Listening to America

#1602 Highways, Byways, and Travels With Charley: A Road Report from Vermont

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Host David Horton of Radford University in Virginia asks Clay for a progress report on his adventure retracing John Steinbeck's "Travels with Ch...

#1601 John Steinbeck from Somewhere in Maine

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest host Russ Eagle and Clay Jenkinson talk about Listening to America's "Travels with Charley" journey so far. At the time of this conversation, Cl...

#1600 A Conversation with Richard Rhodes

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson interviews Pulitzer Prize winning historian Richard Rhodes, the author of 23 books including The Making of the Atomic Bomb. Topics incl...

#1599 Underway! Tracing Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley" Journey

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson and special guest host Russ Eagle discuss the first days of Listening to America's Travels with Charley Tour. Clay reports from a campg...

#1598 A Conversation with Political Cartoonist Phil Hands

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

 Clay Jenkinson interviews political cartoonist Phil Hands about the importance of cartoons in American history. Hands is the house cartoonist for th...

#1597 Arbor Day and the Seeds of Liberty

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest host David Horton of Radford University discusses America's trees and forests with Third President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson said, "No sprig o...

#1596 Ten Things on Nullification

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson's conversation with regular guest Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky about the doctrine of nullification. That's when a state refuses to accept the...

#1595 The Solar Eclipse of 2024

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson joins his friend Dennis McKenna in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico to observe the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Chaco Canyon ...

#1594 Live from Oklahoma

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this special edition program, Listening to America records in front of a live audience at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Oklahoma....

#1593 The LTA Survey and American Reflections

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Listen in on Clay Jenkinson's conversation with media consultants Luke Peterson and Riki Conrey of Washington, DC. Luke distributed a survey based on ...

#1592 Geert Mak and John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson's interview with the distinguished Dutch journalist Geert Mak, the author of In Europe, and also In America: Travels with John Steinbec...

#1591 The Election of 2024 and the Constitution

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson and regular guest Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky talk about the ways in which the Constitution of the United States is impeding and even preven...

#1590 Ten Things: The Jefferson-Adams Correspondence

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson is joined by regular guest Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky to discuss the extraordinary correspondence between former Presidents Thomas Jefferso...

#1589 Loss of Respect for American Institutions

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson interviews Dr. Henry Brady of the University of California at Berkeley about loss of respect for sixteen American institutions, some pu...

#1588 Presidential Norms

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest host David Horton of Virginia leads a discussion with Clay Jenkinson about the difference between Constitutional requirements and what are calle...

#1587 The Sad History of Executive Orders

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson and guest host David Horton discuss the history of executive orders. Even though they are not authorized by the U.S. Constitution, ever...

#1586 Ten Things on Margaret Bayard Smith

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson is joined by regular contributor Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky for a spirited conversation about Margaret Bayard Smith, one of Thomas Jefferso...

#1585 Ten Things About John Randolph of Roanoke

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson is joined by regular guest Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky to talk about one of the strangest and most extraordinary people of America's Early N...

#1584 The Red Barber Program

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay is joined by Dr. Kurt Kemper of Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota, and our west coast Enlightenment correspondent David Nicandri. ...

#1583 College Football as Cultural Lens

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay is joined by two guests, David Nicandri the West Coast Enlightenment correspondent for Listening to America and Dr. Kurt Kemper of Dakota State U...

#1582 On the Trail of John Steinbeck

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Listening to America, Clay Jenkinson's follow-up conversation with Russ Eagle of Salisbury, North Carolina, about following the trail of ...

#1581 Henry Wallace and the World That Might Have Been

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clay talks with Jeremy Gill of Hays, Kansas, about former Vice President Henry Wallace. Wallace served several presidential administrations, some Repu...

#1580 Ten Things about the Hamilton-Jefferson Relationship

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Listening to America, Clay's conversation with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky about two of the greatest of the Founders, Thomas Jefferson and Ale...

#1579 The Holiday Show

24 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clay checks in with a few of his favorite Listening to America guests to hear about their own holiday traditions and their New Year's resolutions. Gue...

#1578 Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Listening to America, Clay Jenkinson interviews professional photographers John and Coleen Graybill of Buena Vista, Colorado, about the l...

#1577 The Listening to America Origin Story

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with occasional guest host David Horton about the origins of the Thomas Jefferson Hour and the purpose of cha...

#1576 Ten Things About the Louisiana Purchase

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Listening to America, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with regular guest Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky: Ten Things about the Louisiana Purchase. I...

#1575 Mind the Gap: Between Presidential Administrations

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with guest host David Horton about three remarkable moments in American history between administrations. Firs...

#1574 John Steinbeck and the Western Flyer

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with fellow Steinbeck scholar Russ Eagle of North Carolina about the relaunch of the Western Flyer, the boat ...

#1573 Overrated and Underrated Presidents

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson is joined by regular guests Lindsay Chervinsky and David Nicandri to discuss the most overrated and underrated Presidents in American ...

#1572 Ten Things: The Post-Civil War Amendments

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay's conversation with favorite guest Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky about the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. All rat...

#1571 A Conversation With David Nicandri

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay's conversation with Enlightenment correspondent David Nicandri about four subjects: Ken Burns' documentary on the buffalo; the solar e...

#1570 Clay's 10 Propositions About Thomas Jefferson

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Listening to America, after a lifetime of thinking about the third president of the United States, Clay Jenkinson has made a list of 10 i...

#1569 Ten Things About the Constitutional Convention

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky about the creation of the Constitution in the summer of 1787. What did they get r...

#1568 The American Buffalo: a New Documentary by Ken Burns

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest host David Horton of Radford University talks with Clay Jenkinson about Ken Burns' latest documentary, The American Buffalo, which premiers on P...

#1567 Rebuilding Trust in American Institutions

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's interview with Dr. Yuval Levin of the American Enterprise Institute about how we can turn America around from this funk of...

#1566 How To Be a Chautauquan

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with actor Steven Duchrow about taking on historical characters. Steven has been performing as the poet Vache...

#1565 Ten Things about Writing a Book

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky about the agony and ecstasy of writing a book. Among the topics: Do you do all th...

#1564 The New Look of the Jefferson Hour: Listening to America

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, guest host David Horton of Radford University returns to engage Clay Jenkinson about the plans and purposes of Listening to America. Why th...

#1563 The Formation of Thomas Jefferson

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, guest host David Horton of Radford University questions Mr. Jefferson about his formation, about the path he took to national greatness. Wh...

#1562 Ten Things: Counterfactual History

28 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson, Clay's conversation with his regular guest Professor Lindsay Chervinsky about Ten Historical Co...

#1561 The Titan and the Titanic

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's interview with David Nicandri in the aftermath of the disaster of the submersible Titan in the north Atlantic. Nicandi ref...

#1560 The Oppenheimer Film as Cinema

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with his cinephile friend Niles Schwartz of Minneapolis about the summer blockbuster film Oppenheimer. People...

#1559 The Plight of a Secular Society

08 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson interviews Bruce Ledewitz, the author of The Universe is On Our Side: Restoring Faith in American Public Life. Since Nietzsc...

#1558 How Accurate Was the Oppenheimer Movie?

31 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with Listening to America's Enlightenment correspondent David Nicandri after viewing the blockbuster film Opp...

#1557 The Death of Great Salt Lake

25 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's interview with the Thoreau of Great Salt Lake, Scott Baxter, about the possibility that the lake will die well before it d...

#1556 John Quincy Adams Part II

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, the second of a two part conversation between Clay Jenkinson and Lindsay Chervinksy on the life and achievements of John Quincy Adams. The ...

#1555 John Quincy Adams Deserves Better

10 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, the first of a two part conversation between Clay Jenkinson and Lindsay Chervinsky on the life and achievement of John Quincy Adams, the si...

#1554 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Civilization

04 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson talks with David Horton of Radford University in Virginia about the artificial intelligence revolution. Where are we with AI...

#1553 Shackleton's Ship the Endurance Found!

27 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson interviews Enlightenment correspondent David Nicandri about the discovery of Ernest Shackleton's ship the Endurance at the bottom of th...

#1552 Ten Things: If George Washington Could Drop the Mic

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson and regular Listening to America correspondent Lindsay Chervinsky talk about moments when the first president, George Washin...

#1551 On the Set of the Oppenheimer Film

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson interviews the actor John Gowans, who portrays Dr. Ward Evans of Northwestern University in the upcoming Robert Oppenheimer ...

#1550 The Death of Glen Canyon Dam

05 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson speaks with the director of the Glen Canyon Institute Eric Balken for our initiative Water and the West: The West Runs Dry. ...

#1549 Welcome to Listening to America

29 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson inaugurates the first episode of Listening to America with WHRV's Barbara Hamm Lee in the studios of WHRV in Norfolk, Virgi...

#1548 Ten Things about Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson discusses Jefferson's first inaugural address with regular guest Lindsay Chervinsky. The speech, inaudibly delivered on Marc...

#1547 Jefferson, John Marshall, and Judicial Review

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson interviews frequent guest Beau Breslin of Skidmore College about the most famous decision in Supreme Court history. One Will...

#1546 The Founders and the Cutting Room Floor

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Beau Breslin of Skidmore College returns to the Thomas Jefferson Hour to talk about important passages that were edited out of key American ...

#1545 Live from Radford University

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week's episode of the Thomas Jefferson Hour was recorded live at Radford University in Radford, Virginia in February 2023.  Support the show by ...

#1544 Ten Things about Woodrow Wilson

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky about the 28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson. Best known for his ...

#1543 Are We Rome?

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with Dr. Edward Watts, professor of history at the University of California San Diego. Watts, the author of M...

#1542 The Quest for the Wooly Mammoth

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with Dr. Grant Zazula, a Yukon paleontologist. Nothing seemed to have fascinated Thomas Jefferson more than t...

#1541 Ten Things About Dolley Madison

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson and Lindsay Chervinsky discuss the first great First Lady in American history, Dolley Madison. Topics include her attitudes ...

#1540 The Jeffersonians in Power

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson has a conversation with Dr. Kevin Gutzman, Professor of History at Western Connecticut State University and author of The Je...

#1539 The Alcoholic Republic

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest host Catherine Jenkinson interviews Mr. Jefferson about addiction, alcoholism, and depression in the early American republic. Jefferson explains...

#1538 Explaining the Marshall Trilogy

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, former U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon joins Clay Jenkinson to explain the famous "Marshall Trilogy," the three landmark Supreme Court cases issue...

#1537 Thinking about Statues and Monuments

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Clay Jenkinson and Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky discuss the movement to remove statues and monuments across the United States. Each of them offer...

#1536 Ten Things: Jefferson and John Marshall

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week Clay Jenkinson has a conversation with regular guest Lindsay Chervinsky about the first great Chief Justice of the United States John Marsha...

#1535 Forgotten Founder

21 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week Clay Jenkinson and Joseph Ellis answer a listener question comparing the events of January 6th with the Boston Tea Party and go on to discus...

#1534 Alexander Hamilton and the U.S. Constitution

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A conversation with retired Lt. Colonel Hal Bidlack, a former political science professor who is one of the nation's top Alexander Hamilton impersonat...

#1533 A Conversation with Hamilton Scholar Hal Bidlack

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Clay Jenkinson visits with Alexander Hamilton scholar Hal Bidlack exploring the character of Hamilton, his rags to riches story, his ...

#1532 The Enlightenment in 2022: A Progress Report

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Jefferson Hour's Enlightenment correspondent David Nicandri, author of three books and formerly the director of the Washington State Historical So...

#1531 The Return Journey of Lewis and Clark

25 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

David Nicandri and Clay Jenkinson discuss the return journey of Lewis and Clark in 1806. Nicandri is the author of the acclaimed book, River of Promis...

#1530 A Conversation with Jeffersonian Gardener Pat Brodowski

17 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Clay Jenkinson visits with Pat Brodowski, formerly the head gardener at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Pat exp...

#1529 American History with Lindsay Chervinsky (Part Two)

10 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Clay Jenkinson and Lindsay Chervinsky continue their discussion prompted by a letter from a teacher in Iowa wh...

#1528 American History with Lindsay Chervinsky (Part One)

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Clay Jenkinson and Lindsay Chervinsky respond to a letter from a teacher in Iowa who asks what they think are ...

#1527 Year in Review

27 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, we look back and listen to excerpts from some of our favorite conversations from 2022, and wish all our listen...

#1526 Christmas 2022

20 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, we have a virtual gathering (via Zoom) with some of our favorite friends and contributors to the Jefferson Hou...

#1525 Both Sides Now

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson responds to listener comments and questions. He speculates on how Jefferson would have responded to social media — spoiler alert — ...

#1524 Past Present Future with Joseph Ellis

06 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson and the historian Joseph Ellis have a wide-ranging conversation beginning with Jefferson's failing reputation, and ending with both of ...

#1523 Core Principles

29 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

President Jefferson shares his core principles. During the out-of-character segment, Clay Jenkinson addresses some of the extreme contradictions betwe...

#1522 Thankful

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson and host David Swenson talk about the Thanksgiving holiday this week. They discuss the history of Thanksgiving and why Jefferson didn't...

#1521 The Day After the Election with Lindsay Chervinsky

15 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On November 9th, the day after the midterms, Clay Jenkinson and Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky share their early impressions and insights on what occurred dur...

#1520 History Rhymes

08 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

President Thomas Jefferson shares his thoughts on the proper role of government and the election of 1800. In that year, members of the Federalist Part...

#1519 The Election of 1800 with Lindsay Chervinsky

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss the election of 1800 in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied with 73 electoral votes each. This re...

#1518 Back From France

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson has returned from his cultural tour in France and speaks to us this week about Jefferson's time there and the sites in France that were...

#1517 Wall of Separation

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, President Jefferson returns to discuss the famous letter he wrote in 1802 to the Danbury Baptists association ...

#1516 Books and Responsibilities

11 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, David speaks with President Thomas Jefferson as portrayed by humanities scholar Clay S. Jenkinson. Jefferson responds to listener questions...

#1515 Ten Things About Jefferson's Daughters with Lindsay Chervinsky

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss Jefferson's daughters. Thomas Jefferson was highly expectant of their behavior and let them know it ...

#1514 Cultural Tours, Jefferson's France, and Joseph Whitehouse

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we discuss Clay Jenkinson's upcoming cultural tour through Thomas Jefferson's France stopping in Paris, to Nice along the Cote d'Azur, the ...

#1513 Historians at the White House with Lindsay Chervinsky

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In August, President Biden met with a group of historians at the White House who, for nearly two hours, provided historical perspectives as well as th...

#1512 Remembering David McCullough with Joseph Ellis

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're joined by longtime contributor to the show, author Joseph Ellis. He and Clay Jenkinson discuss the passing of the noted historian David McCullou...

#1511 The Densmore Repatriation Project

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson speaks with David Swenson about the ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore and her work with the Lakota in the Dakotas beginning in 1911. D...

#1510 Ten Things About the 14th Amendment

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Clay will be performing as Theodore Roos...

#1509 A Constitution for the Living with Beau Breslin

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson speaks with Beau Breslin, author of A Constitution for the Living: Imagining How Five Generations of Americans Would Rewrite the Nation...

#1508 Inconsistencies with David Nicandri

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson and David Nicandri discuss the Enlightenment and Jefferson's many inconsistencies. Nicandri is the author of River of Promise: Lewis a...

#1507 Ten Things About the Bill of Rights

09 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss the Bill of Rights. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining ...

#1506 Shackleton with David Nicandri

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson welcomes back David Nicandri for a discussion about Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, the explorer who led three British expeditions to the ...

#1505 Thad's Ten Things

26 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Clay Jenkinson and Lindsay Chervinsky respond questions from a listener about the paradoxes and inconsistencies of Thomas Jefferson's life, including ...

#1504 Talking Philadelphia

19 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In June, Clay Jenkinson was invited to give an endowed lecture on the humanities at the Library Company of Philadelphia, America's first successful le...

#1503 The Opposite of Apathy with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss current events including recent Supreme Court decisions and the Second Amendment. Mentioned on this epis...