As the man who led the effort to create the most violent weapon in the history of mankind with the invention of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer is a divisive figure in American history. From his childhood in New York City to his career as a physicist through World War II and the Cold War, Kai Bird offers a riveting account of Oppenheimer’s life and how he weighed the complex moral implications of his life’s work.

Recorded on April 3, 2024

John F. Kennedy advised Americans to ask not what their country could do for them, but what they could do for their country. Scholar Danielle Allen argues that civic engagement such as Kennedy was suggesting is the only true path to a just society—a framework she refers to as “power-sharing liberalism.” While liberalism more generally is the idea that a government should be based on rights that both protect and empower individuals, Allen’s proposed framework calls for a country in which no single group has a monopoly on political, economic, or social power—a society that can only be achieved if the people stand up and speak and the government listens.

Recorded on February 28, 2024

Samuel Adams was called “the most elegant writer, the most sagacious politician, and celebrated patriot” by John Adams, his second cousin, and was applauded by other colleagues such as Thomas Jefferson. A mastermind behind the Boston Tea Party who helped mobilize the colonies to revolution, he is nonetheless an often overlooked figure amongst the Founding Fathers. Historian Stacy Schiff examines his transformation from the listless, failing son of a wealthy family into the tireless, silver-tongued revolutionary who rallied the likes of John Hancock and John Adams behind him.

Recorded on November 28, 2023

In a time when crossing political party lines can seem as treacherous as crossing a fault line during an earthquake, it could be difficult to believe that Abraham Lincoln, in a country even more divided than our contentious present-day one, repeatedly worked with those who disagreed with him. But Lincoln understood that as a politician it was his duty to do whatever was necessary for the betterment of the country, even if that meant reaching across a very perilous aisle. Steve Inskeep demonstrates how the 16th president used his unique brand of political acumen—including humor, storytelling, and self-deprecation—to push his agenda through and reunite a divided nation.

Recorded on December 20, 2023

What did “the pursuit of happiness” mean to our nation’s Founders, and why was it included in the Declaration of Independence? Listed as one of America’s unalienable rights, this phrase finds its roots in the classical works of the Greek and Roman moral philosophers which would have made up our Founders’ libraries. Speaking to the moral character that the Founders hoped to imbue in the new American citizen, it also exemplified a dedication to the idea of personal self-government. Yet like so many of our founding documents, this phrase in the Declaration of Independence sat in stark contrast to the legality of slavery in the new nation. In conversation with David Rubenstein, constitutional expert Jeffrey Rosen explores the origins and implications of this iconic phrase in the American lexicon.

Recorded on March 4, 2024

Prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, oppressive voter registration literacy tests disenfranchised Black voters across the United States. In direct response to these restrictions, community organizers and activists launched an underground Citizenship Schools project that helped tens of thousands of Black citizens not only learn to read and write, but how to navigate Jim Crow literacy tests and demand their right to vote. In this conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Elaine Weiss takes a deep dive into the stories of four organizers at the center of this movement: Septima Clark, Esau Jenkins, Myles Horton, and Bernice Robinson.

Recorded on February 27, 2025

Seeking to wrest control of New Amsterdam from the Dutch in 1664, the English King Charles II and his brother, the Duke of York, appointed Richard Nicolls to lead a flotilla to conquer Manhattan Island. Nicolls, with a blend of might and diplomatic tact, would make the integration of Dutch colonists a vital part of his takeover, birthing what was in many ways the blueprint of the modern city. Russell Shorto joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss New York’s origins and how a period of 17th-century imperial conflict and diplomacy between the British and the Dutch shaped the city we know today.

Recorded on February 21, 2025

James Patterson is one of the most popular storytellers of our time. The creator of some of the most popular characters and series in fiction, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, he has also written on fascinating true stories from the lives of the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods. As a co-author, he has also written bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton. In this conversation with David M. Rubenstein, he speaks about his life and prolific career as an iconic American writer.
Recorded on January 25, 2025