JFK Library Forums

Heather Cox Richardson, Boston College professor of history, discusses her new book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America with Tom Nichols, staff writer at The Atlantic.

Robert Costa, chief election and campaign correspondent for CBS News, discusses key issues in advance of the 2024 elections with David Gergen, senior political analyst at CNN and a White House adviser to four presidents.

Matthew Delmont, Dartmouth professor of history, discusses his recent book Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad, which explores the crucial contributions of the more than one million Black men and women who served in World War II, serving in segregated units and performing unheralded but vital support jobs, only to be denied housing and educational opportunities on their return home. Renée Graham, associate editor and columnist at The Boston Globe, moderates.

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of President Kennedy’s June 1963 speech on civil rights, this special panel discussion explores civil rights issues in the 1960s and today. Mark Whitaker, CBS Sunday Morning contributor and author of “Saying it Loud: 1966 - The Year Black Power Challenged the Civil Rights Movement” moderates a conversation with Jonathan Eig, author of the new biography “King: A Life”; Judge Nancy Gertner (ret.), senior lecturer on law at Harvard Law School; David Greenberg, professor of history and of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University; and Traci Parker, professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

In a nationally televised address in June 1963, President Kennedy addressed the most urgent domestic issue of the time: the struggle to guarantee civil rights for all Americans. In his speech, President Kennedy implored a nation divided by race, to rise to the challenge of that moment, to create a society in which all its citizens were afforded equal opportunity under the law. We acknowledge that the civil rights movement represented a challenge of President Kennedy’s leadership, but with this speech, he sought to lay the foundation for the protection of civil rights for generations to come. On June 9, 2023, the JFK Library Foundation convened a special commemoration of this important moment in the historical timeline of social justice in America, featuring keynote remarks from 82nd U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. Following the keynote, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Rahsaan Hall, President and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts discussed civil rights through the intersection of the law and activism. Their conversation was moderated by Kimberly Atkins Stohr, Senior Opinion Writer for the Boston Globe.

John Avlon, author, columnist, and senior political analyst and anchor at CNN, discusses his new book “Lincoln and the Fight for Peace,” which explores Lincoln’s plan to secure a just and lasting peace after the Civil War, with Kellie Carter Jackson, professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College.

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff delivers opening remarks for a special Kennedy Library Forum that will include a distinguished panel exploring the role of the arts and culture and interfaith cooperation in combating hate. Maria Rosario Jackson, Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts; Rashad Hussain, US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom; Simran Jeet Singh, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society Program; Eric Ward, Executive Vice President at Race Forward, and Douglass Williams, Chef/Owner at Boston’s MIDA Restaurant, discuss key issues with Sophia Bush, actress and activist. Tatiana Schlossberg, President Kennedy's granddaughter and climate journalist and author, introduces the program.

Colette Hemingway honors 2023 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel finalists and winner Oscar Hokeah, author of “Calling for a Blanket Dance,” at this celebration. Award-winning author Jennifer Haigh delivers the keynote address. The Kennedy Library is the major repository of Ernest Hemingway’s personal papers. This program is co-presented with The International Hemingway Foundation and Society.

Alex Prud’homme discusses his new book, “Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House,” a narrative history of food, politics, and twenty-six presidents from President Washington to President Biden, including President Kennedy. Sheryl Julian, writer, stylist, and former food editor of The Boston Globe, moderates.

Ellen Fitzpatrick, Presidential Chair and Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire; Doug Mills, White House photographer for The New York Times, and Darlene Superville, White House Correspondent for the Associated Press, explore key issues in covering the Presidency with Tamara Keith, NPR White House Correspondent and president of the White House Correspondents' Association.

Micheál Martin T.D., Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence of Ireland, marks the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s visit to Ireland and discusses the Irish-US relationship and key global issues with Kevin Cullen, columnist for The Boston Globe. This program is supported in part through the Government of Ireland: Emigrant Support Programme.

Philip Alpers, founding director of GunPolicy.org at the University of Sydney School of Public Health; Jennifer Carlson, professor of sociology and government and public policy at the University of Arizona; Mugambi Jouet, professor of law at the University of Southern California; and Diego Sanjurjo, political scientist and coordinator of focused police crime prevention strategies at Uruguay’s Ministry of the Interior, explore comparative and international perspectives on firearms policy and gun control with Kristin Goss, professor of political science at Duke University. This was a virtual Kennedy Library Forum.

Timothy Christian, professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, discusses his new book "Hemingway’s Widow: The Life and Legacy of Mary Welsh Hemingway" with Jenny Emery Davidson, executive director of The Community Library in Ketchum, Idaho. This was a virtual Kennedy Library Forum.

Douglas Brinkley discusses his forthcoming book "Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, and the Great Environmental Awakening," which explores the rise of environmental activism, with Michael Eric Dyson, award-winning author and professor of African American and diaspora studies and of ethics and society at Vanderbilt University. The program is made possible in part through the generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The Kennedy Library and GBH partnered for an exclusive preview* and discussion of the new PBS American Experience documentary "Taken Hostage," which tells the story of the Iran hostage crisis, when more than 52 American diplomats, Marines and civilians were held hostage at the American Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979. Former hostage and press attaché to the U.S. Embassy Barry Rosen, his wife Barbara, and director Robert Stone discussed the film and explored this history with American Experience executive producer Cameo George. *Note: This JFK Library Forum podcast episode includes only the discussion portion of the event. To watch the documentary, visit https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/taken-hostage/.

John A. Farrell, award-winning author and former Boston Globe correspondent, discusses his forthcoming book Ted Kennedy: A Life with David Nasaw, professor of history at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

This special conference commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis will explore the Crisis and the lessons it still holds for us. Sessions will examine the historical context of the Crisis, as well as how lessons from the Crisis resonate with contemporary challenges. Curator for special projects at the International Spy Museum Alexis Albion, intelligence and national security reporter at The Washington Post Shane Harris, New York University professor of public service and of history Tim Naftali, and staff writer at The Atlantic Tom Nichols analyze the role of intelligence in the Crisis and in the present day in the conference’s second session.

This special conference commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis will explore the crisis and the lessons it still holds for us. Sessions will examine the historical context of the crisis, as well as how lessons from the crisis resonate with contemporary challenges. Activist and author Daniel Ellsberg (virtual), Harvard professor of business administration Nancy Koehn (virtual), New York University professor of public service and of history Tim Naftali, Johns Hopkins professor of historical studies Mary Sarotte (virtual), and University of Virginia professor of history Philip Zelikow (virtual) discuss the history of the crisis and crisis leadership in the conference’s first session.

Senator Patrick Leahy, president pro tempore of the Senate and the chamber’s current longest-serving member, discusses his new book "The Road Taken: A Memoir," which explores more than four decades of service spanning nine presidential administrations, with former Senator Christopher J. Dodd.

Jonathan Capehart, associate editor for The Washington Post and anchor of MSNBC’s The Sunday Show, and Ali Vitali, Capitol Hill correspondent for NBC News and author of Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put A Woman in the White House…Yet, explore key issues in advance of the midterm elections with Lisa Desjardins, correspondent for PBS NewsHour.