin: A Homecoming 21:39

8M ago21:39

21:39

On the heels of his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, JFK traveled northward to Ireland, where his great-grandparents emigrated from in the 19th century. The first Irish Catholic president, JFK’s visit was both meaningful for him personally and a rousing and significant event for the people of Ireland. We’ll hear about the impact of his trip and speak…

1
Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America 1:25:34

8M ago1:25:34

1:25:34

Heather Cox Richardson, Boston College professor of history, discusses her new book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America with Tom Nichols, staff writer at The Atlantic.By JFK Library Foundation

1
Let Us Begin: The Hour of Maximum Danger 48:48

8M ago48:48

48:48

In the summer of 1963, JFK arrived in a divided Germany with the recent construction of the new Berlin Wall nearly two years earlier. President John F. Kennedy spent his entire administration in a “twilight struggle” with the Soviet Union including averting possible total war during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Historian Tim Naftali takes us f…

1
Looking Ahead to the 2024 Elections 1:28:20

8M ago1:28:20

1:28:20

Robert Costa, chief election and campaign correspondent for CBS News, discusses key issues in advance of the 2024 elections with David Gergen, senior political analyst at CNN and a White House adviser to four presidents.By JFK Library Foundation

1
Let Us Begin: Peace for All Time 49:30

8M ago49:30

49:30

In 1963, President Kennedy gave a speech at American University outlining “a strategy of peace” on how the two superpowers, the U.S. and Soviet Union, could back off the precipice of total nuclear annihilation. In this episode, we look back at the speech with historian Fredrik Logevall and people who were there on campus. We also interview former S…

1
Let Us Begin: A Moral Issue 1:02:49

9M ago1:02:49

1:02:49

Black Americans, particularly in the South, were denied their right to vote, with poll taxes, voter ID laws, literacy tests, intimidation, and mob violence. By 1963, the Kennedy administration was prepared to act to expand the access to the vote, though Kennedy himself would not live to see the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.…

1
Let Us Begin: President Kennedy's White House 60 Years Later 4:12

9M ago4:12

4:12

In 1963, President Kennedy would make decisions that would reflect on his lasting legacy. It would also be a year that he would never complete after becoming the fourth sitting U.S. President to be assassinated on November 22, 1963. In this special series, we will look at some of the President’s key trips and policy decisions from 1963 and how the …

1
Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad 1:27:13

11M ago1:27:13

1:27:13

Matthew Delmont, Dartmouth professor of history, discusses his recent book Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad, which explores the crucial contributions of the more than one million Black men and women who served in World War II, serving in segregated units and performing unheralded but vital …

1
Civil Rights Issues: Then and Now 1:32:39

1y ago1:32:39

1:32:39

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of President Kennedy’s June 1963 speech on civil rights, this special panel discussion explores civil rights issues in the 1960s and today. Mark Whitaker, CBS Sunday Morning contributor and author of “Saying it Loud: 1966 - The Year Black Power Challenged the Civil Rights Movement” moderates a conversation w…

1
An Unfinished Agenda: President Kennedy And Civil Rights, 60 Years Later 1:24:53

1y ago1:24:53

1:24:53

In a nationally televised address in June 1963, President Kennedy addressed the most urgent domestic issue of the time: the struggle to guarantee civil rights for all Americans. In his speech, President Kennedy implored a nation divided by race, to rise to the challenge of that moment, to create a society in which all its citizens were afforded equ…

1
Lincoln and the Fight for Peace 1:23:51

1y ago1:23:51

1:23:51

John Avlon, author, columnist, and senior political analyst and anchor at CNN, discusses his new book “Lincoln and the Fight for Peace,” which explores Lincoln’s plan to secure a just and lasting peace after the Civil War, with Kellie Carter Jackson, professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College.…

1
The City on a Hill 39:33

1y ago39:33

39:33

Since the Massachusetts Bay Colony was established, Boston has been described as a “city on a hill” or a city to be looked to as an example for others. President Kennedy drew from the same material when he left for Washington D.C. In this episode, we look back at some of Boston's notable mayors who left their mark on the original “city on a hill” i…

1
The Television Presidency 34:33

1y ago34:33

34:33

President John F. Kennedy was the first president to take live televised questions from the press on a regular basis and he would provide the model for what would become the modern television presidency. In this episode, we’ll take a look at Kennedy's relationship with the media at news conferences and have a conversation with members of today’s Wh…

1
Strengthening Civic Infrastructure and Combating Hate: The Role of the Arts, Culture, and Faith 1:36:49

1y ago1:36:49

1:36:49

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff delivers opening remarks for a special Kennedy Library Forum that will include a distinguished panel exploring the role of the arts and culture and interfaith cooperation in combating hate. Maria Rosario Jackson, Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts; Rashad Hussain, US Ambassador at Large for International Re…

1
PEN/Hemingway Award Celebration 1:23:01

1y ago1:23:01

1:23:01

Colette Hemingway honors 2023 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel finalists and winner Oscar Hokeah, author of “Calling for a Blanket Dance,” at this celebration. Award-winning author Jennifer Haigh delivers the keynote address. The Kennedy Library is the major repository of Ernest Hemingway’s personal papers. This program is co-presented with The …

1
Protecting the Equal Pay Act of 1963 22:07

1y ago22:07

22:07

It has been 60 years since President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963. In this episode, we’ll hear how far the United States has come since Kennedy signed the landmark legislation, and just how far it still has to go in guaranteeing equal pay for equal work.By JFK Library Foundation

1
Making the Equal Pay Act of 1963 30:18

1+ y ago30:18

30:18

Sixty years ago, President John F. Kennedy passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963. It was one of the first federal anti-discrimination laws that dealt with wage discrimination on the basis of sex. While Kennedy was the man who signed the bill into law, it was only because of a women-led movement that the act became a reality.…

1
Dinner with the President 1:31:52

1+ y ago1:31:52

1:31:52

Alex Prud’homme discusses his new book, “Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House,” a narrative history of food, politics, and twenty-six presidents from President Washington to President Biden, including President Kennedy. Sheryl Julian, writer, stylist, and former food editor of The Boston Glob…

1
The Press and the Presidency 1:27:52

1+ y ago1:27:52

1:27:52

Ellen Fitzpatrick, Presidential Chair and Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire; Doug Mills, White House photographer for The New York Times, and Darlene Superville, White House Correspondent for the Associated Press, explore key issues in covering the Presidency with Tamara Keith, NPR White House Correspondent and president of th…

1
A Conversation with Micheál Martin T.D., Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence of Ireland 1:12:03

1+ y ago1:12:03

1:12:03

Micheál Martin T.D., Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence of Ireland, marks the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s visit to Ireland and discusses the Irish-US relationship and key global issues with Kevin Cullen, columnist for The Boston Globe. This program is supported in part through the Government of Irela…

1
Archiving Through the Pandemic 24:24

1+ y ago24:24

24:24

The JFK Library plays an important role as a place where original documents, photographs, audio, film, and other artifacts from John F. Kennedy's presidency are preserved. While the pandemic interrupted some of the Library's normal activities, archivists used the time to reduce a large digital backlog of materials waiting to be published online. Ar…

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John F Kennedy Presidential Library Podcasts

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