Lectures in History

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, author Rick Atkinson, and retired Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford discussed Revolutionary War leadership at an event held at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Washington University hosts a series of lectures called "1776: Then and Now" with the first exploring religion in Revolutionary America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did a rebel nation establish a federal court system? Utah Valley University professor Matthew Brogdon shows how the U.S. court system formed during the Revolutionary War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bancroft and Pulitzer Prize winning historian Gordon Wood delivered a talk titled "The Revolutionary Roots of the Civil War." Professor Wood discussed the Founders views on slavery and argued that the Civil War was inevitable. The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation hosted this event Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Garrett Graff discussed his oral history of the allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. This event took place at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nebraska history professor James Garza teaches a class on H.H. Holmes, described as "America's First Serial Killer," and his crimes during the Gilded Age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edda Fields-Black and other scholars gathered by the Abraham Lincoln Institute explored Lincoln and the paths leading up to the Civil War. The event took place at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hear another collection of memorable 2026 commencement speeches from campuses across the country featuring Erika Kirk, Ron DeSantis, Muriel Bowser, Scott Bessent, and bestselling author James Patterson. This edition of C-SPAN’s Commencement Addresses podcast features reflections on leadership, faith, creativity, public service, curiosity, and navigating an uncertain future. Learn more about your a...

Highlights from the 2026 commencement season featuring speeches from Hilary Duff, Gretchen Whitmer, Hugh Jackman, Nancy Pelosi, and Jalen Rose. Hear advice and reflections on leadership, creativity, resilience, and public service from campuses across the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Iowa professor Richard Priest traces the history of the oil business from rudimentary drilling to John Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company and how competition grew across the globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, history professor Tore Olsson discussed what the video games Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 get right and wrong about American history. This event was hosted by Union Ave Books and the East Tennessee Historical Society Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Lectures in History is taking a break— So we’re bringing you Booknotes+. Hosted by Brian Lamb, this episode features  Bob Crawford—of The Avett Brothers—on his book America’s Founding Son. Bob Crawford plays upright bass, bass guitar, and violin with the Grammy nominated Americana band, the Avett Brothers. He's been with the band for 25 years. Since 2016, Mr. Crawford has had his own po...

Historian and Yale University Professor Beverly Gage joined David M. Rubenstein to discuss her Pulitzer Prize winning biography of former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and her road trip across the U.S. to visit historic sites. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

USC lecturer Nora Lessersohn looks at how racial classifications were used during the naturalization process throughout American history. This lecture takes place at University of Southern California's campus in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Florida professor Allen Guelzo teaches a class on Abraham Lincoln's intellectual interests and how the 16th president was more than just a talented politician. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seth Harp is a lawyer and an Iraq war veteran and an investigative writer and journalist. His first book, "The Fort Bragg Cartel," is about drug trafficking and murder in the Special Forces. Near the end of his book, Harp writes: "Between January 2017 and September 2022, a total of 15,293 active duty service members suffered drug overdoses, and 322 of those were fatal. The Defense Department data...

The October 2002 speech by George W. Bush making the case for military action in Iraq was the topic of a class taught by University of Kansas political communication professor Robert Rowland. The University of Kansas is in Lawrence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gonzaga history professor Robert Donnelly argues that Jimmy Carter's role in ending the Cold War has largely been overlooked. He looks at how the 39th president's policies weakened the Soviet Empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Sirota, who is based in Denver, Colorado, has some very strong views about money and politics. His book is called "Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America." There are 11 chapters which reflect the 11 episodes of his podcast, "Master Plan." In order to tell his story, he points his finger at the 1971 Powell secret memo. That's former US Supreme Court Associate Justice L...

Gonzaga University professor Veta Schlimgen chronicles the history of Hawaii and how it maintained its culture after becoming a U.S. state in 1959. Gonzaga University is located in Spokane, Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

History professor Lawrence Cappello analyzes Supreme Court cases that address the right to privacy, focusing on police and phone wiretaps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Louisville history professor Matthew Goldberg chronicles the 1898 Spanish-American War, fought primarily in Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brigham Young University professor Grant Madsen examines supply-side economics which was termed "Reaganomics." Brigham Young University is located in Provo, Utah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brown University professor Marion Orr lectures on the life & legacy of Congressman Charles Diggs, Jr. The Michigan Democrat founded the Congressional Black Caucus and was the only federal official to attend the trial of Emmett Till's killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1957, the beeps from Sputnik, a small Russian satellite, sent the USSR & US into a space race. Teasel Muir-Harmony of the Air & Space Museum chronicles the history of space travel and how the U.S. landed on the Moon and how we're going back in 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices