Spectacle of Grief

Author James Kirchick joins the program to discuss his New York Times Bestseller, Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. Utilizing thousands of pages of declassified documents, interviews with over one hundred people, and material unearthed from presidential libraries and archives, Kirchick illuminates how homosexuality shaped each successive presidential administration through the end of the twentieth century against the

Martha Washington’s worst memory was the death of her husband. Her second worst was Thomas Jefferson’s awkward visit to pay his respects afterwards. Indeed, by the time George Washington died in 1799, the two founders were estranged, but for most of their thirty-year acquaintance they enjoyed a productive relationship. Professor Frank Cogliano will discuss his new book, A Revolutionary Frie

Biographer Jeffrey Frank discusses his new book on Harry Truman. The conversation focuses on Truman’s unexpected ascension to the presidency, the domestic and international challenges he faced, and how his personality and leadership style affected some of the most important decisions he made at the White House.