JFK35 - A podcast by the JFK Library Foundation

More than 100 years before President John F. Kennedy would take up residence at the White House, his great-grandmother Bridget Murphy arrived on the shores of America. There she met Patrick Kennedy, another Irish immigrant, and they started a life together that would lead to one of America's most famous political families. We sit down with Neal Thompson to discuss his new book, "The First Kennedys...

President Kennedy was the first sitting U.S. President to visit the nation of Ireland. The great-grandson of Irish immigrants, t he visit was more than a homecoming for John F. Kennedy -- i t was the beginning of a new stronger relationship between the two countries that continues today

Until John Glenn completed his orbital flight in 1962, the United States was trailing the Soviet Union when it came to spaceflight. Sixty years later, NASA continues to lead in space. We revisit Glenn's historic trip and speak with astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson about how far NASA has come since Glenn and where it hopes to go next.  

President Kennedy understood that advancing technologies would change American society forever and that strong leadership would be needed to protect workers by changes in technology. In this episode, Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA 17th) joins us to look at how technology has changed society since 1960, and what kind of leadership is still needed today to ensure equity in the digital age.

On December 15, 1961. John F. Kennedy became the first sitting president to visit the new Commonwealth of Puerto Rico where he met with Luis Muñoz Marín, the territory's first independently elected governor. We speak with Puerto Rico's Governor Pedro Pierluisi  about how Kennedy's visit 60 years ago and his legacy still resonate with Puerto Ricans today.

Sixty years ago, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy founded the White House Historical Association to support her ongoing work to restore and maintain the White House. This week we spoke with White House Historical Association president Stewart McLaurin as they celebrate their 60 years and learn how the association carries on Mrs. Kennedy's legacy.

John F. Kennedy, born between two world wars, would see the rise of fascism in his youth and later serve on the front lines to stop it from spreading across the world. Those lived experiences would influence Senator and later President Kennedy as he navigated the country through the rise of another authoritarian movement in Soviet Communism.

While President Kennedy didn't live long enough to see Congress pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, his brother Robert would pick up where JFK left off. Historian Patricia Sullivan discusses both Kennedys roles during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Georgia Representative John Lewis was a fixture in the civil rights movement and in Congress for 60 years until his death in 2020. In this episode, we look back at his early years during the Kennedy Administration and revisit the legacy of courage he left behind. Joining us in this podcast is longtime civil rights activist Ambassador Andrew Young and Kabir Sehgal who co-wrote the book "Carry On,"...

Have you ever wondered what it was like to grow up in the White House? The JFK Library has a new special exhibit, First Children: Caroline and John, Jr. in the Kennedy White House . In this episode, we discuss the exhibit with Museum Curator Janice Hodson and also travel back in time to look at an original song about the Kennedys with the original performer.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver may not be as well known as her brothers Jack, Bobby, and Ted, but during her lifetime, she worked tirelessly behind the scenes to influence public policy and serve the public good. In celebration of the centennial of her birth, we speak with biographer Eileen McNamara and her son Timothy Shriver , and hear from Eunice herself.

In this episode, Hemingway Scholar-in-Residence   Dr. Hilary Justice   gives us the background on the JFK Library's collaboration with PEN America and Ernest Hemingway family's support of the PEN/Hemingway Award, and we speak with the 2021 PEN/Hemingway winner,   Kawai Strong Washburn .

Lauren Leander  is an ICU nurse at the Banner University Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, who took care of the most critically ill patients in Phoenix and stood with colleagues in a counterprotest of stay-at-home-orders in the early days of the pandemic. As director of the Ohio State Health Department,  Dr. Amy Action  boldly proposed an aggressive shelter-in-place order to slow the spread of COVID-1...

Darrell R. Marks has spent his career helping his indigenous students at Flagstaff High School find new opportunities after graduation. But when the pandemic hit, his job changed from helping not only his students with their futures, but their families deal with the effects of the pandemic from shortages in food, water, and other basic necessities. Marks is one of seven people being honored with a...

President John F. Kennedy felt a profound connection to the environment, particularly the sea. During his presidency, Kennedy would establish three national seashores including on Cape Cod. Learn about his environmental legacy from the Superintendent of the Cape Cod National Seashore and from his granddaughter  Tatiana Schlossberg .

Thanks to a twist of fate, the archives of Ernest Hemingway have been mostly preserved here at the JFK Library. Learn more about that story from the Library's Hemingway scholar in residence and hear from two of the filmmakers about how the Ernest Hemingway Collection played a key role in the new documentary.

The United States saw the highest voter turnout in decades in the 2020 election. In many states,  the increase in turn out was partly due to years of voter mobilization to bring in more historically disenfranchised voters to the polls.  In this episode, we speak with one of the people who has been on the front lines of that movement - Stacey Abrams, founder of Fair Fight and Fair Count - and take...

John F. Kennedy ran for president as television was beginning to change the game of presidential politics. The importance and power of presidents' use of the bully pulpit was growing as they could reach vastly larger audiences in a single presidential address live on television. This episode looks closely at one of Kennedy's most trusted aides and speechwriters, and also hears from Dr. Vanessa Bea...

The long road to the White House in the 1960 campaign between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon comes to a dramatic end. In this final episode, we'll look at the last days and hours before the election, the uncertainty of possible recounts afterward, and look ahead to how both candidates approached the future. We'll also look at how lessons learned in 1960 still resonate today.

On October 4, 1957, the successful launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik sparked fear of Soviet Union dominance in technology and space. In this episode, we'll look at how John F. Kennedy used American fears of the Soviet Union and creeping Communism to his political advantage in the 1960 campaign. We'll also look at how 60 years later, threats from Russia -- this time in cyber space -- linger ov...

As the Election of 1960 entered its final stage with the first presidential debate, who would benefit most-- Richard Nixon or John F. Kennedy? In this episode, we'll tell you how that first debate changed the 1960 campaign and the many that followed.

In this episode, we take you on a journey that follows the 1960 campaign into millions of living rooms through television, and then explore how the Kennedy team used the new medium to connect with voters. We'll also look at Nixon's television strategy and how the 1960 campaign's use of television would influence future presidential campaigns' use of the medium in the decades ahead.

What would it take to win the White House in 1960?  For the Kennedy campaign, it started with building a trusted team, and a readiness to try new campaign strategies and tactics. In this episode, we'll look at how Kennedy and Nixon's campaign decisions helped make or break the election, and how some of those innovative strategies would influence modern campaigns through today.

While John F. Kennedy was formally launching his run for president at the start of 1960, another movement was gathering steam. This week, we'll find out how the emerging modern Civil Rights Movement affected Kennedy's and Nixon's campaign strategies, and see how Kennedy worked to win over Black voters who were skeptical of his commitment to civil rights. And we'll also discuss how racist Jim Crow...

Despite clear victories over some of his opponents during the primary season, John F. Kennedy's path to the presidency still wasn't certain as he arrived in Los Angeles for the Democratic National Convention. In this episode, we'll hear about the young senator's rise to the top, the challenges he faced in uniting a fractured party, and how he would turn one of his biggest opponents into one of his...