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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

Funding provided by:
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John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is dedicated to the memory of our nation's thirty-fifth president and to all those who through the art of politics seek a new and better world. Our purpose is to advance the study and understanding of President Kennedy's life and career and the times in which he lived; and to promote a greater appreciation of America's political and cultural heritage, the process of governing and the importance of public service. We accomplish our mission by: preserving and making accessible the records of President Kennedy and his times; promoting open discourse on critical issues of our own time; and educating and encouraging citizens to contribute, through public and community service, to shaping our nation's future.break

http://www.jfklibrary.org

  • James Baker discusses his career, serving in the White House during under three different US presidents.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Senator Edward Kennedy introduces President Clinton, who engages in a wide-ranging conversation with presidential historian Michael Beschloss. President Clinton reflects upon his own legacy and the central themes related to President Kennedy including the role of the US in the world, domestic issues concerning the advancement of rights and opportunities for all Americans, and the importance of public service.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Senator John Kerry, democratic presidential nominee in 2004, discusses his positions on issues, including foreign affairs, environmental protection, domestic security, civil rights and liberties, and the economy.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Former democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis and Jeremy Meyer, author of Running on Race, Racial Politics in Presidential Campaigns, 1960-2000, discuss the role of race in past and future presidential elections. Paul Watanabe, co-director of the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, moderates.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Sylvia Poggioli, NPR's senior European correspondent, engages in a conversation with WBUR's Dick Gordon on how Europeans perceive President Bush, US foreign policy, and the crisis in the American Catholic Church.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Anne Garrels discusses her experiences in Baghdad which she has chronicled in a new book, Naked in Baghdad. Garrels is a roving foreign correspondent for NPR's foreign desk. She earned international recognition in 2003 by being one of 16 US journalists to remain in Baghdad during the initial invasion of Iraq. Her vivid, around the clock reports from the city under siege gave listeners remarkable insight into the impact of the war on Baghdad and those left in the city. As US and British forces advanced on the city, Garrels remained at her post, describing the scene on the streets and reactions from those she encountered. For her work in Iraq, Garrels was awarded a 2003 Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Arthur Schlesinger, Alan Brinkley and Lizabeth Cohen look back, 20 years later, at John F. Kennedy's presidency.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • This discussion centers around the screening of a film by Robert Drew, founder of cinema verite. The time was June 1963, when two black students tried to gain admission to the University of Alabama. The film, entitled *Crisis*, looks at the White House's handling of the event and simultaneously traces the actions of Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach. The film was controversial when first released. Although now recognized as a major piece of work, at the time, *The New York Times* editorialized against it claiming, "Under the circumstances in which this film was taken, the use of cameras could only denigrate the Office of the President. To eavesdrop on executive decisions of serious government matters while they are in progress is highly inappropriate. The White House isn't Macy's window." Today, because of this film, we have a remarkable historical record of what led to the integration of the University of Alabama.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Dr. Mae Jemison describes the United States' efforts at space exploration from the Kennedy years through the present. Mae C. Jemison blasted into orbit aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992 as the first woman of color to go into space. Dr. Mae Jemison has also founded and been president of two technology companies, and is the only real-life astronaut to appear in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • John Shattuck, former assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor, and current CEO of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, discusses his new book, Freedom on Fire: Human Rights Wars and America's Response, with Pulitzer-prize winning author Samantha Power. As the chief human rights official of the Clinton administration, John Shattuck faced many challenges including genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia, murder and atrocities in Haiti, repression in China, brutal ethnic wars, and failed states in other parts of the world. Shattuck describes what was learned as he and other human rights hawks worked to change the Clinton administration's human rights policy from one of disengagement to one focused on saving lives and bringing war criminals to justice. Freedom on Fire: Human Rights Wars and America's Response records Shattuck's frustrations and disappointments, as well as the successes achieved in moving human rights to the center of US foreign policy.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation