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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

  • Robert Caro, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of President Johnson delivers the keynote address in the Kennedy Library's ongoing examination of 20th century presidents. He is joined by Jack Valenti, who served as Special Advisor to President Johnson; Pulitzer Prize-winning *New York Times* writer Anthony Lewis; and Boston University historian Bruce Schulman to discuss President Lyndon Baines Johnson's legacy. Harvard University historian Lizabeth Cohen moderates the discussion.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin explains how the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rose from obscurity to become one of the most significant presidents in this nation's history. Scott Simon, host of NPR's *Weekend Edition Saturday*, moderates.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • On Martin Luther King Day, California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, National Public Radio's senior news analyst Cokie Roberts, and former Texas Governor Ann Richards discuss the remarkable political careers of two African American women, Barbara Jordan and Shirley Chisholm. Veteran television and documentary producer and WGBH commentator Callie Crossley moderates. Barbara Jordan, who died 10 years ago, was elected to the Texas Senate in 1966 and was the first African American woman from a southern state to serve in the US House of Representatives. Shirley Chisholm, who passed away a year ago, was the first African American woman elected to the US Congress and the first African American to run as a Democratic presidential candidate in 1972.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Walter Cronkite discusses his long career in broadcast journalism with Caroline Kennedy, who presents the second annual John F. Kennedy New Frontier Awards. The discussion is moderated by *CBS News Sunday Morning* anchor Charles Osgood.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Arlo Guthrie and other musicians look back at the cultural impact of protest music that began during President Kennedy's administration and continues in America today. Dick Pleasants, host of The Morning Express at WUMB moderates.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Speaking in this lecture are professors David Kaiser, Robert D. Schulzinger, as well as Timothy Naftali, the director of Presidential Recordings at the University of Virginia, and Sharon Fawcett, an assistant archivist at the Presidential Libraries. This lecture comes from "Vietnam and the Presidency", a national conference where leading historians, key policymakers of the Vietnam War era, and journalists who covered the war examine the antecedents of the war, presidential decision-making, media coverage, public opinion, lessons learned and the influence of the Vietnam War experience on subsequent US foreign policy. The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war that the United States ever fought. It claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans and over three million Vietnamese. From the arrival of the first US military advisors in the 1950s to the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, US involvement in Viet Nam was central to the Cold War foreign policies of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. The war has continued to affect the policies of subsequent presidents, and its legacy is particularly relevant today during America's war on terror. "It is our hope and expectation that this conference will reveal a wealth of new information on the history of the Vietnam War and its impact on the office of the President," says Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein. "As keepers of the nation's official history, the National Archives and the Presidential Libraries are uniquely positioned to provide a forum for examining the effect of the war in Viet Nam on our nation and its citizens."
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Charles Daly, Richard Donahue and Jack McNally, all members of President John F. Kennedy's staff, share stories of working in the Kennedy White House. Boston Herald columnist Mike Barnicle moderates this forum.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • In honor of Presidents' Day, Richard Reeves, who has written biographies of Presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and a new biography entitled *President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination* discusses each of these President's legacies with *The Boston Globe*'s Mark Feeney.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • David Halberstam, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, gives the opening lecture at "Vietnam and the Presidency", a national conference where leading historians, key policymakers of the Vietnam War era, and journalists who covered the war examine the antecedents of the war, presidential decision-making, media coverage, public opinion, lessons learned and the influence of the Vietnam experience on subsequent US foreign policy. The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war that the United States ever fought. It claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans and over three million Vietnamese. From the arrival of the first US military advisors in the 1950s to the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, US involvement in Viet Nam was central to the Cold War foreign policies of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. The war has continued to affect the policies of subsequent presidents, and its legacy is particularly relevant today during America's war on terror.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  • Brian Williams video conferences with Jimmy Carter, and leads former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State Alexander Haig, President Kennedy's special counsel Theodore Sorensen, and President Johnson's special assistant Jack Valenti in a discussion about the Vietnam War. Caroline Kennedy introduces the conference. This lecture comes from "Vietnam and the Presidency", a national conference where leading historians, key policymakers of the Vietnam War era, and journalists who covered the war examine the antecedents of the war, presidential decision-making, media coverage, public opinion, lessons learned and the influence of the Vietnam War experience on subsequent US foreign policy. The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war that the United States ever fought. It claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans and over three million Vietnamese. From the arrival of the first US military advisors in the 1950s to the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, US involvement in Viet Nam was central to the Cold War foreign policies of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. The war has continued to affect the policies of subsequent presidents, and its legacy is particularly relevant today during America's war on terror.
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation