Christian Appy, associate professor of history at MIT, discusses perceptions and memories of the Vietnam War from all possible sides: American civilians, antiwar protestors, and soldiers, as well as Vietnamese civilians and soldiers.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch discusses the final years of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, focusing on King's attempts to move the Civil Rights Movement into protest of the Vietnam War and King's calls for broader social and economic justice.
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Henry Louis Gates Jr., director of the Du Bois Institute at Harvard, discusses the African and African-American experience from W.E.B. Du Bois to John Coltrane in a comprehensive study, with an emphasis on Du Bois's concept of the "Encyclopedia Africana"—an encyclopedia of all Black culture and history—as a weapon against racism.
Professor Gary Nash discusses the conditions of the fifth of the population who were African American during the Revolutionary War and in its aftermath. Nash explores the escape of slaves to join the British and the conditions African Americans faced in the colonies after the war. His presentation includes slides.
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Professor and author Simon Schama discusses the escape of many slaves to join the British during the Revolutionary War, in response to offers of freedom for service to Britain. He continues on to look at what happened to these men and women after Britain's defeat.
Survivors of the sinking of the World War II U.S. torpedo boat PT-109, commanded by John F. Kennedy in the Pacific, discuss their memories of their rescue and of JFK. Robert Ballard, maritime explorer, also discusses the expedition that discovered the remains of the PT-109.
Several panelists involved in the original reportage of the Cuban Missile Crisis discuss and debate their coverage of the Crisis and how the media might cover such a situation today. The presentation includes audio clips from original coverage of the Crisis.
Concluding the discussion and debate on Harry S. Truman's presidency began in the lecture "The Presidency of Harry S. Truman, Part One," Truman's grandson Daniel Clifton Truman narrates his memories of Harry S. Truman.
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Following a short film on Harry S. Truman's pre-Presidency years, three panelists, including two university history professors and Truman's grandson, discuss and debate Truman's presidency and policies, partially in comparison to today's global political situation.
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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.