Professor Marshall Poe interviews Charles Postel, author of The Populist Vision, which examines the Populist Party, a turn-of-the-19th-to-20th-century party anchored by western farmers.
Professor Marshall Poe interviews Mark Bradley, author of Vietnam at War, a text that examines the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese point of view, particularly the North Vietnamese.
From the "Littoral," blog of the Key West Literary seminar website:
"This recording from the 2009 Key West Literary Seminar consists of an hourlong conversation between Vidal and Jay Parini, his literary executor, a poet, biographer, and critic. Vidal discusses the influences on his work as a historical novelist, his views on the American educational system, and his admiration for figures including Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. George W. Bush, then serving his final week in office, is the target of particular scorn, as Vidal levels a litany of complaints accusing his administration of 'shredding' the Bill of Rights and striving 'to make lying the national pastime.' In a question-and-answer session, Vidal discusses efforts to bring Tennessee Williams's final play to the public, as well as his feelings on disgraced financier Bernard Madoff and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin."
From the National Constitution Center website:
"With the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, an old-fashioned southern Jacksonian Democrat of pronounced states' rights views became the seventeenth president of the United States. In a surprising turn of events, Andrew Johnson was charged with the reconstruction of the defeated South, including the extension of civil rights and suffrage to African American Southerners. It quickly became clear that the president supported the enactment of 'black codes' and would block efforts to force Southern states to guarantee full equality for African Americans, igniting a fierce battle with congressional Republicans. Acclaimed author David O. Stewart returns to the Constitution Center to discuss the impeachment trial of President Johnson, which became the central battle of the struggle over how to reunite a nation after four years of war."
To listen to this lecture, scroll to "Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson," which is the June 26, 2009 post.
Susan Pearson of Northwestern University, speaking at the Organization of American Historians 2009 meeting, discusses late 19th-century reimagining of the role of the family and the best interests of children, leading to reform in child protection. She holds that this change sprang from change in liberal ideology during this time period.
Alice Kessler-Harris of Columbia University, speaking at the Organization of American Historians 2009 meeting, details her response, as a historian of women's issues, at the 2008 presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and her shift towards believing that Obama most clearly supported feminist-related issues.
Alice Kessler-Harris reads a paper by John Hopkins University's Blanche Wiesen Cook at the Organization of American Historians 2009 meeting. The paper relates Cook's experiences as a John Hopkins student during the civil rights movement, fighting for desegregation.
Fred Israel of City College of New York, speaking at the Organization of American Historians 2009 meeting, discusses his work with Gallup public opinion data and the history of the Gallup Opinion Poll. He looks at changes in public opinion on the acceptability of diverse candidates for the presidency, as indicated by the polls.
Professor and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, Clayborne Carson, speaking at the Organization of American Historians 2009 meeting, talks about his perceptions of the 2008 presidential campaign and the election of Barack Obama, as a participant in the civil rights movement. He examines the place of race and ethnicity in the campaign and the civil rights views, events, and figures that led up to the present day and Obama's election.
Historian, blogger, and author Gil Troy, speaking at the Organization of American Historians 2009 meeting, talks about his experiences as a historian blogging during the 2008 presidential election. He discusses his views on the role historians should play when contributing or responding to the media, providing studied, nonpredictive information and analysis, even in the face of demands for sound bites and snap judgments.