For the Ages: A History Podcast

After serving for three months as vice president, Harry S. Truman, at age 60, suddenly inherited the White House. The nearly eight years that followed were unusually turbulent—marked by victory in the wars against Germany and Japan, the first use of an atomic weapon and the development of far deadlier weapons, the Cold War, the Red Scare, the Marshall Plan, and the fateful decision to fight a land war in Korea. How did Truman become the steadfast leader who, in the rush of events, helped shape the postwar world?
Recorded on March 15, 2023

Following America’s violent entrance into World War II with the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States needed to swiftly mobilize for its fight in the Pacific Theater. In those tense days following the attack, President Roosevelt tapped Chester W. Nimitz to lead the charge. With the nation calling for swift justice against a complex backdrop of military challenges and internal politics, Nimitz rose to the challenges of his time and station to lead the United States in the fight for victory in the Pacific. Craig L. Symonds joins David M. Rubenstein to explore this pivotal figure and moment in American history.
Recorded on January 10, 2023

John F. Kennedy was one of the most iconic political figures of the 20th century, a man known universally by his initials. From his college days to the end in Dallas, he was fascinated by the nature of political courage and its relationship to democratic governance. David M. Rubenstein is joined by historian Frederik Logevall to discuss how we should understand JFK and his role in both US and world politics, particularly during this time of growing threats to democracy both at home and abroad.
Recorded May 3, 2023

Today, Latinos represent 20% of the US population, with census reports projecting that one-third of Americans will identify as having Latino heritage by 2050. Exploring the complex history of immigration across the Americas, demographic diversity within US borders, and the impact on US politics, inaugural literary director of the Library of Congress Marie Arana joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss this extremely diverse set of Americans, with a focus on the broad range of racial, political, and historical backgrounds of the nation’s fastest growing minority group. 
Recorded on May 30, 2023.

In popular memory, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the quintessential political “natural.” However journalist and author Jonathan Darman argues that this political acumen was the hard-earned result of Roosevelt’s seven-year journey through illness and recovery from polio. In that decade of adapting to the stark new reality of his life, he discovered how to find hope in a seemingly hopeless situation—a skill that he employed to motivate Americans through the Great Depression and World War II. In conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Darman underscores the link between Roosevelt’s struggles with polio and his growth as both a man and leader, drawing attention to the shrewdness and compassion that made Roosevelt so effective.
Recorded on March 28, 2023

In 1991, a crew of New York City construction workers found the remains of a massive burial ground under twenty feet of rubble, just blocks from City Hall. The forgotten cemetery contained the remains of as many as 20,000 African Americans, and pointed to the countless untold stories of the enslaved and free people who lived, labored, and died in New York. Historian Leslie M. Harris joins David M. Rubenstein to shine a light on these stories, tracing the early African American experience in New York from the arrival of the first slaves into the city in 1629 to the devastating racial violence of the New York City Draft Riots in 1863.
Recorded on April 10, 2023

The discovery of the cell in the 17th century caused a paradigm shift in medicine, with the human body coming to be seen as something never before imagined: an ecosystem in and of itself; a collection of innumerable organic parts working in tandem to fulfill our biological functions. Physician and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee sits down with David M. Rubenstein to explore how this watershed moment came about and how its effects are still playing out in the form of radical medical advancements that draw into sharper relief what it means to be human.  
Recorded on December 13, 2022

Throughout history, Americans have looked to their president for guidance, seeking leadership from the nation’s highest office during times of turbulence. Historian and lawyer Talmage Boston speaks with David M. Rubenstein to discuss the leadership lessons that can be learned from America’s most effective presidents—from Washington’s precipitous rise to power to Reagan’s ability to motivate and inspire optimism—and how they can be instructive to today’s leaders.
Recorded on February 12, 2024

J. Edgar Hoover was not only the inaugural director of the FBI, but the architect of modern American law enforcement. Hoover’s stewardship over America’s justice system was as robust as it was ruthless, while his connections to white supremacists and the religious right spun a complex web between policing, politics, and race. Historian Beverly Gage sits down with David M. Rubenstein to discuss her Pulitzer Prize-winning book on Hoover, tracing the lawman’s decades-long career shaping the American legal and political landscape, a period of immense influence that would span eight presidencies.
Recorded on March 8, 2023

In December 1941, Nazi Germany controlled much of Europe, Japan was fighting a brutal campaign in China, and the United States had yet to enter into combat on either front. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, however, changed everything. Historians Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman join moderator David M. Rubenstein to dissect the five crucial days between the attack on Pearl Harbor and Nazi Germany’s declaration of war on the United States, tracing the strategic decisions that would irrevocably change the course of the Second World War.
Recorded on July 31, 2023

In an exhilarating and, at times, harrowing account of exploration, survival, and betrayal, author and journalist Candice Millard joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss the story of two men’s search for the headwaters of the Nile River. Richard Burton, an intelligent, highly capable, and decorated soldier, and John Speke, an ambitious aristocrat and army officer, embarked on the treacherous journey together, soon developing a heated rivalry that would persist throughout their lives. Alongside them on their epic journey was Sidi Mubarak Bombay, a peerless guide who was formerly enslaved, and who played a vital role in this story.
Recorded on August 31, 2023

Author and journalist Kate Andersen Brower rejoins David M. Rubenstein to continue their conversation on the legacy of the great Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor’s triumphs––her precocious rise to megastardom, her fight for fair and equal pay despite the sexism present in Hollywood during her lifetime, her advocacy for those with HIV/AIDS––as well as the difficulties she faced in her life––her eight marriages and her struggles with addiction––are all brought into clearer focus in service of painting a rich portrait of the American icon.
Recorded on March 24, 2023

Elizabeth Taylor, a legend of cinema known across the world, was one of the last great Classical Hollywood stars whose talent and beauty led her to universal renown. Beyond the artist, though, Taylor was a feminist trailblazer, a human rights advocate, and a fighter—someone who championed the needs of others and struggled bravely against problems of her own. Author and journalist Kate Andersen Bower joins David M. Rubenstein to delve into the first ever authorized biography of the twentieth century’s most famous movie star, bringing a new look at the life and legacy of Elizabeth Taylor.
Recorded on March 24, 2023

Kentucky fought alongside the Union for the entirety of the Civil War, yet in the decades that followed, the state embraced many political and cultural traditions of the Confederacy, enacting Jim Crow laws and erecting monuments to embrace this adopted identity. In a fascinating conversation on identity and political myth-making, historian Anne E. Marshall breaks down how and why Kentuckians constructed this historically-revisionist narrative that shaped the trajectory of their state for the next 60 years.
Recorded on August 23, 2023

In an incisive analysis of national mourning following the deaths of presidents across US history, historian Lindsay Chervinsky joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss how such losses and the subsequent expressions of grief affected American culture and politics. Examining what can be learned from the ways we have grieved and remembered late presidents since the passing of George Washington in 1799, Chervinsky explores the way presidents continue to shape America even in death.
Recorded on August 7, 2023

The arc of Abraham Lincoln’s political career existed in the context of the ideologically tumultuous 19th century. From a period of cultural pessimism in the 1840s and 1850s alongside the Millerites’ prediction of a Second Coming, this period saw the rise of utopian philosophies, the intwining of slavery and Southern identity, the merging of Manifest Destiny with the concept of free-market opportunity, and a collapse of a common, middle ground. Distinguished historian Orville Vernon Burton joins David M. Rubenstein to paint a portrait of the five decades pivoting around Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, and his place within them.
Recorded on July 6, 2023

In the wake of a pandemic and amidst deep partisan divisions and a looming budgetary crisis, Calvin Coolidge faced monumental challenges when he assumed the presidency following the abrupt death of his predecessor Warren G. Harding in 1923. From the Boston Police Strike to the rapid social and economic changes of the Roaring Twenties, Coolidge’s political career spanned and was marked by continuous upheaval in American life. In conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Amity Shlaes explores the personal and political characteristics that define Coolidge’s career and legacy.

Jonathan Freedland once again joins David Rubenstein to discuss the story of Walter Rosenberg, one of the few Jews to successfully escape Auschwitz. Following Rosenberg’s arrival in Auschwitz, this conversation dives into the details of the risky escape plan he hatched alongside Fred Wetzler, the dangers that met them outside the camp once they had escaped, and how Rosenberg and Wetzler attempted to alert the international community about what they had seen and experienced.  

In April of 1944, Walter Rosenberg escaped from Auschwitz alongside Fred Wetzler, making them two of a very small number of Jews who were able to escape a concentration camp and make their way to safety during the Second World War. In the first of this two-part conversation, Jonathan Freedland and David Rubenstein discuss how anti-Semitism shaped Rosenberg’s life in the years leading up to the war, his eventual internment as a teenager in Slovakia, and how his plans to escape took shape once he landed in Auschwitz.

Biographer James Traub continues the story of John Quincy Adams. Drawing on the sixth US president’s diaries, letters, and writings, Traub discusses Adams’ ascendance to the White House, his numerous achievements and failures in office, his stewardship of American foreign policy, and his continuous dedication to a code of ethics beyond the desire for reelection.
Recorded on August 23, 2023

As the son of a Founding Father and with a political career that lasted until his death in 1848, John Quincy Adams was eulogized by many of his peers as one of the last links between the founding generation and the United States of the 19th century. In this first of two conversations, James Traub, author of John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit, explores the origins of Adams’ political career, bridging a connection between his childhood and college years to the start of his career in diplomacy, against the backdrop of his father’s presidency.
Recorded on August 23, 2023 

Described by former mayor Ed Koch as “the closest we’ve got to royalty in New York City,” the Morgenthau family immigrated from Germany to the United States in 1866 and went on to build a powerful real estate empire and make history in international diplomacy, domestic politics, and America’s criminal justice system. With links to figures ranging from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Donald Trump, the Morgenthau family played a role in advancing the New Deal, exposing the Armenian genocide and both consequential and controversial prosecutions through the DA’s office in New York City. Andrew Meier joins David M. Rubenstein to dive into the history and legacy of this American dynasty.
Recorded on June 27, 2023 

The conflicts that have marked the past 60 years have seen new weapons, new strategies, and complex new webs of alliance, enmity, and proxy violence. However, the evolution of warfare shows that certain challenges and solutions echo across history. General David H. Petraeus (US Army, Ret.) and Lord Andrew Roberts examine the nuances of warfare over the last 20 years, including the complications of urban battlefields, guerilla warfare, and civilian casualties, as well as common elements of conflict throughout the 20th century.
Recorded on November 16, 2023

While the Supreme Court is often presented in American history as a protector of civil liberties, its record across the centuries provides a more complex picture. While the short period of the 1930s to the 1970s saw the Court end segregation and safeguard both free speech and the vote, during the preceding period, the Court largely ignored or suppressed basic rights for many Americans. The succeeding period, too, saw a retreat and even regression on gains made toward racial justice. Prizewinning author and professor of history Orville Vernon Burton charts the Court’s racial jurisprudence, discussing the many cases involving America’s racial minorities and the impact of individual rulings.
Recorded on July 6, 2023 

The US Constitution did not create or provide for the presidential cabinet. When George Washington called for the first convening of his department secretaries two and a half years into his presidency, he drew on his military experience to seek counsel on the wide array of challenges facing the new nation. Presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky dissects the reasons behind the cabinet’s creation, and the far-reaching consequences that resulted, from the development of the party system to the balance of powers.
Recorded on August 7, 2023

Exploring the final installment of the Liberation Trilogy, historian Rick Atkinson discusses the titanic battle for Western Europe that defined the later years of the Second World War. Beginning with the commencement of D-Day, this period of the war saw the final campaign for European liberation, including the pivotal fight at Normandy, the liberation of Paris, the disaster of Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge, and the final push into the depths of the Third Reich.
Recorded on August 21, 2023  

In this first of two conversations, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson dives into the first two volumes of his monumental Liberation Trilogy, looking at North Africa during WWII and the harrowing campaigns that took place in Sicily and Italy. A pivotal point in history, this period of the war saw American and British armies clash with Vichy France forces in Morocco and Algeria, and then take on the Axis powers in Tunisia. Meanwhile, the fight to drive the German army up the Italian peninsula led to lethal battles at Salerno, Anzio, and Monte Cassino.
Recorded on August 21, 2023  

Since the dawn of civilization, land stewardship has served as the foundation for how societies coalesce and interact. In a wide-ranging conversation that examines European imperialism, the dispossession of Native American populations, and Joseph Stalin’s brutal collectivization in Society territories, bestselling author Simon Winchester illuminates how humanity’s conquest to acquire territory and wield its power has so definitively shaped history.
Recorded on January 11, 2022  

In the harsh New England winter of 1692, a minister’s daughter began to scream and convulse, as if possessed by a demonic spirit. This incident marked the beginning of a year-long panic in Salem, Massachusetts, which culminated in the infamous witch trials and the execution of 20 individuals. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff uncovers the origins of this phenomenon and the impact it had on the future republic.
Recorded on April 26, 2022  

While American presidents are only eligible to serve two terms in office and are beholden to protect the peaceful transfer of power to their successors, their influence in politics and public service can span decades following their presidency. Douglas Brinkley joins David M. Rubenstein to look at the post-presidential lives of the commander-in-chief from George Washington to Donald Trump, some establishing presidential libraries and others playing a powerful role in foreign policy.
Recorded on August 18, 2023 

Although Jimmy Carter left the White House in January 1981 following a failed bid for reelection, his career in public service was far from over. Outside the boundaries of the Oval Office, he dedicated himself to finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts and fighting for human rights. Award-winning historian Douglas Brinkley explores the lessons of Carter’s life and legacy, drawing from his unprecedented access to the 39th president.
Recorded on August 18, 2023 

Making up the earliest class of United States presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe were all born and raised within the same sixty-mile circle east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, making up a “Virginia Dynasty” that came to shape America during the formative decades following the revolution. Author Lynne Cheney examines the friendships and rivalries within this “Virginia Dynasty,” and the contradiction between their espoused ideals of American liberty and prosperity and their status as slaveholders.
Recorded on December 3, 2020 

Historian Alan Shaw Taylor continues his conversation with David M. Rubenstein on the decades that followed the American Revolution. This defining era saw Native Americans seeking to defend their homes from a flood of American settlers, the intertwining of slavery in American politics, economics, and daily life, and an emerging expansionist vision pushing the country westward. Alongside these character-defining evolutions in the young country’s economy and geopolitics, this era also saw America’s cultural and religious identity begin to take shape.
Recorded on June 13, 2023 

Contrary to the popular narrative of a confident and stable young republic, the United States emerged from its constitution as a fragile, internally divided union of states still contending with European empires and other independent republics on the North American continent. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and the author of American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850, Alan Shaw Taylor joins David M. Rubenstein in this first of two conversations on the early decades of the American republic, exploring the limits of its physical and ideological borders.
Recorded on June 13, 2023 

Hailed as the founding father of America’s conservation movement, President Theodore Roosevelt championed the protection of the nation's natural treasures and embarked on visionary initiatives to preserve 234 million acres of wilderness for posterity. In conversation with David M. Rubenstein, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley explores Theodore Roosevelt’s complex legacy as one of America’s first environmentalist presidents.
Recorded on March 17, 2023

In 1961, as the Cold War cast a shadow across the globe, John F. Kennedy inspired Americans to look up to the sky as he announced his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley dives into the history of the unprecedented expansion of the American space program under President Kennedy, and how the project aimed to promote science, exploration, and the spreading of democratic ideals back on Earth.
Recorded on March 17, 2023

Flora MacDonald’s life continued to be marked by dramatic political upheaval following her involvement in the escape of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. In this second conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Flora Fraser details Flora MacDonald’s marriage, her move to the American colonies, and how her family was eventually swept up in the Revolutionary War before she finally returned to the Isle of Skye.
Recorded on March 17, 2023

Biographer Flora Fraser tells the thrilling story of the young Scotswoman who helped Prince Charles Edward Stuart evade capture following the defeat of the Jacobite army at Culloden, Scotland, which marked the end of the House of Stuarts’ attempts to reclaim the British throne. While the story of Flora MacDonald has become the subject of songs, storybooks, and films in the two centuries that have since passed, in this first of two conversations, Fraser dives into the details of how and why Flora MacDonald helped “Bonnie” Prince Charlie make his midnight escape by sea, disguised as an Irish maid.
Recorded on March 17, 2023

World War II in the Pacific entered its endgame in June 1944, after the U.S. waged a crushing assault on the Japanese navy in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. In a conversation that explores the conflict’s harrowing final year—from the maritime war front to the halls of power in Washington and Tokyo—historian Ian W. Toll illuminates the grand strategic decisions and naval operations that allowed the Allies to emerge victorious.
Recorded on February 8, 2022

The period of Reconstruction following the Civil War saw a transformation of the United States from a slaveholding republic into an interracial democracy, all alongside the rise of industrial capitalism and the violent and ambitious conquest of the American West. What was the historical significance of this monumental transformation? Manisha Sinha explores the evolution of American democracy during this period with a new historical synthesis of Reconstruction.
Recorded on May 17, 2022

For decades, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist George F. Will has been regarded as one of this country’s leading columnists and public intellectuals. In an expansive conversation that encompasses American history, the Supreme Court, and beyond, Will shares his perspective on the political, social, and cultural trends that have shaped the national experience since 2008.
Recorded on October 6, 2021

Half a century later, the contested history of the war in Vietnam continues to elicit national debate, deep soul-searching, and purported lessons for America's role overseas. In a conversation that visits new historical terrain of the Vietnam War past, award-winning historian and former war refugee Lien-Hang T. Nguyen draws on her personal and professional journey researching that war to offer new insights for its significance today.
Recorded on February 2, 2022

Long before the first battle of the American Revolution, the conflict between Loyalists and Patriots swept through all facets of American society, with colonists, Native Americans, and the enslaved all forced to choose a side. Would this constitute America’s first civil war, beginning before the Revolution had even been won? Pulitzer Prize finalist H.W. Brands examines this question and looks at the deep-seated divisions that made up the war before the war—between Loyalists and Patriots, families, friends, and neighbors.
Recorded on March 16, 2022

The post-World War II economic boom came at a high cost: smog made breathing difficult in cities, the oceans were dying, wilderness vanished, and species went extinct at alarming rates. Acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles how Rachel Carson’s 1962 book, Silent Spring, launched an eco-revolution and inspired the rise of environmental activism during the presidencies of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon.
Recorded on November 22, 2022

In the United States, World War II is often regarded as a time of unrivaled national unity and optimism, however in reality this traumatic period tested the American resolve in the most significant way since the Civil War. How did the nation rise to the occasion? Author and historian Tracy Campbell, in conversation with David M. Rubenstein, examines the critical year of 1942, when a series of setbacks and challenges in the war threatened to splinter the nation from within.
Recorded May 7, 2021

Whether you are looking at proxy conflicts during the Cold War, the power of the Cuban-American voting bloc, or how Cuban-American relations are used as a cipher for a president’s foreign policy, the power of Cuba on American politics is undeniable. From the severing of diplomatic relations in 1961 to the hard-won normalization of Cuba-U.S. relations under the Obama administration and the subsequent chipping away of those normalizations under President Trump, Ada Ferrer unravels the complex intertwining of the U.S. and Cuba’s foreign policy and domestic affairs.
Recorded March 23, 2022

Adam Hochschild, author of American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis, once again joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss the culture of violence, vigilantism, and censorship that permeated US government and society in the years during and immediately following World War I. In this conversation, they explore the grim economic conditions that followed the war, the wave of major municipal and labor union strikes, inflamed white violence toward Black workers, anti-immigrant sentiment, and the attempts at mass deportations following the Palmer Raids.
Recorded on February 17, 2023  

The US’s entrance into World War I marked the beginning of a period in American history characterized by lynching, aggressive union-busting, mass civilian arrests, and stringent government censorship of the press, all amidst the backdrop of the war, a pandemic, and the specter of the Russian Revolution. In this first of two discussions, Adam Hochschild, author of American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis, illuminates the dark currents of this oft-overlooked historical moment, with a focus on the years immediately surrounding America’s entrance into the war.
Recorded on February 17, 2023  

Roger Lowenstein once again joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss the complex financial circumstances of the Civil War. In this episode, he explores the financial challenges faced by the Confederacy; looking at the resources they had available to them compared to the North, how they envisioned global trade impacting their cause, and how the desire to preserve the institution of slavery influenced both their military strategy and economic philosophy.
Recorded on February 10, 2023 

For both the Union and the Confederacy, one of the most persistent battles of the Civil War was financing. To meet this challenge head-on both Lincoln and Jefferson Davis attempted a number of strategies to tackle the enormous financial demands of their armies, subsequent gold shortages, and an evolving diplomatic landscape abroad. In this first of two talks, David M. Rubenstein is joined by Roger Lowenstein to explore how the North sought to finance the Civil War. 
Recorded on February 10, 2023 

How was slavery written into America’s founding? David M. Rubenstein is once again joined by historian Edward J. Larson to discuss this question and explore how legal frameworks around slavery evolved in the new republic. Looking at the battle between the new country’s pro- and anti-slavery leaders, the Treaty of Paris, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, and the Bill of Rights, they delve into the role slavery played in the establishment of the first United States government.
Recorded on January 12, 2023 

While the Revolutionary War was waged as a fight for freedom, slavery was omnipresent in America before, during, and after the war. In this two-part conversation, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward J. Larson discusses how the twin strands of liberty and slavery were joined in the nation’s founding and the limits of the Founders’ conception of freedom. In this episode, Larson delves into the origins of slavery in America and the role of free and enslaved Black people during the Revolutionary War.
Recorded on January 12, 2023 

In an age of global economic transformation, what lessons can we learn from the world’s most successful investors? Throughout his career, David M. Rubenstein, co-founder of one of the world’s largest investment firms, has interviewed some of the most internationally respected investors and business leaders to gain insight into their time-tested principles and hard-earned wisdom. From venture capital and real estate to private equity, hedge funds, cryptocurrency, and more, Rubenstein shares the valuable insight he has gleaned on the art of investing.
Recorded on December 14, 2022

Author Walter Russell Mead joins David M. Rubenstein once again to examine the connections between Israel, the Jewish people, and American political history. In this conversation, they dive into the history of Jewish people in America, including their experience of the Civil War and World War II, and discuss the rise of an Israel lobby in US politics, the influence of the Cold War, and the role of evangelicals in American support for Israel.
Recorded on January 6, 2023

The nuances of the Israeli-American relationship extend far into the past. Author Walter Russell Mead joins David M. Rubenstein for a two-part conversation to examine the connections between Israeli and American political history. This first of two episodes examines the origins of American support for Israel inside and outside of the Jewish community, the role of antisemitism and American isolationism in rising support for a Jewish state, and the impacts of evolving political affiliations in the United States and Israeli governments today.
Recorded on January 6, 2023

Edna Greene Medford, professor of history at Howard University, examines the ideas and events that shaped President Lincoln’s responses to slavery, following the arc of his ideological development from the beginning of the Civil War, when he aimed to pursue a course of noninterference, to his championing of slavery’s destruction before the conflict ended. Throughout this conversation, Medford juxtaposes the president’s motivations for advocating freedom with the aspirations of African Americans themselves, restoring African Americans to the center of the story about the struggle for their own liberation. Recorded on December 9, 2022 

A president who governed a divided country has much to teach us in a twenty-first-century moment of polarization and political crisis. Hated and hailed, excoriated, and revered, Abraham Lincoln was at the pinnacle of American power when implacable secessionists gave no quarter in a clash of visions bound up with money, race, identity, and faith. Celebrated historian and writer Jon Meacham joins David M. Rubenstein in a conversation on the power of Lincoln’s story to illustrate the ways and means of politics in a democracy, the roots and durability of racism, and the capacity of conscience to shape events.
Recorded on December 9, 2022 

Pulitzer Prize-winning environmental historian Jack E. Davis once again joins David M. Rubenstein to dive deep into the history, and patriotic symbolism of the bald eagle. In this talk, they discuss how the bald eagle came to be tied to American identity and government, the importance of bald eagles in Native American cultures, and how modern conservation efforts arose despite hunting of bald eagles in the early American republic.
Recorded on November 16, 2022 

Pulitzer Prize-winning environmental historian Jack E. Davis delves into the story of America’s most famous bird: the bald eagle. In conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Davis explores the story of the bald eagle as a unique and efficient predator predating colonization, a national symbol omnipresent in American art, architecture, and archives, and a species twice pushed to the brink of extinction. This first of two episodes focuses on the natural habitat of the American eagle, its hunting and mating habits, and migratory patterns.
Recorded on November 16, 2022 

Admiral William H. McRaven once again joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss some of his most historic military missions as a member of the Navy SEALs and as commander of America’s Special Operations Forces. In this conversation, he outlines his involvement in one of the most famous military missions in recent memory: the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad. Starting with the discovery of a vital lead in 2010, Admiral McRaven details how he and countless other service men and women worked to reach bin Laden’s compound, and the raid that culminated in bin Laden’s death and burial at sea.
Recorded on October 22, 2022 

In the first of two conversations centered on his book Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations, Admiral William H. McRaven joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss how growing up the son of a fighter pilot and a Texas schoolteacher led to his military career in the Navy SEALs and the capture of Saddam Hussein. Covering his time in the ROTC, his training upon joining the Navy SEALs, his experience of 9/11, and eventually his mission to hunt down the ‘deck of cards’ leading to Saddam Hussein, Admiral McRaven provides an up-close look at the story behind this pivotal moment in American history.
Recorded on October 22, 2022 

New York Metropolitan Museum of Art President and CEO Dan Weiss explores the American experience of the Vietnam war through the lens of Michael O’Donnell. O’Donnell, a musician and poet who served as a soldier and helicopter pilot, never fired a shot in Vietnam but eventually went missing in action following an attempt to rescue fellow soldiers under heavy fire. His poetry and his story survived however, and offer a powerful, personal perspective on this dark chapter in American history. Recorded on October 15, 2022 

While COVID-19 caused tragedy and disruption in ways that few had ever seen before, scientists and infectious disease experts had warned of the likelihood of the ‘next big’ pandemic for decades. While political and economic interests often took precedence over the bolstering of resources to fight the spread of new diseases, the scientific community nonetheless rallied to fight the COVID-19 virus even as everyday life came to a standstill. David Quammen, referencing interviews with hundreds of scientists, speaks to David M. Rubenstein about how the virus emerged, how nations responded, and what the future may hold in store.
Recorded on October 8, 2022

There’s a common story we tell about America: that our fundamental values as a country were stated in the Declaration of Independence, fought for in the Revolution, and made law in the Constitution. But, with the country increasingly divided, are cracks in this narrative beginning to show? Law professor Kermit Roosevelt III argues for a reinterpretation of the American story, that our fundamental values, particularly equality, are not part of the vision of the Founders.
Recorded on October 15, 2022

U.S. Congressman John Lewis (1940–2020) dedicated his life to public service and the pursuit of civil rights. A member of Martin Luther King Jr.’s inner circle, Lewis channeled his faith in humanity and in God to champion nonviolence as not only a tactic but a philosophy to achieve positive change and appeal to the best qualities of the American spirit. Drawing on decades of interviews with Lewis, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham offers an intimate portrait of a national treasure. Recorded September 11, 2020

The peaceful transfer of power from one U.S. President to another is the most delicate and hazardous period in the entire political cycle. Americans learned the stakes in 2020, when President Donald Trump’s refusal to trigger the formal start of the transition process to President-Elect Joe Biden created perhaps the worst crisis for American democracy since the Civil War. In a conversation with David M. Rubenstein, former director of the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition David Marchick illuminates the long history, complexity, and current best practices associated with this most vital of democratic institutions.
Recorded October 8, 2022 

Tom Brokaw, one of the most respected and trusted figures in U.S. broadcast journalism—best known for his more than 20-year tenure as managing editor and sole anchor of NBC Nightly News—joins David M. Rubenstein for an in-depth conversation on his prolific life and career delivering the news to millions of Americans.
Recorded on November 27, 2017 

Acclaimed historian Annette Gordon-Reed is renowned for her work uncovering both the political and the private life of one of America’s most celebrated Founders, Thomas Jefferson. In a conversation moderated by American philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family looks at the enigmatic third President’s vision of himself, the Revolution, and the American experiment taking shape around him.
Recorded on March 19, 2017

On the evening of December 12, 2000, following weeks of confusion surrounding the outcome of the recent presidential election, the Supreme Court handed down its decision to halt further vote counting in Florida, thus confirming the electoral victory of George W. Bush. Looking at the context of the 2020 election, what constitutional protections and loopholes exist pertaining to the presidential electoral process? Supreme Court columnist Linda Greenhouse, in conversation with David M. Rubenstein, explores this complex topic. Recorded October 12, 2020 

Billie Jean King—former No. 1 tennis player in the world and the first female athlete and first member of the LGBT community to be honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom—speaks with David M. Rubenstein about her iconic life and career, highlighting pivotal moments including her historic victory in the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” match and underlining her mission to incorporate equality into the larger fabric of the American story. Recorded on March 7, 2017 

How has global perception of the United States shifted since the end of the Cold War? Once seen as a dominant international leader, the country’s reputation has evolved into that of a disorganized entity, seemingly unwilling to accept the mantle of leadership. In an insightful discussion with David M. Rubenstein, bestselling author and former secretary of defense Robert M. Gates uses his firsthand knowledge to uncover how this transformation unfolded, how political leaders have wielded American power, and how future leaders can rise to the challenges to come.
Recorded on September 18, 2020

In a tale ranging from Lee’s wealthy but scandal-ridden upbringing in Virginia to his long career in the U.S. Army, award-winning historian Allen C. Guelzo takes a hard look at Lee’s character, including his deceptively genteel demeanor and corrosive insecurities. Discover what led Lee to the treasonous fight for slavery that continues to sow division in American society today.
Recorded on March 30, 2022

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner discusses his illustrious career, including his work on American icons such as Thomas Paine and Abraham Lincoln. In a wide-ranging conversation moderated by David M. Rubenstein, Eric Foner covers his substantial scholarship on the Civil War, slavery, and 19th-century America.
Recorded April 13, 2017 

The New-York Historical Society, New York’s first museum, has been a great destination for history since 1804. David M. Rubenstein speaks with New-York Historical’s President and CEO Louise Mirrer about her life and career, as well as the past, present, and future of the institution.  
Recorded on February 18, 2022 

What are the qualities of a great leader? For the past five years, David Rubenstein has spoken with some of the world’s most distinguished visionaries in government, finance, technology, and beyond. In a discussion with historian Douglas Brinkley, Rubenstein reveals what he has learned in his conversations with influential history-makers such as Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Warren Buffett, and others.
Recorded on September 22, 2020 

In May of 1796, 22-year-old Ona Judge escaped enslavement from the household of the most powerful man in the United States: George Washington. Soon thereafter she became the subject of an intense manhunt led by Washington himself. In a discussion that spans her scholarship on slavery, racial injustice, and gender inequality, Erica Armstrong Dunbar explores the incredible story of this courageous young woman who defied the man who had brought freedom to some, but not all, who lived in the United States.
Recorded January 7, 2021.

Bestselling author and Fox News Channel anchor Bret Baier, in conversation with David M. Rubenstein, illuminates the complex character of Franklin D. Roosevelt through three essential days in Tehran, Iran during November of 1943. Roosevelt, alongside Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, met in secret for the first time to chart a strategy for defeating Hitler, and made essential decisions that would direct the final years of the war and its aftermath. 
Recorded June 4, 2021

Jimmy Carter’s term as America’s 39th president has drawn both censure and celebration, resulting in a complex presidential legacy. Drawing on new archival material and five years of extensive access to Carter and his entire family, author Jonathan Alter traces Carter’s journey growing up during the Depression in the Jim Crow South to the governorship of Georgia, the Oval Office, and finally to his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work and outspokenness on international conflicts.
Recorded November 20, 2020

Award-winning author and historian Joseph J. Ellis, in conversation with David M. Rubenstein, sheds new light on the War for American Independence. Focusing on 1773 to 1783, Ellis illuminates how the nation’s founders—including George Washington and John Adams, among others—prudently but imperfectly established a new republic.
Recorded June 11, 2021

Few historical figures are as revered as Abraham Lincoln. From humble beginnings, Lincoln’s enduring desire for self-improvement and extraordinary ability to strike a balance between opposing forces led him to become one of the most consequential figures of the 19th century. Prize-winning author and historian David S. Reynolds illuminates the forces that shaped Lincoln and how our nation’s 16th president rose to the unprecedented challenges of the time.
Recorded April 30, 2021

Serving as Allied Commander during World War II and later as President of the United States, few people have made decisions as momentous and consequential as Dwight D. Eisenhower. Guided by his heritage and upbringing, as well as his strong character and his personal discipline, Eisenhower was a steadying force during some of the most tumultuous decades in human history. Susan Eisenhower discusses the life and legacy of her distinguished grandfather and what we can learn from him today.  
Recorded on April 30, 2021

Born in 1917 to a family destined to become one of the most influential in American politics, John F. Kennedy knew ambition from an early age. Focusing on Kennedy's first 39 years, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Fredrik Logevall, in conversation with David M. Rubenstein, examines the coming-of-age of the nation's 35th president during a time of national turmoil and transformation.
Recorded on  November 6, 2020 

Starting in the 1990s, Jeffrey Rosen met with Ruth Bader Ginsburg to discuss both her political and personal life, gleaning priceless observations from the Justice about topics ranging from the Constitution to how to be a good listener to the #MeToo movement. Join us to hear Rosen’s reflections on their three decades of conversations as well as Justice Ginsburg’s legacy.
Recorded on  November 13, 2022

Bestselling author Walter Isaacson, in conversation with David M. Rubenstein, discusses the life and work of the Nobel Prize-winning Jennifer Doudna who, with her collaborators, created a DNA-editing tool with the power to revolutionize human health.
Recorded on  February 19, 2021 

Scholar Brenda Child sheds light on how America’s first inhabitants were impacted in a wide-ranging discussion that will include President Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, efforts by the American government to expand rights and grant citizenship to native peoples, as well as the activism and grassroots advocacy that continue to this day.
Recorded on  April 16, 2021 

The American experiment began with a revolutionary idea that a nation could be founded on the principles of democracy, equality, and liberty. In this talk, New-York Historical Society President and CEO Louise Mirrer speaks with David M. Rubenstein about the subject of his latest book: how the American experiment, in all its promise and imperfection, has evolved over the past 250 years. Discover the ingenuity, setbacks, and social movements that continue to define what America is—and what it can be.
Recorded on December 7, 2021 

Publisher Katharine Graham, one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, championed excellence in journalism. Under her leadership, the Washington Post evolved into one of the nation’s most respected news sources and forever changed American history with its groundbreaking investigative reporting into the Watergate scandal. In conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Graham’s children Donald E. Graham and Lally Graham Weymouth discuss their mother’s life and legacy.
Recorded on January 7, 2021

At the height of World War I, a lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, spreading rapidly as it moved east with American troops. The influenza pandemic of 1918 ended up killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. Author John M. Barry joins David M. Rubenstein for a conversation on how the 1918 pandemic began and spread, as well as what was ultimately done to stop it.
Recorded on June 25, 2020 

We live in a global era with events that happen hundreds or thousands of miles away having a direct impact on our lives. This is all too clear in recent months, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing individual countries to develop unique methods to contain the outbreak within their borders. Foreign policy expert Richard Haass, in a discussion with David Rubenstein, illuminates how we got here through the lens of his own life and work, including his most recent book, The World: A Brief Introduction.
Recorded on July 9, 2020 

Originally published in 2012, science author David Quammen’s book Spillover hypothesized the increasing frequency of diseases spreading from animals to humans, coupled with the speed and ease of modern world travel, could be the recipe for a global pandemic. Recorded in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020, Quammen discusses his work and unique insights into how, where, and why diseases emerge.
Recorded on June 25, 2020 

Henry Louis Gates Jr. has helped reshape the nation’s collective understanding of the legacy of slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the ongoing struggle for racial equality. The storied filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic, and institution builder discusses this important history and how his scholarly work has developed how we learn about and understand the American story.
Recorded on January 22, 2021

During World War II, the Nazis bombed Great Britain relentlessly, killing 45,000 Britons and destroying two million homes. Drawing on recently declassified files, intelligence reports, and personal diaries that are only now available, author Erik Larson, in conversation with David Rubenstein, offers fresh insight into the experience of the Blitz through the lens of the newly elected Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his family. The Splendid and the Vile will be available in paperback in bookstores nationwide starting February 15.
Recorded on Thursday, July 9, 2020

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David W. Blight delves into the life of one of the most important figures of the 19th century: Writer, orator, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery, Douglass rose to become one of the most revered critical thinkers of his time, and his insights continue to shape contemporary understanding of the legacies of slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.
Recorded on October 30, 2020 

The Electoral College has been a source of much debate throughout American history. The controversy was amplified following the 2000 and 2016 elections after the runners-up in the popular vote were able to claim the presidency. In a conversation with David M. Rubenstein, esteemed constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar uncovers the fascinating history of the nation’s electoral process.
Recorded on January 22, 2021 

Overcoming formidable obstacles, including an assassination attempt, Abraham Lincoln’s presidency was fraught with danger before it even officially began. Ted Widmer provides a riveting account of Lincoln’s pivotal 13-day train ride to Washington for his inauguration, and how this fateful trip played a vital role in shaping him for his role as president of a rapidly fracturing nation.
Recorded on February 5, 2021

The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson examines an unspoken hierarchy that transcends race, class, and other lines of division in modern society. By comparing the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, explore how the nation can orient itself around common humanity instead of artificial and destructive separations between those who have power and those who do not.
Recorded on May 7, 2021

Michael Beschloss, one of the most prominent presidential historians in the country, joins David M. Rubenstein for an intimate conversation on his life, career, and his 2018 book, Presidents of War, which is the culmination of 10 years of research. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the sole power to declare war, however throughout history presidents have waged conflicts across the globe–both with and without formal Congressional approval. In this conversation, Beschloss traces presidential leadership and executive power in times of conflict from the founding to the 21st century, including the actions Lincoln took during the Civil War and Lyndon B. Johnson’s approach to the Vietnam War.
Recorded on April 17, 2019. 

In celebration of 15 years of transformative support of New-York Historical, Bernard L. Schwartz highlights his fascinating life—from his youth and service during the Second World War to his life’s work in private investment, public policy, philanthropy, and industry. He also discusses his book, Just Say Yes: What I've Learned About Life, Luck, and the Pursuit of Opportunity, a memoir and primer for readers seeking their own opportunities.
Recorded on March 25, 2019

Walter Isaacson discusses his career as a preeminent historian and biographer, how he chooses the people he writes about, and why he is fascinated by them. This includes his books Steve Jobs, the authorized biography of the Apple Inc. co-founder written by Isaacson at the subject’s request, and Leonardo da Vinci.
Recorded on December 18, 2018

Andrew Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny, discusses the life of one of the most venerable personalities of the Second World War: including why one of the most oft-written about figures in history needed a new biography.
Recorded on May 8, 2019

Entrepreneur and author Bhu Srinivasan explores the surprising intersections of democracy and capitalism throughout history, from the days of the Mayflower and Virginia Company through Silicon Valley start-ups.
Recorded on September 18, 2020

In 1924, Congress put in place strict quotas that impacted national immigration policy for decades. Interweaving her own family’s story, New York Times deputy national editor Jia Lynn Yang uncovers how presidents from Harry S. Truman through LBJ and a coalition of lawmakers and activists fought to transform the American immigration system.
Recorded on September 11, 2020

James Shapiro, Shakespeare Scholar in Residence at the Public Theater in New York City, discusses his book Shakespeare in a Divided America, connecting the American story, from politics to pop culture, with those of history’s most famous playwright. Recorded on December 4, 2020 

Esteemed American historian Drew Gilpin Faust, 28th President of Harvard University, discusses her work as a Civil War historian and uncovers the pivotal role universities play in modeling cultural and political understanding and strengthening American society. Recorded March 20th, 2018

Robert A. Caro, who has twice won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, and in 2010 was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama, discusses his experiences as a researcher and writer, offering a first-hand perspective on the process that produced his award-winning book The Power Broker and multi-volume series The Years of Lyndon Johnson.
Recorded on April 22, 2019

Jill Lepore discusses her prolific career, her contribution to the study of American history, and her books: the New York Times bestseller These Truths: A History of the United States and This America: The Case for the Nation.
Recorded on October 7, 2019

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow discusses his work as a biographer, including how he came to be involved in the production of the hit musical Hamilton, based on his book Alexander Hamilton, and his sweeping biography of the often misunderstood Union general and American president Ulysses S. Grant.
Recorded on December 18, 2018

Asylum-seeking refugees at the southern border often dominate national headlines and ignite contentious debates on how to address the crisis. But why and what are they fleeing? Award-winning author Marie Arana examines the critical forces—including exploitation, violence, and religion—that have shaped Latin America for the past millennium and continue to reverberate today.
Recorded on July 23, 2020 

Two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist H.W. Brands discusses the early days of the American struggle to end slavery using the stories of two men who were at its forefront: Abraham Lincoln and John Brown.
Recorded September 4, 2020 

Esteemed historian and Yale University professor Joanne B. Freeman illuminates the tensions and conflicts in U.S. Congress in the decades leading up to the Civil War, when legislative sessions were often punctuated by mortal threats and physical altercations. Recorded January 7, 2021 

John Dickerson delves into the history of presidential campaigns in the United States, focusing on some of the best stories of memorable moments from past election runs. Recorded November 13, 2020

Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, and Susan Glasser, a staff writer at the New Yorker, examine the life and lasting legacy of James A. Baker, one of the most influential political power brokers in American history.
Recorded December 3, 2020

Harvard University professor Philip Deloria examines the social, cultural, and political histories of the relations among American Indian peoples and the United States and how these relationships impacted indigenous peoples throughout history.
Recorded September 4, 2020

The late Cokie Roberts illuminates her family’s legacy in public service, her career as a journalist and political commentator, and the importance of highlighting the oft-forgotten stories of women and the integral role they played in the shaping of American history. Recorded December 18, 2018

The fight for LGBTQ civil rights is long and hard-fought—and it still continues today. Award-winning author and renowned scholar Lillian Faderman discusses the history of the movement, from the 1950s up through the fight for marriage equality and beyond.
Recorded September 25, 2020