Podcasts by With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency

With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency

When President Lyndon Baines Johnson dedicated his presidential library in 1971, he declared,

Further podcasts by LBJ Foundation

Podcast on the topic Geschichte

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Jean Becker and George P. Bush from 2023-12-13T16:01:14.087618

Two years after her passing, we explore the remarkable life of former First Lady Barbara Bush with Mrs. Bush's grandson, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who continues his family's long t...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Lawrence Wright from 2023-12-13T16:01:14.058734

A virus starts in Asia, quickly growing into a global pandemic that throws the U.S. and the world into a state of chaos. Sound familiar? It's actually the plot of "The End of October," the new n...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Bakari Sellers from 2023-12-13T16:01:14.044214

Bakari Sellers became the youngest African American elected official in the country in 2007, when he was sworn into the South Carolina legislature at age 22. Currently a contributor to CNN, he t...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Melody Barnes from 2023-12-13T16:01:14.036639

Melody Barnes served as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council under President Barack Obama, and is the host of the recent podcast "LBJ and the Great Society." Currently, she's a pr...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Larry Tye from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.941017

Acclaimed author Larry Tye's latest book, "Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy," examines the pernicious legacy of the notorious senator from Wisconsin, whose anti-Commun...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Paul Begala from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.889498

Paul Begala is one of our nation’s most talented political strategists. He came to national prominence in 1992 when he helped then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton win the presidency, then served ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Jennifer Palmieri from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.883155

Jennifer Palmieri has spent her career in Democratic politics. In 2013, she became the White House Director of Communications for Barack Obama and went on to become the Director of Communication...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
What defines us as Americans?: A Conversation with former Vice President Joe Biden from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.860159

Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for President, has been a major fixture in politics for nearly half a century, since his election to the Senate in 1972. In the fall of 2017, the former Vice Pr...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"We’re not respected by our allies.": A Conversation with James A. Baker, III from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.846205

James A. Baker, III was one of the most consequential statesmen of the latter half of the 20th century. A power broker in Washington during the Ford, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush administrations...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Know your strengths, find your cause, and get started tomorrow.": A Conversation with Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Roberts from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.788190

Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Boggs Roberts, whose friendship goes back generations - to their grandmothers, Lady Bird Johnson and Lindy Boggs, and their mothers, Lynda Robb and Cokie Roberts - wrote...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"The American dream needs to be broader, more nuanced, but also fundamentally reflective of who we truly are as human beings.": A Conversation with Julián Castro from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.783223

Julián Castro rose from a low-income household in his native San Antonio, Texas, to become the city’s mayor at the age of 34. He would go on to serve as Secretary of Housing and Urban Developmen...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“When should we design our children to have genes that we would prefer?”: A Conversation with Walter Isaacson from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.776722

Author Walter Isaacson has spent years chronicling the lives of the world’s most innovative minds. The former editor of TIME Magazine, Chairman of CNN, and CEO of the Aspen Institute has written...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
What Would Theodore Roosevelt Do if He Were President Today? A Conversation with Clay Risen from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.758603

Teddy Roosevelt, one of only four U.S. presidents to grace Mount Rushmore, consistently ranks as one of America’s best presidents. But what makes him so great? And how did the volunteer army he ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
What Should Happen to the Filibuster? A Conversation with Nicholas Fandos on the future of Voting Rights in Congress. from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.752579

In spite of our country’s most basic democratic principles, the struggle for voting rights has been consistent throughout our history. But, in the face of voting right suppression, the inability...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, and Clay Johnson in Recognition of 9/11 from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.735669

The 20th anniversary of the attacks on 9/11 is a time for reflection for many Americans. Most of us remember indelibly where we were when the attacks on our homeland changed the course of histor...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Doris Kearns Goodwin on Presidential Leadership in Turbulent Times from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.672530

Doris Kearns Goodwin is one of our most respected and celebrated historians. She is the author of seven books, including No Ordinary Time, which won the Pulitzer Prize for history, and Listen

With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“When you're in crisis mode all the time, it makes it very hard to think in the long term.” A Conversation with Dr. Jeremi Suri on the American presidency from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.666635

This week we address the history of the presidency writ large with Jeremi Suri, the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair in Global Affairs at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and a professor in the De...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“The tragedy is that Andrew Johnson replaces him,” A Conversation with John Avlon on Lincoln and the Fight for Peace. from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.657835

There have been countless books written about Abraham Lincoln, but John Avlon’s new book, Lincoln and the Fight for Peace, takes a different tact. Chronicling the last days of Lincoln’s l...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“Coolidge prided himself in not letting laws get through.” A Conversation with Amity Shlaes on Calvin Coolidge from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.586024

My guest today is Amity Shlaes, a well-known columnist for the Financial Times and Forbes magazine and a former member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board. She's also one of...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation With AFI Founder George Stevens, Jr. on growing up in the Golden Age of Hollywood from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.555443

On today's episode, we go slightly beyond the presidency as we talk to George Steven's Jr. about his new memoir, My Place in the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington. Listen

With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation About First Lady Jill Biden With Julie Pace and Darlene Superville from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.542674

Dr. Jill Biden has been called President Biden’s greatest political asset and, in the course of their 45-year marriage, has been her husband’s closest and most trusted advisor.

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"It was not guilt, but it was an awareness of the destruction he caused"A Conversation About Truman With Jeffrey Frank from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.537180

When it comes to writing about American politics, few authors are as accomplished or as versatile as Jeffrey Frank. Jeffrey is an eminent journalist, having served as senior editor at The New...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Had he destroyed the tapes, I'm convinced he would have finished his second term"A Conversation About Watergate With Tim Naftali from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.495796

Tim Naftali, who teaches history at New York University, is one of the nation’s most accomplished scholars of American foreign policy and the Cold War. His numerous books include studies of the ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Just running to stay ahead of the darkness"A Conversation About Ted Kennedy with John Farrell from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.472168

John Farrell is a former White House correspondent and Washington editor for the Boston Globe and a former Washington Bureau Chief and columnist for the Denver Post. He is also a best-selling an...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"He is a master divider who fit the times"A Conversation with Peter Baker&Susan Glasser About Donald Trump and Covering the White House from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.456538

Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times, a political analyst for MSNBC, and the author of several books on the presidency, including Days of Fire ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"LBJ thought he could use Hoover as a political tool"A conversation with Bev Gage about J. Edgar Hoover from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.445951

Beverly Gage is a professor of History at Yale University. She is also the author of The Day Wall Street Exploded and has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post....

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"History has become extremely politicized"A conversation about American political myths with Julian Zelizer from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.439467

Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is also a contributor to CNN, and the author of numerous books including “The Fierce Urgency of Now,” and ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Nixon and Kissinger thought they would succeed"A Conversation about Peacemaking in Vietnam With Lien-Hang T. Nguyen from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.366420

Dr. Lien-Hang Nguyen is the Dorothy Borg Associate Professor of History at Columbia University. Besides Hanoi’s War, Dr. Nguyen is co-editor of The Cambridge History of the Viet...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Bush never insisted on a careful assessment"A conversation with Melvyn Leffler about the Iraq War from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.348494

Melvyn Leffler is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Virginia and one of the world’s leading scholars of U.S. foreign relations. His many award-winning books include For the S...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Like all great leaders, he's learning and changing"A Conversation about MLK Jr. With Jonathan Eig (Pt 2) from 2023-12-13T16:01:13.054578

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a giant of American history, a figure celebrated in classrooms and public discourse for his towering contributions to the struggle for civil rights. And ye...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation With Secretary Robert Gates from 2023-11-30T15:51:18

Robert Gates served in public life for over 50 years. He began his career as an entry-level CIA analyst and would rise the ranks to become director of the agency from 1991-93. In 2006, he was na...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Heather Cox Richardson from 2023-10-26T20:18:23

Heather Cox Richardson is professor of history at Boston College, and author of six major books about US history in the 19th Century. Among her best-known works are To Make Men Free: A Histor...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Jake Tapper from 2023-10-13T11:00

Jake Tapper is the chief Washington anchor for CNN, whose shows “The Lead with Jake Tapper” and “State of the Union” are fixtures of broadcast news. 

Tapper has been covering politics in W...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"He becomes a genuine believer"A conversation about Abraham Lincoln with Josh Zeitz from 2023-09-28T11:00

President Lincoln is perhaps the most analyzed and studied of all America's 46 presidents, the subject of numerous outstanding biographies. Yet some aspects of his life remain difficult to fatho...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"A key moment of our civil rights narrative that's never gotten its due"A conversation about Hubert Humphrey with Samuel Freedman from 2023-09-14T16:43:03

Samuel Freedman is a Professor at Columbia University and the award-winning author of ten books. In Into the Bright Sunshine he looks at the life of Hubert Humphrey, who would become Sena...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"A pathologically reasonable person in power"A Conversation about President Garfield with C.W. Goodyear from 2023-08-31T15:42:57

C.W. Goodyear is a writer and historian based in Washington, D.C. Earlier this year, he published his first book, President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier, which has earned effusive pr...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
Best of With the Bark Off 2023 (Part 1) from 2023-08-17T10:00

Late last year we did a “best of” year-end podcast that focused on top moments from With the Bark Off. It was no easy task to choose those moments given the sheer volume of great material...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"King had the perfect voice and message for the moment"A Conversation with Jonathan Eig about MLK (Part 1) from 2023-07-20T10:00

Jonathan Eig is a highly accomplished journalist and author. His bestselling biography of the boxer Muhammad Ali, entitled Ali: A Life, won the PEN America Literary Award and was the basis for a...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Jackie wanted a larger life"A conversation about Jackie Bouvier Kennedy with Carl Sferrazza Anthony from 2023-06-22T10:00

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy remains one of the most fascinating figures of the 20th century - an iconic First Lady who brought elegance, sophistication, and a cultivated cultural sensibility to t...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Consequences for the nation had to take a back seat"A Conversation with Rebecca Boggs Roberts About Edith Wilson from 2023-05-25T10:00

Rebecca Boggs Roberts is an award-winning educator and historian who has written extensively about women’s history and the women’s suffrage movement. Her books include The Suffragist Playbook...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"If you want to valorize Reagan, look at the convictions he held"A conversation with Will Inboden from 2023-05-11T10:00

Dr. William Inboden is a professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and Executive Director of the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin. His new biography...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"He finds himself in a job he never wanted"A Conversation about Gerald Ford with Richard Norton Smith from 2023-04-27T10:00

Richard Norton Smith is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated historian and the author of numerous books, including On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller, and Patriarch: George Washingto...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"I find it hard to believe JFK would have walked out"A conversation with Marc Selverstone about JFK, LBJ and escalation in Vietnam from 2023-04-13T11:00

Marc J. Selverstone is Associate Professor in Presidential Studies at the Miller Center for Public Affairs at The University of Virginia and Chair of the Center’s renowned Presidential Recording...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation About Presidential Funerals and Mourning with Lindsay Chervinsky and Matthew Costello from 2023-03-30T11:00

Lindsay Chervinsky is a presidential historian and author of The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution. Matthew Costello is the Vice President of the David M. Ru...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Confederates were hoping against hope the North would be divided” A conversation about peacemaking after the Civil War with Elizabeth Varon from 2023-03-16T19:01:49

Elizabeth Varon is the Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History at the University of Virginia and Associate Director of the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History. Among her ma...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Wilson sees no course compatible with American honor to keep the US out of war"A Conversation with Charlie Laderman About Woodrow Wilson from 2023-02-16T12:00

Professor Laderman is a prolific historian of international affairs based in the War Studies Department at King’s College London. His books include Sharing the Burden: The Armenian Question Listen

With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"The Biden presidency is a political thriller"A Conversation with Chris Whipple from 2023-01-19T13:00

Chris Whipple is an author and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. He appears frequently as a political analyst on MSNBC, CNN, and NPR, and his previous books include The Gatekeepers: How ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
Best of"With the Bark Off"2022 from 2022-12-22T16:18:35

Hosts Mark Lawrence and Mark Updegrove look back on 10 of their favorite "With the Bark Off" moments from an incredible year.

Featured guests:

Amity Shlaes on Calvin Coolidge

J...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"He operates almost entirely from first principle"A Conversation About Grover Cleveland with Troy Senik from 2022-11-24T17:14:57

Grover Cleveland hardly ranks among the most celebrated or accomplished of American presidents. Like Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, and other presidents of the late 19th century, Clevelan...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"When the country needed him, he rose to the occasion"A Conversation With Pete Souza About Barack Obama and Presidential Photography from 2022-11-10T12:00

Pete Souza is one of our nation’s leading photojournalists—and few have risen to greater prominence. He has worked as an official White House photographer for Ronald Reagan and the chief officia...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"I never doubted he did it and did it alone"A Conversation with Paul Gregory About Lee Harvey Oswald from 2022-10-27T11:00

Paul Gregory is an expert on Russia and is currently a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. A pioneer in the study of Soviet and Russian economics, his textbook on the Ru...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Electability has become the new likeability"A Conversation with Ali Vitali About Women and the Presidency from 2022-10-13T11:00

Journalist Ali Vitali is a familiar face on America’s TV screens, having covered politics first for MSNBC and then for NBC News for nearly a decade. She reported on the 2016 race won by Presiden...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"The presidency is a lagging indicator for shifts in US politics"A Conversation with Nicole Hemmer About the Modern Conservative Movement from 2022-09-29T11:00

Nicole Hemmer is a political historian and Founding Director of the Rogers Center for the Study of the Presidency at Vanderbilt University. She’s also Cofounder of Made by History, a section of ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"They're the only two people in the world who can possibly understand each other"A Conversation About Biden and Obama with Gabriel Debenedetti from 2022-09-15T10:00

Journalist Gabriel Debenedetti is the national correspondent for New York magazine, where he writes about politics and national affairs. He’s also written for Politico, Reuters, the New York Tim...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Trump is aware how extraordinary his place is in history"A Conversation With Kate Andersen Brower from 2022-08-18T11:00

Kate Andersen Brower began her career as a journalist, working as a producer for CBS News and Fox News before moving on to cover the White House for Bloomberg during the first term of Barack Oba...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Washington was very aware of his shortcomings"A Conversation About the Cabinet with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky from 2022-07-21T10:00

When we think of how our presidents make decisions, we often imagine them sitting around conference tables with their cabinet secretaries, engaging in detailed deliberation and weighing competin...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"My father is a war criminal by the definition my father spoke of"A Conversation with Craig McNamara from 2022-06-23T15:09:43

Craig McNamara is the son of Robert S. McNamara, who served as U.S. Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson during the 1960s. From his childhood, Craig cherished his father. Bu...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“What’s hanging over Biden’s election and to his presidency to this day are these competing impulses...” A Conversation with Jonathan Martin on"This Will Not Pass"and the battle for America’s future. from 2022-05-26T09:00

Since its publication in May, This Will Not Pass, written by Jonathan Martin and his New York Times colleague Alexander Burns, has received thunderous attention. Martin and Burns d...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“He did what he thought was necessary to win.” A Conversation with Kai Bird on President Jimmy Carter from 2022-05-12T09:00

My guest today is Kai Bird, author of the new biography, The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter. This extraordinary book examines the 39th president with unprecedented dep...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Alexis Coe on You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington from 2022-04-28T09:00

Coe’s first book, Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis, appeared in 2014. More recently, she published the book that we’ll be discussing today, You Never Forget Your First: A Bio...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Historian Christopher Leahy on the President Without a Party: The Life of John Tyler from 2022-04-14T09:00

Our special guest today is Professor Christopher Leahy, a leading expert on the U.S. presidency and American politics in the 18th and 19th centuries. His book, President Without a Party: The ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“Politics requires treating your opponents as adversaries, not enemies,” A Conversation with Fredrik Logevall on John F. Kennedy from 2022-03-31T09:00

Fredrik Logevall is the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of International Affairs and Professor of History at Harvard University. Dr. Logevall is the author or editor of ten books including Ember...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“There is nothing that defines the role of First Lady,” A Conversation with Tina Tchen on how Mrs. Obama carved out her role as First Lady from 2022-03-17T09:00

Barack Obama made history in 2008, becoming the first African American to be elected to our nation’s highest office, as our 44th President. When he took office in January 2009, he brought a smal...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“You don't understand Jefferson, if you don't understand the way he exploited his enslaved people.” A Conversation With Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter Onuf from 2022-02-17T10:00

Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. She's the author of six books, including The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, for which she...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“Watergate was the symptomatic scandal that caught him, but it was not an aberration.” A Conversation with John Farrell on Richard Nixon from 2022-01-20T10:00

John A. Farrell joins us for a conversation about America’s 37th president, Richard Nixon. John is author of Richard Nixon: The Life, which won the PEN America Award for biography and the...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“There are a series of environmental threats and social threats that are written into our body…” A Conversation with Raj Patel from 2021-12-23T06:00

Raj Patel is a New York Times bestselling author and a Research Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. An expert on the world food system, he has testified about hunger and food s...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“This is a major challenge that LBJ poses to us: he’s very difficult to evaluate...” A Conversation with Dr. Mark Lawrence on The End of Ambition from 2021-11-24T16:13:56

Dr. Mark Lawrence is the Director of the LBJ Presidential Library and a former professor of history at The University of Texas at Austin. An expert on the Lyndon Johnson years, he is the author ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
Veterans Day Special: A Conversation with Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates from 2021-11-11T10:00

Since this episode drops on Veterans Day, we thought we would devote it to one of our nation’s most respected veterans. Robert M. Gates spent half a century of his life devoted to public service...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"Mark Twain was the first stand-up comedian."A Conversation with Cappy McGarr on the Mark Twain Prize from 2021-10-28T09:00

Mark Twain once said “Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.” If so, as the greatest humorist of his day, Twain himself blessed our country throughout much of his life. How appropriate then, to n...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“I'm 80 years old. I'm not looking for another job.” A Conversation With Dr. Anthony Fauci from 2021-10-14T15:18:10

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019, Dr. Anthony Fauci has become a household name. As the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical advisor...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“I was carrying around the weight of UT's racial history…” A Conversation With Dr. Leonard Moore on Teaching Black History to White People from 2021-09-30T09:00

For 25 years Dr. Leonard Moore, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has been teaching Black history—mostly to white students. He describes his engaging and provocative new book,  Listen

With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“Nobody wanted to admit they were losing a war that America thought it had won.” A Conversation with Craig Whitlock on The Afghanistan Papers from 2021-09-16T09:00

The astonishing fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban after nearly 20 years of American occupation has had many wondering what went wrong in our nation’s longest war, not just in recent days but in...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“Hoover knew who was in control and it was Lyndon Johnson.” A Conversation with Paul Letersky on his years assisting J. Edgar Hoover. from 2021-08-19T09:00

For over 50 years J. Edgar Hoover reigned supreme over the Federal Bureau of Investigation, wielding outsize political power as he inspired fear in enemies and allies alike. Through the course o...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“We have to forget the Alamo myths to remember the historic Alamo properly.” A Conversation with Forget the Alamo authors Bryan Burrough&Chris Tomlinson from 2021-07-22T09:00

The legend of the battle of the Alamo is not only an intrinsic part of Texas lore but is enshrined in the American imagination—a band of fiery rebels fighting for independence who die as martyrs...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“President Bush is the one who kept President Clinton on time.” A Conversation with Jean Becker on President George H.W. Bush’s Post-Presidency and more from 2021-06-24T09:00

For over 25 years, Jean Becker served as the Chief of Staff to former President George H.W. Bush. Her new book, “The Man I Knew: The Amazing Story of George H.W. Bush’s Post-Presidency” provides...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“They all agreed that one of them was going to die,” A Conversation with Jeff Shesol on Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War from 2021-06-10T08:00

Jeff Shesol is a historian, former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, and the creator of the comic strip “Thatch.” He is the author of three books including “Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnso...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Lisa Napoli on Susan, Linda, Nina&Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR from 2021-05-27T08:00

Lisa Napoli’s new book, Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie is the story of the “founding mothers” of NPR – Susan Stamberg, Linda Wertheimer, Nina Totenberg, and Cokie Roberts – wrapped around the...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“We are attracted to Abraham Lincoln because for us, he seems to embody what America is all about.” A Conversation with Ron White from 2021-05-13T08:00

Ronald C. White’s latest book, Lincoln in Private, explores the lesser-known and most personal aspects of President Abraham Lincoln, using 111 notes that Lincoln made to himself over the ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Lynn Novick on the Art of Storytelling and Her Latest Documentary, Hemingway from 2021-04-29T08:00

Along with her partner Ken Burns, director and producer Lynn Novick has set the standard for documentary film. She has created more than 80 hours of PBS programming with Burns, including The ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“We were in love, it's a fairly short, simple story”: A Conversation with former Governor and Senator Chuck Robb on Politics, War, and Marrying into LBJ’s Family from 2021-04-15T08:00

Chuck Robb has spent most of his life “in the arena,” as Theodore Roosevelt called it, engaged in military and public service. As an officer in the Marine Corps, he became a White House social a...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“She understood that power is the ability to get other people to believe that what they're doing for you is actually in their interests.” A Conversation with Julia Sweig on Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight from 2021-03-18T09:00

In her new book “Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight,” and her complementary ABC News podcast, “In Plain Sight: Lady Bird Johnson,” author Julia Sweig takes a very different look at the for...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“He was able to create this atmosphere of trust,": A Conversation with David Stewart on the Life of George Washington from 2021-02-25T15:20:02

David O. Stewart is the bestselling author of eight books on American history and historical nonfiction. His latest book, George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father Listen

With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Hank Aaron from 2021-01-28T21:31:03

Hank Aaron, who died on January 22 at age 86, was one of baseball’s greatest heroes. His legendary career spanned 23 seasons, including 21 in which he was named an All-Star. When he broke Babe R...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“Joe Biden wants to be every legislator’s friend.”: A Conversation with Former Lt. Governor Ben Barnes from 2021-01-14T09:00

Ben Barnes was a political protégé of Lyndon Johnson. Elected to the Texas legislature in 1960, he became the Speaker of the Texas House at age 26, making him the youngest House Speaker in a sta...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"We are not each other’s enemies.": A Conversation with Valerie Jarrett from 2020-12-23T14:56:12

During the 8 years of the Obama presidency, Valerie Jarrett was one of the most powerful people in Washington. A top advisor to President Obama, she oversaw the Offices of Public Engagement and ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
"The way that young Latinos voted, it wasn't just a vote for Joe Biden, it was a vote for themselves.": A Conversation with Paola Ramos from 2020-12-10T09:00

Paola Ramos is a host and correspondent for VICE and VICE News, as well as a contributor to MSNBC and Telemundo News. Her new book, Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino I...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“They were peddling a story to the American public,” A Conversation with Dr. Don Carleton from 2020-11-12T09:00

Dr. Don Carleton is founder and executive director of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas at Austin, an archive documenting key themes in U.S. and world hist...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
From Theodore Roosevelt to Donald Trump: How Did We Get Here?: A Conversation with Robert Dallek from 2020-10-29T08:00

Robert Dallek is one of our country’s leading presidential historians. His many books include groundbreaking works on Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon. Dall...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
“Trump seized history’s clock”: A Conversation with Bob Woodward from 2020-10-15T07:00

Since breaking the fateful story of Watergate in 1972, Bob Woodward has been at the top of his field, twice winning the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism and writing 18 best-selling books. Woodward’...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
Fighting Prejudice Through Faith and Activism: A Conversation with Nona Jones from 2020-09-17T00:00:01

In this episode, we hear from Nona Jones, author, media personality, and Head of Global Faith-Based Partnerships at Facebook. Her recent initiative “Faith and Prejudice” - a church-based effort ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Victoria Soto and Julian Zelizer from 2020-08-20T00:27:51

In today’s episode, we take a look at the upcoming presidential election that will pit President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence against Democratic challengers Joe Biden and Kamala Ha...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
Conversations with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Secretary Condoleezza Rice from 2020-08-13T07:15:10

This month marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote in the United States. To mark the occasion, we bring you conversations with two iconic...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Cristina Tzinztún Ramírez from 2020-07-23T00:00:11

This episode explores how to build a meaningful social movement with two leading forces in activism today. Brittany Packnett Cunningham is an educator, writer, NBC News contributor, and co-found...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Robert Caro from 2020-06-25T03:53:45

Robert Caro is one of our country's most celebrated authors. His four volumes chronicling the life and times of Lyndon Johnson and 1,300-page book on New York power broker Robert Moses have earn...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Molly Ball from 2020-06-17T23:58:29

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has earned a place in history, not only as the first woman to take on the role, but as one of the most effective. Molly Ball's new book ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Chris Wallace from 2020-06-11T00:00:03

Veteran television journalist Chris Wallace, the host of Fox News Sunday, discusses his new book, "Countdown 1945," detailing the turbulent first 116 days of Harry Truman's presidency, from Trum...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Dr. Peniel E. Joseph from 2020-05-28T00:08:20

Dr. Peniel E. Joseph is a Professor of Public Affairs and the founding director for the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas ...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Dan Rather from 2020-05-21T04:26:21

As a reporter and news anchor, Dan Rather has covered the biggest stories of the last half-century, from the Civil Rights Movement and Watergate to 9/11 and COVID-19. His wise commentary on curr...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Neil Gorsuch from 2020-05-13T22:36:12

President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court in January 2017. In this episode, Justice Gorsuch talks to us about his recent book, "A Republic, If You Can Keep It," in which he ref...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Dr. David M. Oshinsky from 2020-04-28T21:52:22

In this episode, we seek to put the current COVID-19 pandemic into perspective by speaking with Dr. David M. Oshinsky.

As the director of the Division of Medical Humanities at New York Uni...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Ken Burns from 2020-04-26T14:13:50

This episode features renowned documentarian Ken Burns, one of our nation's most gifted storytellers. As Burns told us, "everybody has a story to tell." In this conversation, we get a glimpse of...

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With the Bark Off: Conversations on the American Presidency
A Conversation with Ruth Bader Ginsburg from 2020-04-26T14:13:33

In this episode, we speak with Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The women's rights legend discusses her nearly 50-year quest for gender equity and how to repair the deep divi...

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