#1726 The November Elections and the End of Summer
Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
David Horton and Clay discuss the likelihood of a calm transfer of power during and after the November midterm elections. Does anyone believe there will be no allegations of election rigging, of votes by undocumented workers, or charges of election fraud in a few weeks? Time will tell, but Clay and David make a few careful predictions before the election. They also discuss Clay’s recent cultural tour of Thomas Jefferson’s France — Paris, Dijon, Nimes, the Pont du Gard, and the celebrated Canal du Midi that connects the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. France highly regards Jefferson as...
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#1725 Mesa Verde, Bears Ears and National Monuments
Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
Host David Horton debriefs Clay on his recent cultural tour of the National Monuments of the Four Corners area. Clay teamed up with his friend Dr. Susan Ryan to visit Mesa Verde National Park, Bears Ears National Monument, and Canyon of the Ancients National Monument with a group of 20 participants from across the U.S. The goal was to explore the history and current status of America’s National Monuments in the wake of President Trump’s executive orders reducing the size of Bears Ears by more than 90%. Susan Ryan was an outstanding cultural tour lead, explaining how Southwestern...
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#1724 Great Censorship Legal Cases
Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
Clay Jenkinson gives four or five lectures annually for the Smithsonian Associates. In his most recent talk, he analyzed three notorious 20th-century censorship cases, all involving books once regarded as obscene. First, the case against James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, thought by some to be the greatest novel of the century, went to trial in 1933. Second, the trial of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover in 1960, banned in England not just for its explicit sex scenes, but because the adulterous affair was between an aristocratic woman and a mere working-class gardener. And finally, Allen...
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#1723 On the Trail of Marco Polo
Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
Author and explorer Denis Belliveau talks with Clay about his epic journey along the entire Silk Road in the footsteps of Marco Polo. Polo (ca. 1254-1324) traveled from Venice to the far end of China between 1271 and 1295 AD. He visited Kublai Khan in the legendary Xanadu. Denis Belliveau and his traveling companion, Francis O’Donnell, needed 70 visas to make the immense journey, none of it by airplane, much of it on foot, horse, camel, and such fortunate rides they could cadge along the way. They traveled with what Belliveau calls “reckless bravado and a lot of testosterone,” through...
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#1722 September 11, 25 Years Later
Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
Host David Horton asks Clay Jenkinson what we have learned from the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and all that has transpired since 2001. Clay offers six lessons — beware of overreacting; avoid endless wars that have little to do with the terror attack; keep your eye on the geopolitical ball and don’t be distracted by temporary sex scandals; work harder to sustain the national unity that follows a catastrophe; Islam is not our enemy, and it is not the problem; and accept some responsibility for how American actions in the world frustrate and enrage others. Clay...
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#1721 Jefferson and Adams: A Fresh Interpretation
Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
Clay’s conversation with historian Jim Rasenberger, the author of "A Perfect Coincidence: The Extraordinary Friendship and Astonishing Deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson." Jefferson and Adams collaborated on the Declaration of Independence in 1776, served together as diplomats in France for the United States in the 1780s, and cherished each other’s friendship. Then the heated politics of their time came between them, until by 1800, they were enemies. Fortunately, they patched their friendship back together when they were safely retired from public life and died on the same day, the...
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#1720 The Declaration of Independence: The Days After Adoption
Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
Host David Horton interviews the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, about the days and weeks following the Fourth of July 1776. How quickly did the printed texts of the Declaration circulate? What was the information network of the time that enabled most Americans to read the Declaration (or hear it read in public) within a few weeks? The final copy had to go to an engraver to become the beautiful presentation document we still revere today. At the time, the Founders did not know that the Declaration would become the most important document in the history of human liberty....
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#1719 Reinventing America’s Educational System
Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
Clay interviews David Osborne, author of the 1992 bestseller Reinventing Government, about the challenges of the American public education system. How well are we preparing young people for the mid-21st century? Why is the United States slipping behind many other nations in educational metrics? David has spent the last few years focused on how we can reinvent public education. His new documentary film chronicles the astonishing success of charter schools in historically problematic school districts. How much does the survival of our republic depend on better schools for all Americans? This...
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#1718 Clay’s Summer Odyssey and Listener Mail
Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
David Horton sits down with Clay Jenkinson to retrace a whirlwind summer of travel, history and adventure. Clay’s journey began in May with a trek to ancient Troy and continued across the American West, following the trail of Theodore Roosevelt. Along the way came an unusual Independence Day in Italy, stops in Las Vegas and California, and a meandering journey along the Missouri River in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. Clay and David explore the history, surprises and memorable side trips that shaped the journey — and respond to questions and comments from listeners. This episode...
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#1717 Optimism and American Success
Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
Clay interviews Richard Battle of Texas about his series of books about the can-do spirit of America. Three of the books tell feel-good stories of character and gumption in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Mr. Battle believes that the current malaise in the American spirit is caused by a weak education system that fails to tell the story of how much America has achieved and against what odds. When we are tempted to criticize America, Mr. Battle asks, “compared to what?” What other country has as much freedom and opportunity as still exists in the United States? He regards George...
info_outlineWe are joined again this week by Catherine Jenkinson acting as guest host for a delightful conversation about Cuba, Clay’s upcoming cultural tour to Cuba, Thomas Jefferson’s connection to Cuba, and Theodore Roosevelt’s time there. Catherine questions Clay as to whether or not Roosevelt was really the “man in the arena” during his exploits on San Juan Hill.
Find this episode, along with recommended reading, on the blog. Support the show by joining the 1776 Club or by donating to the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc. You can learn more about Clay's cultural tours & retreats at jeffersonhour.com/tours. Check out our new merch. You can find Clay's publications on our website, along with a list of his favorite books on Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and other topics. Thomas Jefferson is interpreted by Clay S. Jenkinson.