IPPH On Air

Season 1 of "In the Room Where It Happened" focuses on America's defining father, Abraham Lincoln. In the final and fourth episode of the season, former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt speaks with New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Chiaverini. The pair discuss Elizabeth Keckley, Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker, the role she played in the Lincolns' lives and how she influenced emancipation. Jennife...

Season 1 of "In the Room Where It Happened" focuses on America's defining father, Abraham Lincoln. In episode three, former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt speaks with historian and scholar Dr. Allen C. Guelzo about how Abraham Lincoln managed public opinion as a president through patience and humility. Dr. Allen C. Guelzo is Senior Research Scholar at the Council of the Humanities at Princeton University...

Season 1 of "In the Room Where It Happened" focuses on America's defining father, Abraham Lincoln. In episode two, former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt speaks with professor and scholar Catherine Clinton about the life of Mary Todd Lincoln and her influence on Abraham Lincoln's presidency.  Professor Catherine Clinton is a pioneering historian of American women, the American South and the Civil War. She...

Season 1 of "In the Room Where It Happened" focuses on America's defining father, Abraham Lincoln. In episode one, former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt, dives deeper into the life and death of President Abraham Lincoln with author and scholar Terry Alford. The pair discuss Lincoln's connection to spiritualism and the parallels between Lincoln and his assassinator, John Wilkes Booth. Terry Alford is an a...

In episode nine of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington DC Mayor Sharon Pratt continues her exploration of America's first president, George Washington. She speaks with historical writer David O. Stewart about Washington's persona and political rise, as well as his experience leading an army. Check out David O. Stewart's book here: https://davidostewart.com/books/george-washingto...

In episode eight of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington DC Mayor Sharon Pratt dives into the life of America's first president, George Washington. She speaks with professor and Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning historian, Joseph J. Ellis. Professor Ellis discusses George Washington's public persona, his view on the presidency and his role in bringing the capital to...

For the final episode on Thomas Jefferson, Former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt hosts the "Where Do We Go From Here Symposium" live from Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. The Series examines the education, philosophical influences, personal experiences, and the economic influences on these three Founding Fathers. The Series hosts 4-5 audio podcasts per President highlighting their education, the...

In episode seven of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington D.C Mayor Sharon Pratt speaks with Gayle Jessup White to examine Thomas Jefferson's legacy, his descendants and America’s complex racial history. Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s legendary estate, and a direct descendant of Jefferson. She speaks...

In episode six of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington D.C Mayor Sharon Pratt dives into the life of Thomas Jefferson. Of all the founding fathers, he stood out as perhaps the most controversial and the most confounding. In this episode, she speaks with Professor Robert MacDonald about the complicated and powerful impact of the third president on our founding and our early years...

For the final episode on James Madison, Former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt hosts the "Where Do We Go From Here Symposium" live from Montpelier, the home of James Madison. The historic discussion includes guests: Michael Steele (Former RNC Chair, MSNBC political analyst and former Lt. Gov., Md) James French, Chair, Montpelier Foundation Board of Directors Professor Hasan Jeffries, Associate Professor o...

In episode four of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington D.C Mayor Sharon Pratt engages in a deeper dive around Madison’s legacy – in particular how his legacy is complicated by his enslavement of men, women, and children on his plantation. In 2019, the Montpelier Descendants Committee was established to ensure the narratives of the enslaved at Montpelier are remembered and honore...

In episode three of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington D.C Mayor Sharon Pratt examines Montpelier, the family home of James Madison and the place that shaped his life. It is a place where he spent countless hours drafting iterations of his vision for a strong national government. It is also a place which embodies the paradoxes of the American Revolution – the fight for liberty...

In episode two of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington D.C Mayor Sharon Pratt examines the world of revolutionary America, learning more about the political, social, and economic environment the Founding Fathers operated in. Sharon Pratt speaks with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, a presidential historian and award-winning author of "The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an...

To understand the establishment of the city of Washington, DC by our nation’s founders is to understand the promise of the American experience and the challenges that remain to achieve that more perfect union. In the Founding Father Legacy Series, Sharon Pratt, former Mayor of Washington D.C, explores the history of the founding of our nation’s capital, the role of the founders in the city’s creat...

The panel discusses causes for and possible solutions to the wealth divide between African-Americans and the rest of the US population. Features in-depth interviews with and bonus discussions Shawn Rochester (author of The Black Tax), Heather McGhee (author of The Sum of Us), and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Why is America an outlier in the world when it comes to gun violence and passion for gun ownership? What is the true origin of the second amendment? Find out the answer to these questions and more on this week's State of Play featuring interviews and bonus discussions with historian Dr. Carol Anderson author of The Second; Jocelyn Kiley of the Pew Research Center; Allison Anderman, Senior Counsel...

The digital divide is just the beginning of the problems faced by black people because of the technology industry. Find out more about the consequences of and potential solutions for the technology gap. Interview guests include Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Dr. Ruha Benjamin, Dr. Allison Scott, and Dean Devdas Shetty

Black Voters Matter co-founder, LaTosha Brown asks Mayor Pratt and her co-hosts about the fight for voting rights and the fight for D.C. Statehood

Mayor Pratt speaks with Kevin Merida, ESPN Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of the sports blog The Undefeated and Bijan Bayne, award-winning Washington-based freelance columnist, critic, author and IPPH Resident Fellow in Sports. They discuss the tradition of protest in America (Boston Tea Party) and how that protest has been leveraged in sports.

Mayor Pratt discusses how popular culture/performing arts often establish “baked in” notions of “worthiness, competency—and how these notions often make appropriate demands, such as DC Statehood, uphill climbs. The two incredible expert guests are: Maria Manuela Goyanes and Nikki Giovanni.

Mayor Pratt talks with sociologist, writer and former Program Officer with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Dr. Bobby Austin and former senior vice president of corporate responsibility with John Hancock and CEO of The Partnership Carol Fulp. They discuss America's continuing dilemma around race and issues of inclusion and diversity.

Originally published 06/14/21 The fight for voting rights and the fight for D.C. Statehood remain linked, urgent, but also challenged and delayed. Get the history, obstacles and strategy from this week's guest on State of Play including author/journalist, Ari Berman. We'll also hear from historians Prof. Carol Anderson, Prof. Eddie Glaude, Jr., and Prof. Kate Masur. The show also features intervie...

This episode originally aired on 06/07/21. The digital divide is just the beginning of the problems faced by black people because of the technology industry. Find out more about the consequences of and potential solutions for the technology gap. Interview guests include Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Dr. Ruha Benjamin, Dr. Nashlie Sephus, Dr. Allison Scott, and Dean Devdas Shetty

This week's episode of State of Play explores The Black Homeownership Gap. Guests this week include the U.S. Sec. of Housing and Urban Development, Marcia L. Fudge; the Coleman A. Young Endowed Chair and Professor of Research at Wayne State University Department of Urban Planning, James Carr; Ass. Prof of Sociology at the University of New Mexico and author of "Race Brokers: Housing Markets and Se...

Post-pandemic America has changed our lives, no doubt. How has the way we feel about work, the type of work available, and the nature of work been impacted by the pandemic? We'll explore those questions and more on this week's episode of State of Play. Featured guests include: Former Clinton and Obama Labor Economist, and current Western Michigan University President, Dr. Ed Montgomery Huffington...