Author Robert Dallek examines the relationship between Richard Nixon and National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, drawing on recently-released documents and tapes.
Theodore Sorensen (speechwriter for President Kennedy) and Ted Widmer (speechwriter for President Clinton) join Nixon and Bush, Senior's presidential speechwriters to discuss the art of capturing the president's voice, communicating his ideas, and inspiring the public. They share memories of the presidents with whom they worked and clips from their favorite speeches.
A series of historians pays tribute to Arthur Schlesinger, special assistant to John F. Kennedy and Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian and biographer. Schlesinger is a guest on the panel.
Professor Priscilla McMillan examines the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, physicist and director of the Manhattan Project. McMillan focuses particularly on his post-World-War-II opposition to development of the hydrogen bomb, the 1954 trial in which his security clearance was revoked, and the context of these events at the beginning of the USSR-U.S. arms race.
Biographer and journalist Richard Reeves compares and contrasts the presidencies and legacies of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan.
Curator Sally Pierce and associate curator Catharina Slautterback review the history of the Boston Atheneaum's collections of prints and photographs, beginning with the Atheneaum's founding in 1807. They look at the contents of the collections; how the items were obtained, collected, and exhibited; and what they indicate about changes in tastes and available materials over time. The presentation includes slides.
The lecture's audio is also available for download.
A panel of historians and political analysts discuss the experiences and history of Irish and Jewish immigrants and their descendants in Boston. The panelists look at the current population of these ethnic groups in Boston, as well.
The discussion's audio can be downloaded in mp3 format.
Civil Rights Project co-founder and director Gary Orfield and director and president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Theodore Shaw examine how researchers and legal advocates can further the aim of advancing civil rights in knowledge and policy. With a look back to the Civil Rights Project's original research agenda and its impact over the past ten years, this discussion considers how research on social equity and civil rights can be successfully extended to include the changing reality of a highly stratified multiracial society with a white minority.
The discussion audio is available as a downloadable mp3 file.
U.S. Booksellers for Free Expression president Christopher Finan looks at the importance of and struggle to defend freedom of speech and other civil liberties over the 20th century.
The lecture audio can be downloaded as an mp3.
Author Lisa Alther talks about her work to trace her family genealogy and determine whether her ancestry includes any members of a perhaps-folkloric group of Tennessee residents called the "Melungeons." She talks about how people reconstruct their family trees, adding and omitting to create the history they wish to remember.