Listening to America
Episodes
#1232 Listener Questions
02 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
"Jefferson embodies — in many respects, not in all of them — the world that I want to live in. I want to live in Thomas Jefferson's America." — ...
#1231 Jefferson's Garden
25 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we speak with Pat Brodowski, head gardener at Jefferson's Monticello. Pat shares her knowledge about how and why Jefferson grew the plants ...
#1230 Judgment
18 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
"The constitution ... is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist, and shape into any form they please." — Thomas Jef...
#1229 Vice President
11 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
"The Vice Presidency turned out to be just what Jefferson had predicted: 'philosophic evenings in winter' and summers at his beloved Monticello." — ...
#1228 Budgets
04 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
"Jefferson regarded the national debt as a national disgrace." This week, President Jefferson (as portrayed by humanities scholar Clay S. Jenkinson) e...
#1227 The Missing Book
28 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
"[Meriwether Lewis] kept promising copy and he never sent a single page. We don't know what, if anything, became of his manuscript. We have nothing. H...
#1226 American Happiness
21 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
"You can't understand Jefferson without understanding slavery; you can't understand the paradox of his life and the words that he wrote in the Declara...
#1225 Liberty's First Crisis
14 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Our conversation this week is with the scholar, Charles Slack. Slack is the author of Liberty's First Crisis: Adams, Jefferson, and the Misfits Who Sa...
#1224 Friends of the Hour
07 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Today, listeners call us and ask questions directly to President Jefferson. The inquiries cover a broad collection of topics: Jefferson's relations...
#1223 The Logan Act
28 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
President Thomas Jefferson explains the Logan Act's origin, its possible uses and its connection to Alexander Hamilton. George Logan was a Quaker, doc...
#1222 First Retirement (Part Two)
21 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We return to our "Jefferson 101" series with a continued discussion about Jefferson's period of retirement after his term as Secretary of State ended ...
#1221 The First 100 Days
17 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Clay S. Jenkinson discusses Thomas Jefferson's election as President in 1801, his first 100 days in office, and notes the sometimes-uncanny parallels ...
#1220 First Retirement (Part One)
10 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this 16th installment of the Jefferson 101 Series, we discuss the period from 1794 to 1797 and Jefferson's return to Monticello after his tenure as...
#1219 Inauguration, Then & Now
03 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
President Thomas Jefferson is asked to provide context for presidential inaugurations. Clay & David discuss our third president's inaugural address —...
#1218 Two Parties
27 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We speak with President Thomas Jefferson this week about the unexpected emergence of the two-party political system during his time. Find this episode...
The Jefferson Watch: The Inauguration
26 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In the first of a new series of essays, Clay draws comparisons between the inaugurations of Presidents Donald Trump and Thomas Jefferson. The full ess...
Thomas Jefferson's Inauguration
20 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This bonus episode is an excerpt from #752 Inaugural, originally published in January of 2009. Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson, di...
#1217 Secretary of State (Part Two)
20 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return with the 15th installment of the "Jefferson 101" series. In this second of two shows discussing Jefferson's time as the first Sec...
#1216 Secretary of State (Part One)
13 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return with the 14th installment of the "Jefferson 101" series. The program is the first of two shows discussing Jefferson's time as the...
#1215 When in Rome
06 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Clay S. Jenkinson, the creator of the Thomas Jefferson Hour, shares stories about his 2016 trip to Rome. Clay talks about the effect Rome had on Jeffe...
#1214 Remembering 2016
30 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Clay & David recall and re-listen to some of the more memorable moments on the Thomas Jefferson Hour during the past year. Find this episode, along wi...
#1213 Jefferson Christmas 2016
23 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Attempting to move President Jefferson into the Christmas Spirit is always a challenge, and this year is no different. This year, we present excerpts ...
#1212 Questions From Maryland
16 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In last week's show, we heard President Thomas Jefferson speak to an audience in Abingdon, Maryland, but many of the submitted questions were left una...
#1211 Constitution Day in Maryland
08 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week's show comes from a recording made by WAMD 970 in Abingdon, Maryland for the Harford County Library Foundation. The program was recorded as ...
#1210 Optimistic Revolution
02 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Guest host Joe Lovell of Amarillo, Texas returns to speak with President Thomas Jefferson about revolution, public education and the need for true lea...
#1209 Trial by Jury
25 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Guest host Joe L. Lovell of Amarillo, Texas speaks with President Thomas Jefferson about the workings of America's legal system and the importance of ...
#1208 We Have Voted
19 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Prompted by requests from many Jefferson Hour listeners, this week Clay Jenkinson discusses the outcome of the 2016 election.
#1207 The Elections of 1800 and 2016
11 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
President Jefferson discusses the election of 1800, which he referred to as the Second American Revolution, and he helps us to see some of the paralle...
#1206 Save the Republic (Part Two)
04 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In episode #1200 Our Republic, President Jefferson spoke about the differences between a true democracy and a republic. Clay Jenkinson asked listeners...
#1205 Save the Republic (Part One)
28 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In episode #1200 Our Republic, President Jefferson spoke about the differences between a true democracy and a republic. Clay Jenkinson asked listeners...
#1204 Minimum Wage
21 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Clay S. Jenkinson asked listeners to write in with their thoughts and personal experiences about living on minimum wages. During this show, he shares ...
#1203 Benjamin Franklin's Visit
14 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
President Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson, is joined in conversation by Benjamin Franklin, as portrayed by GregRobin Smith.
#1202 Income Inequality (Live in Fargo)
03 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Thomas of Prairie Public Radio hosts a live performance of the Thomas Jefferson Hour in Fargo, North Dakota.
#1201 Religion (Live in Fargo)
30 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Thomas of Prairie Public Radio hosts a live performance of the Thomas Jefferson Hour in Fargo, North Dakota.
#1200 Our Republic
23 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
President Jefferson is discusses the differences between a democracy and a republic.
#1199 America First
17 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
President Jefferson shares his positions about immigration, isolationism, nationalism and when it's appropriate to put America first.
#1198 Winners and Losers
09 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
President Jefferson answers questions about civil disobedience, the dark side of Jefferson, political correctness, and how the majority rules over the...
#1197 Load the Pipes
02 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Clay S. Jenkinson discusses the protests occurring at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota over the construction of the Dakota Access Pipelin...
#1196 Jefferson 113 (Jefferson in Paris)
27 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This Jefferson 101 episode is the third of three shows devoted to Jefferson's time in Paris from 1784 to 1789.
#1195 Jefferson 112 (Jefferson in Paris)
19 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This Jefferson 101 episode is the second of three shows devoted to Jefferson's time in Paris from 1784 to 1789.
#1194 Jefferson 111 (Jefferson in Paris)
12 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This Jefferson 101 episode is the first of three shows devoted to Jefferson's time in Paris from 1784 to 1789.
#1193 What They Said
06 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
President Jefferson is asked to share his thoughts about the speeches made at the Republican and Democratic conventions.
#1192 Catherine and the Classics
29 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Clay Jenkinson is joined by his daughter Catherine to discuss their recent trip to Greece, her plans to study the classics and, of course, Thomas Jeff...
#1191 A Bleak Moment
23 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
As Clay says, "This is a tough one." This week in a special out-of-character program, Clay discusses the recent episodes of violence occurring in Amer...
#1190 Jefferson's Daughters
15 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Catherine Jenkinson speaks with Jefferson about his daughters and how he regarded them. Find this episode on the blog. Thomas Jefferson is interprete...