Lectures in History

American University Professor Joseph Campbell taught a class on public opinion and election forecasting. He spoke about some of the most significant polling misses in American politics. American University is located in Washington, D.C. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gregory Daddis of San Diego State University teaches a class on comics during the Cold War. San Diego State University in California is home to the Center for Comics Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

York College professor Jacqueline Beatty discussed women's rights and changing political power during the American Revolution and the early years of the Republic. York College is located in York, Pennsylvania.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hillsdale College Professor Richard Gamble teaches a class on American churches and religion during World War I. He discussed how American pastors, ministers and rabbis spoke about the Great War before and after the U.S. entered the conflict. This lecture was part of a course titled "The U.S. from the Great War to the Cold War." Hillsdale College is located in Hillsdale, Michigan. Learn more about...

Kevin Matthews of George Mason University teaches a class on Europe from 1914-1948. He discusses America’s entry into World War I and the role U.S. troops played in ending the war. George Mason University is located in Fairfax, Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catholic University professor Michael Kimmage taught a class on the history behind the war in Ukraine. He talked about the competing U.S., Russian and Ukrainian interests, from the Cold War through the 21st century, that led to the ongoing conflict. Catholic University is located in Washington, D.C. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Utah Political Science Professor James Curry taught a class about the creation of the Electoral College and explained how it works as a part of the presidential election process. Professor Curry taught the class prior to the 2020 vice presidential debate, which took place October 7 at the University of Utah.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Madison University Professor Andrew Witmer taught a class about the evolution of rural areas after the Civil War. Using his own hometown of Monson, Maine, as a case study, he examined rural industry such as slate mining and the rise of country tourism aided by the expansion of railroad networks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kent State University Professor Elaine Frantz taught a class about the experience of being arrested from the 1850s to the present day. She examined what groups were most likely to be arrested and how the process changed over time with the introduction of police side arms and patrol vehicles. This class took place at the Trumbull Correctional Institution in Ohio as part of the national Inside-Out P...

Hey all you teachers and all you parents, and all you professors and all you students: Season #2 of the C-SPAN in the Classroom podcast drops this fall! Whether you're mowing the yard, on a peaceful weekend drive, or just relaxing on the couch with your favorite blanket, make sure to tune in to the first episode of Season #2 of C-SPAN in the Classroom on September 10th, available at c-span.org, on...

Listen to phone calls between President Richard Nixon, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover & CIA Director Richard Helms. President Nixon and Director Hoover discuss the murder of two police officers in New York City, the Pentagon Papers, and more.  CIA Director Helms and President Nixon speak about Vietnamization, the Soviet Union, and his eventual move to being the U.S. Ambassador to Iran.  Learn more a...

Weber State University Professor Branden Little taught a class about military vehicle innovations and the role of American factories during World War II. He focused on types of amphibious vehicles used in the Pacific and described the process of testing, production and battle application. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Johnson County Community College Professor Tai Edwards taught a class about the expansion of the United States during the Spanish-American War and the acquisition of Hawaii. She examined the goals of the U.S. in gaining new territory and the debates at the time about having an overseas empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Dean taught a class about Watergate and the discovery of the Nixon White House taping system. In June 1973, during testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee, Mr. Dean implicated President Nixon and administration officials, including himself, in the Watergate cover-up. Mr. Dean later pleaded guilty of obstruction of justice for his role in Watergate and served four months in prison. Lea...

Professor Lisa Brady talks about how chemical agents were used during the Korean and Vietnam wars to destroy the landscape and infrastructure. She argues that during this time the U.S. military began to see foreign landscapes as an enemy rather than an obstacle. She also describes the reasons for various defoliation missions as well as the long-term damage to both the environment and the locals. T...

Professor Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman talks about Alexander Hamilton’s role in the creation of the federal government. She describes how, after the American Revolution, states operated as separate countries, which often caused problems. Alexander Hamilton, one of the authors of the Federalist Papers, argued during the Constitutional Convention for a strong central government to mediate between the sta...

Catholic University professor and former CIA historian Nicholas Dujmovic teaches a class about national intelligence during President Kennedy’s administration. He talks about the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and other covert operations during the Cold War.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of California Santa Barbara economics professor Lanny Ebenstein teaches a class comparing the work of John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, and Milton Friedman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stony Brook University president Maurie McInnis teaches a class about slave trade in Richmond, Virginia, and enslaved labor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Baylor University professor Julie Anne Sweet teaches a class on the American military during the Revolutionary War, including a look at the equipment and capabilities of both the Continental Army and militia troops. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At least 6 U.S. Presidents recorded conversations while in office. Hear those conversations on this C-SPAN podcast. Season 2 focuses on President Richard Nixon's secretly-recorded private telephone conversations. Through eight episodes, hear Richard Nixon talk with key aides about Watergate strategy, potential Supreme Court Nominees, and hear his reaction to the leaked publication of the Pentagon...

University of South Carolina professor Patricia Sullivan taught a class about the 1960s Civil Rights movement and the involvement of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. She described the racial unrest that took place in urban areas such as Watts and Detroit and the subsequent creation of the Kerner Commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American University professor Joseph Campbell taught a class about the 1972 Watergate scandal and, what he calls, “the myth of heroic journalism.” He argued that the unraveling of the Watergate scandal was done by Congress and multiple federal agencies and that Richard Nixon’s presidency was not brought down solely by the Washington Post’s reporting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

Lectures in History is taking a break this week -- try the latest episode of the Weekly, which provides its own history lesson - on Supreme Court Associate Justice Harry Blackmun and the opinion he wrote...for Roe v. Wade. It seems that Roe v. Wade is always in the news, always a part of the political debate. It's been that way for nearly 50 years since the Supreme Court decided the landmark abort...

University of Oklahoma professor Jennifer Holland teaches a class about family life and gender norms in the 1950s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices