Listening to America

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 founde...

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 cultu...

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...

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. Subscri...

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 episod...

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  Th...

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 visited. Clay also shares insight on the relationships between Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John and Abigail Adams. Subscribe to the  Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube . Support the show by joining the  1776 Club  or by  donating  to the Thomas J...

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, President Jefferson returns to discuss the famous letter he wrote in 1802 to the Danbury Baptists association saying it was not the duty of government to do anything that might be interpreted as the establishment of religion. In this letter, he used the famous phrase "wall of separation between church and state." Jefferson explains that the first amendment o...

This week, David speaks with President Thomas Jefferson as portrayed by humanities scholar Clay S. Jenkinson. Jefferson responds to listener questions about banning books, as well as citizens' rights and responsibilities. Subscribe to the  Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube . Clay will be performing as Theodore Roosevelt in Downers Grove, IL on October 22nd. Support the show by joining the  1776 Clu...

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss Jefferson's daughters. Thomas Jefferson was highly expectant of their behavior and let them know it through a series of letters. When he died in bankruptcy, his daughter Martha was left nearly penniless and had to deal with the aftermath of Jefferson's poor money management. Subscribe to the  Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube . Clay will be performi...

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 French Alps to the village of Saorge and continue in Jefferson's footsteps with stops in Orange, Pont du Gard, and finally Nimes and the Maison Carrée, which Jefferson called "the most precious morsel of antiguity." Jefferson said every man's first c...

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 their concerns about the dangerous state of democracy in the United States and the world. Clay Jenkinson and Lindsay Chervinsky discuss this meeting and share some of the things they would have said to the President. Clay will be performing as Theodore...

We're joined by longtime contributor to the show, author Joseph Ellis. He and Clay Jenkinson discuss the passing of the noted historian David McCullough. They also discuss the Constitution and what might happen if it is ever re-written. Clay will be performing as Theodore Roosevelt in Downers Grove, IL on October 22nd. Subscribe to the  Thomas Jefferson Hour on YouTube . Support the show by joinin...

Clay Jenkinson speaks with David Swenson about the ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore and her work with the Lakota in the Dakotas beginning in 1911. David has spent the last year working on The Densmore Repatriation Project , recataloging and restoring her wax cylinder recordings. Subscribe to The Densmore Repatriation Project on YouTube to hear the songs and interviews. At Standing Rock in 1911,...

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Clay will be performing as Theodore Roosevelt in Downers Grove, IL on October 22nd. 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 retrea...

Clay Jenkinson speaks with Beau Breslin, author of A Constitution for the Living: Imagining How Five Generations of Americans Would Rewrite the Nation's Fundamental Law . The book examines an idea that Jefferson shared with James Madison in 1789: "What would America's Constitutions have looked like if each generation wrote its own?" Books mentioned on this episode . Subscribe to the  Thomas Jeffer...

Clay Jenkinson and David Nicandri discuss the Enlightenment and Jefferson's many inconsistencies. Nicandri is the author of  River of Promise: Lewis and Clark on the Columbia  and  Captain Cook Rediscovered: Voyaging to the Icy Latitudes . 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 lea...

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss the Bill of Rights. 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 hi...

Clay Jenkinson welcomes back David Nicandri for a discussion about Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, the explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. They also talk about Thomas Jefferson's influence on exploration. Nicandri is the author of River of Promise: Lewis and Clark on the Columbia and Captain Cook Rediscovered: Voyaging to the Icy Latitudes . Books mentioned on this episode ....

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

In June, Clay Jenkinson was invited to give an endowed lecture on the humanities at the Library Company of Philadelphia, America's first successful lending library and oldest cultural institution. It was founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin. We discuss that lecture and Alexander von Humboldt, as well as the amazing artifacts Clay saw while in Philadelphia. Mentioned on this episode . Subscribe to...

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

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson present ten things about the Supreme Court. Mentioned on this episode . 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 boo...

We are joined this week by three friends and contributors to The Thomas Jefferson Hour: Brad Crisler, Lindsay Chervinsky and Joseph Ellis for a rousing conversation about Independence Day. Mentioned on this episode . 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 cu...

Recently the Thomas Jefferson Hour was contacted by long term listener Vince DiPiazza, the city manager of Uvalde, Texas. Vince wrote, "My community is broken, and we have to figure out now how to come together, pick up the pieces, and try to make some good come out of this terrible event." Clay Jenkinson invited Vince to join us in conversation and speak about the character of the community of Uv...