Listening to America

Guest host David Horton of Radford University talks with Clay Jenkinson about Ken Burns' latest documentary, The American Buffalo, which premiers on PBS on October 16. Clay has now been in five of Ken Burns' documentaries, and has been one of the historical advisers in two of the films. Among the topics of discussion: Who was William Hornaday and what role did he play in the saving of the buffalo? What was Theodore Roosevelt's role? How do you prepare to be interviewed in a Ken Burns film? Why is the buffalo so important to America's sense of its heritage? Clay also speaks of his own long association with the buffalo, first seen when he was a child in North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

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 profound disillusionment and cynicism. Dr. Levin is the author of many books, the most recent of which is A Time to Build: How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream. As the United States lurches towards its 250th birthday, are we still a nation with a common history, a common set of values, and a common destiny? Dr. Levin's view is that nostalgia for the golden age between the end of World War II and Watergate is a mistake, that we have to stop dwelling on the past and what went wrong, and begin rebuilding trust and trustworthiness in our national institutions. We need to demand more of our political leaders and ask more of ourselves if we want to recover. And, he recommends books every American should read as we get ready for July 4, 2026.

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with actor Steven Duchrow about taking on historical characters. Steven has been performing as the poet Vachel Lindsay for many years, but now he is taking on the character of the poet Carl Sandburg. Where do you start? How do you figure out what has to be in any performance whether it is five minutes long or an hour and a half? Once you have done all the research, how do you turn that immense body of information into a solid and entertaining Chautauqua performance? Steven Dukrow provides several superb recitations of poems by Vachel Lindsay and—of course—performs Sandburg's most famous poem: Chicago, Hog Butcher of the World.

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 the research before you start to write or just begin and research as you go along? How do you pace yourself and not burn out? How do you know if the book is any good? What do you do to power through the gumption traps—writer's block, the distracting dramas of real life, other professional commitments, the days or weeks when you just don't feel like writing, or conclude that you have nothing important to say? Lindsay's second book is tentatively titled Making the Presidency, about the administration of the second President John Adams. Clay has authored more than a dozen titles.

This week, guest host David Horton of Radford University returns to engage Clay Jenkinson about the plans and purposes of Listening to America. Why the name change on the highly successful Jefferson Hour? What will the new program title enable Clay to explore over the next decade? Did the New Enlightenment Radio Network change the name because Jefferson is now perceived as toxic because of his complicities in slavery and the dispossession of Native Americans? How exactly does Clay intend to "listen" to America? How does this new program emphasis help us think about America as the republic approaches its 250th birthday on July 4, 2026?

This week, guest host David Horton of Radford University questions Mr. Jefferson about his formation, about the path he took to national greatness. What were the particular influences of Jefferson's father Peter, a self-made man of the overseer class, and Jefferson's mother Jane Randolph, who belonged to one of the most socially and politically prominent families in Virginia? Why did Jefferson's life veer from the agrarian simplicities of western Virginia and lead him to the writing of the Declaration of Independence and later on to the Presidency of the United States? Might Jefferson have been happy if he had followed the trajectory of his closest friend Dabney Carr, who seemed content with a modest house, a few books, an amiable spouse, and a simple Virginia diet?

This week on Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson, Clay's conversation with his regular guest Professor Lindsay Chervinsky about Ten Historical Counterfactuals. Historians are warned never to indulge in what if history, but we cannot help it, it just such fun. What if the British had won the Revolutionary War? What if Alexander Hamilton had become the President of the United States? What if Jefferson had never owned an enslaved person? What if the South had won the Civil War? What if John F. Kennedy had not been assassinated on November 22, 1963? What if Adolf Hitler had gotten an atomic bomb for use at Moscow or Stalingrad? If some of the pivotal moments in world history had gone the other way, how might things be different?

This week, Clay Jenkinson's interview with David Nicandri in the aftermath of the disaster of the submersible Titan in the north Atlantic. Nicandi reflects on the spirit of exploration, the risks taken by those who would go where no man has gone before. Were the five men who died when the submersible imploded just billionaire tourists or adventurers in the spirit of Lewis and Clark and Captain James Cook? How can we make sense of the continuing lure of the Titanic? Where does undersea tourism go from here?

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with his cinephile friend Niles Schwartz of Minneapolis about the summer blockbuster film Oppenheimer. People are already saying it is one of the great films in recent decades, a certain classic like The Sound of Music, Dr. Strangelove, the Deer Hunter, and Citizen Kane. Clay asked Niles to forget about history and the character of Robert Oppenheimer, but simply to respond to the film as film: cinematography, editing, direction, the acting, the score. Niles agreed that Robert Downey, Jr., is headed for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Niles Schwartz is a tough critic, but he loved this film.

This week, Clay Jenkinson interviews Bruce Ledewitz, the author of The Universe is On Our Side: Restoring Faith in American Public Life. Since Nietzsche's famous pronouncement that "God is dead," Euro-American culture has become profoundly secular--and it shows, according to Ledewitz. Without the great tradition of Christian culture, America has descended into radical individualism without any moral anchor for public or private behavior. Ledewitz rejects the Enlightenment's belief that secular culture is a sufficient restraining mechanism for humans who are, in the Enlightenment's formulation, capable of considerable perfectibility. Jefferson's belief in a "moral sense" is not enough to give American culture meaning or restraint. Ledewitz sees little hope for a restoration of a morally grounded American society.

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with Listening to America's Enlightenment correspondent David Nicandri after viewing the blockbuster film Oppenheimer. How close did the film stay to the historical record? Was the characterization of Oppenheimer both accurate and compelling? Why does Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey, Jr.) play so large a role in the film? Will the film be remembered in Hollywood history? Why is the film rated R? Is Christopher Nolan's depiction of Edward Teller an allusion to Stanley Kubrik's Dr. Strangelove? Do the four narrative strands of the film hold together? What is the significance of the argument of the film that, once you create nuclear devices, they are sure to be used in the next existential world crisis?

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 dries up entirely. Baxter has spent decades monitoring the lake as its levels diminish thanks to over-allocation and more recently the prolonged drought in the American West. With his future son-in-law, Baxter circumnavigated the lake several years ago. The toxic dust that is exposed by declining lake levels represents a respiratory problem for the citizens of the Wasatch Front in Utah. That dust finds its way to the snowfields in the mountains east of Salt Lake City, damaging the ski industry and causing the snowpack to melt sooner than ever before. This interview is part of Listening to America's Water in the West initiative.

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 little known sixth President is so interesting that Clay and Lindsay decided to do a second Ten Things program about him. Did he have a sense of humor? Could he relax? What kind of First Lady was Louisa Adams? Was Adams a true abolitionist or did he prefer caution to a bold assault on slavery? Why did he dislike Thomas Jefferson so much?

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 sixth President of the United States. Adams was perhaps the greatest Secretary of State in American history. He had a rough one-term presidency, but then he won a seat in the House of Representatives that he retained until his death in 1848. He was one of America's greatest opponents of slavery.

This week, Clay Jenkinson talks with David Horton of Radford University in Virginia about the artificial intelligence revolution. Where are we with AI and where are we headed? What is the future of privacy? Is it possible to regulate AI? Will the machines terminate us as a slovenly, irrational, and wasteful species? Will we live forever or at least another hundred years? What will universities do now that ChatGPT is rocking education? Meanwhile, Clay asks ChatGPT to write an essay condemning Jefferson for slavery and another defending him.

Clay Jenkinson interviews Enlightenment correspondent David Nicandri about the discovery of Ernest Shackleton's ship the Endurance at the bottom of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. The Endurance sank in November 1915 after being trapped and crushed by polar ice. A rescue archaeologist named Mensun Bound led two multimillion dollar expeditions to find the sunken ship, which had settled on the bottom of the icy sea nearly 10,000 feet below the surface. On March 5, 2022, an underwater probe found the Endurance right where it should be, and to their great surprise, it was wonderfully intact. Clay asks Nicandri whether such an expensive undertaking was worth it.

This week, Clay Jenkinson and regular Listening to America correspondent Lindsay Chervinsky talk about moments when the first president, George Washington, may have been tempted to drop the mic - if such a technology had existed in his time. We discuss Washington's response to the Newburgh Conspiracy, Washington showing up at the Continental Congress in uniform before they had appointed him Commander in Chief, Washington's Farewell Address, and Washington's gift of a basket of figs when Colonel Hamilton was beset by a sex scandal.

This week, Clay Jenkinson interviews the actor John Gowans, who portrays Dr. Ward Evans of Northwestern University in the upcoming Robert Oppenheimer film. Gowans tells fascinating stories about being on the set of the film, particularly the 1954 security hearing in Washington, DC., when Oppenheimer was treated like a man of potential treason by the McCarthy-era security establishment. The director Christopher Nolan kept all the actors in a small enclosed space to create the atmosphere of tension and excruciating intimacy of the security hearing, after which Oppenheimer's security clearance was withdrawn by the United States government. Oppenheimer is one of Clay's historical characters.

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. Balken believes Glen Canyon Dam should be re-engineered to pass the water of the Colorado River, including its immense silt load, around Glen Canyon Dam. Given the over-allocation of the Colorado River and global climate change, it will be impossible, Balken says, to keep both Lake Powell and Lake Mead full. He believes the water crisis is actually a great opportunity to undo one of the greatest industrial mistakes in American history. What if we emptied Lake Powell and created Glen Canyon National Park in one of the most beautiful canyons in the world?

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, Virginia. How will Listening to America be different from the Thomas Jefferson Hour? Clay explains the mission of Listening to America--to go out and find the authentic voices of America as we approach the 250th birthday of the United States. In a nation as large and diverse as the US is it even possible to seek the Soul of America? The first of the Listening to America episodes was recorded in front of a live audience at WHRV.

This week, Clay Jenkinson discusses Jefferson's first inaugural address with regular guest Lindsay Chervinsky. The speech, inaudibly delivered on March 4, 1801, is regarded as one of the top five in American history. After a hotly contested election, Jefferson was able to say, "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists." Part utopian vision for America, part political theater, part endorsement of the strength and durability of a republican form of government, the first inaugural address was one of the handful of Jefferson's greatest written statements. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week, Clay Jenkinson interviews frequent guest Beau Breslin of Skidmore College about the most famous decision in Supreme Court history. One William Marbury sued the US Government for not installing him into a post to which he had been appointed by outgoing President John Adams. Marshall could not find a way to get Marbury his job, but he did declare that the Supreme Court was the final arbiter of the Constitution, that it emphatically had the duty of determining which laws were constitutional and which were unconstitutional. Beau Breslin helps Clay sort out this monumental decision of 1803, which changed the nature of the US Court System forever. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

Professor Beau Breslin of Skidmore College returns to the Thomas Jefferson Hour to talk about important passages that were edited out of key American documents of the Founding Era, including the famous anti-slavery passage of the Declaration of Independence. How would America have been different if Jefferson's attack on the slave trade had been included in the birth certificate of America. Clay and Beau also discuss the congratulatory letter to President-elect John Adams that Jefferson wrote but Madison persuaded him not to send. John Dickinson tried to include in the original Articles of Confederation a passage guaranteeing women religious freedom. Why was it removed? Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

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 joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky about the 28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson. Best known for his Fourteen Points and the League of Nations, Wilson was one of the most pronounced idealists among American presidents. He said he wanted to make the world safe for democracy. Meanwhile, at home, he supported some of the most repressive censorship and anti-dissident programs in the history of America. He re-segregated the U.S. government bureaucracy and came late to women's suffrage. Before the end of his second term, Wilson had a massive stroke. His second wife Edith took over and in some respects became the first female chief executive in American history. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with Dr. Edward Watts, professor of history at the University of California San Diego. Watts, the author of Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny, is a historian of the classical world or more than 2000 years ago, but his work inevitably asks the question, is the American republic in the kind of chaos and decline that led to the collapse of the Roman Republic about the time of Christ? Was the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, a harbinger of greater and more purposeful uses of political violence in our future? How much public corruption can a republic endure? We have a sense of who the Caesar might be, but where is the Cato in modern American life, or even the Cicero? Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week, Clay Jenkinson's conversation with Dr. Grant Zazula, a Yukon paleontologist. Nothing seemed to have fascinated Thomas Jefferson more than the mammoth and the mastodon, to the point that his detractors ridiculed his obsession. Jefferson convinced Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to dig up mastodon bones at Big Bone Lick, Kentucky. Grant Zazula has had spectacular success gathering mammoth bones exposed by placer gold mining in the Yukon. Most recently, he was able to collect an intact mummified baby mammoth, which delighted and stunned the paleontological community. Clay had the opportunity to hear Dr. Zazula's amazing story of scientific fascination and paleontological success. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week, Clay Jenkinson and Lindsay Chervinsky discuss the first great First Lady in American history, Dolley Madison. Topics include her attitudes towards race and slavery, her sixteen years as the principal social arbiter and hostess in the new capital in Washington, DC, her relationship with Jefferson and her husband's amazing friendship and collaboration with Jefferson. Plus, of course, that great moment when she refused to leave the White House without the Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week, Clay Jenkinson has a conversation with Dr. Kevin Gutzman, Professor of History at Western Connecticut State University and author of The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe held the presidency between 1800 and 1824. These three close friends and Virginia neighbors pursued a common set of public holidays. They managed to extinguish the Federalist Party and by the time Monroe began his second term, a Boston newspaper called it The Era of Good Feelings. Clay and Dr. Gutzman explore the friendship and political collaboration between Jefferson and the greatest of his proteges, James Madison, and the ways in which poor Mr. Madison had to talk Jefferson off the ledge of some of his wilder ideas about America. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

Guest host Catherine Jenkinson interviews Mr. Jefferson about addiction, alcoholism, and depression in the early American republic. Jefferson explains that there were no treatment programs in his time for either mental illness or addiction. The insane asylums of the time were unspeakably horrible. Jefferson was well aware of the problems of alcoholism, because his protege Meriwether Lewis descended into substance abuse in the aftermath of the Lewis and Clark Expedition; and Jefferson's grandson-in-law, Charles Bankhead, was a drunk who physically abused his wife Anne Cary Randolph Bankhead. Jefferson's own consumption habits open the program with his usual position that moderate consumption of wine is the right approach to life. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week, former U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon joins Clay Jenkinson to explain the famous "Marshall Trilogy," the three landmark Supreme Court cases issued by Chief Justice John Marshall between 1823 and 1832. The first, Johnson v. M'Intosh (1823) incorporated the Doctrine of Discovery into American law. The second, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) declared that Native tribes represent "domestic dependent nations," more sovereign that U.S. states, but not as sovereign as, say, Canada or France. The U.S. government has a sacred trust relationship with the Native peoples of America. And the third, Worcester v. Georgia (1832), says individual states cannot intrude on the sovereignty of Native American nations--only the national government of the United States can do that. And, Tim provides an analysis of White-Indian relations on the northern plains today. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week, Clay Jenkinson and Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky discuss the movement to remove statues and monuments across the United States. Each of them offers a list of questions that should be asked whenever a monument is under fire, and things we should all keep in mind as we proceed. They highlight the George Mason monument at George Mason University, the Roosevelt statue group at the American Museum of Natural History, the Jefferson exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Stone Mountain in Georgia. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week Clay Jenkinson has a conversation with regular guest Lindsay Chervinsky about the first great Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall. Marshall was a Virginia Federalist, persuaded by George Washington to run for Congress and appointed Chief Justice by President John Adams in early 1801. Topics include the mutual distrust of Jefferson and his third cousin Marshall, Marshall's monumental achievement in interpreting the U.S. Constitution, Marshall and slavery, and Marshall and Native American sovereignty. Plus, Lindsay talks about her new book on how Americans have mourned their Presidents. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

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 discuss an almost forgotten founding father - Henry Laurens. Laurens was a merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. He was captured at sea by the British and imprisoned for several years in the Tower of London. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

A conversation with retired Lt. Colonel Hal Bidlack, a former political science professor who is one of the nation's top Alexander Hamilton impersonators. Our focus this week is Hamilton's role in the constitutional convention of 1787. Did he really give a six hour speech in which he called for the president to serve for life, senators for life, and governors to be appointed by the national executive? Did Hamilton call the constitution a shilly shally thing, a thing of milk and water? If so, why did he write some of the most brilliant installments of the famous Federalist Papers, which as much as anything else convinced the skeptical American people to ratify the new constitution? And how exactly did Hamilton and Jefferson come to blows over the interpretation of the Constitution? Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

In this episode, Clay Jenkinson visits with Alexander Hamilton scholar Hal Bidlack exploring the character of Hamilton, his rags to riches story, his essential friendship with George Washington, but also his self-destructive prickliness about his honor. The wide-ranging conversation inevitably leads to the dueling grounds of Wehaukon, New Jersey, where on July 11, 1804, the sitting vice president of the United States killed the former Secretary of the Treasury? They attempt to figure out why John Adams drove Hamilton to distraction. Was Hamilton in love with his wife's sister? Hal says no. Bidlack is a former professor of political science at the US Air Force Academy. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

The Jefferson Hour's Enlightenment correspondent David Nicandri, author of three books and formerly the director of the Washington State Historical Society, discusses the current state of the Enlightenment with host Clay Jenkinson. The Enlightenment (1680-1826) with its faith in progress, science, reason, and the modest perfectibility of humanity, has been under assault by the academic elites for many years. Jenkinson and Nicandri begin by defining the principles of the Enlightenment and then assessing its current state in a time of worldwide disillusionment. Topics include the trail, imprisonment, and release of Brittney Griner, the January 6 Committee's report, and the innovations and discoveries of science and technology in 2022. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

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 Promise: Lewis and Clark on the Columbia. Both scholars of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Clay and David explore the challenges of getting the Corps of Discovery back from the Pacific coast to St. Louis. The men were not in great physical or mental condition in March 1806. The expedition had distributed all of its "Indian gifts" on the outbound journey. The expedition was thus essentially bankrupt with almost 4,000 miles to trek across the American West. Nicandri believes Captain Meriwether Lewis was having a slow motion nervous breakdown on the return journey. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Clay Jenkinson visits with Pat Brodowski, formerly the head gardener at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Pat explains how she found her way to Monticello, what she learned about Thomas Jefferson from working every day in his extensive garden, and how she is occupying her time now as a retiree. Plus, Pat gives tips to our listeners about how to grow something in the next year. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Clay Jenkinson and Lindsay Chervinsky continue their discussion prompted by a letter from a teacher in Iowa who asks what they think are the ten most important American historical events she should teach to her students. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

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 the ten most important American historical events she should teach to her students. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

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 listeners a very happy New Year. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

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 Hour. Brad Crisler debuts a new song written and gifted to the show. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

Clay Jenkinson responds to listener comments and questions. He speculates on how Jefferson would have responded to social media — spoiler alert — Clay says he would have been great at it, and he guesses how Jefferson would have responded to some of the social phenomena of our time. Clay also responds to a letter from a teacher in Iowa who says it is important to teach all sides of history. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

Clay Jenkinson and the historian Joseph Ellis have a wide-ranging conversation beginning with Jefferson's failing reputation, and ending with both of them sharing their thoughts on the future. They also discuss our recent elections and the need for young and vibrant new leaders in America. Send us a message on our website. Books and articles mentioned on this episode include: "Hear what the founders are saying," an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times by Joseph Ellis, and Passionate Sage by Joseph Ellis from W. W. Norton Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

President Jefferson shares his core principles. During the out-of-character segment, Clay Jenkinson addresses some of the extreme contradictions between what Jefferson said he believed in and what he actually did. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

Clay Jenkinson and host David Swenson talk about the Thanksgiving holiday this week. They discuss the history of Thanksgiving and why Jefferson didn't endorse it, and also take time to recognize how grateful they both are for the listeners of the Jefferson Hour. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

On November 9th, the day after the midterms, Clay Jenkinson and Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky share their early impressions and insights on what occurred during the 2022 election. Most administrations lose many congressional seats in off-year elections, but it didn't happen this year. They speculate on what message this sends to both political parties and discuss issues that affected the results. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

President Thomas Jefferson shares his thoughts on the proper role of government and the election of 1800. In that year, members of the Federalist Party encouraged a movement to deny Jefferson the presidency through a means of delaying the transition of power and keeping then President John Adams in office, despite the fact that Jefferson had won the Electoral College vote. Mentioned on this episode: Jefferson's Second Revolution: The Election Crisis of 1800 and the Triumph of Republicanism by Susan Dunn Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted and portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson.

Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss the election of 1800 in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied with 73 electoral votes each. This resulted in the vote being decided in the House of Representatives after 36 ballots. They discuss Federalist plans to delay the process and keep John Adams in office, along with threats of troops being used to contest the election. Subscribe to the Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours and retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our merch. You can find Clay's books on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.