435 episodes

Listening to America aims to “light out for the territories,” traveling less visited byways and taking time to see this immense, extraordinary country with fresh eyes while listening to the many voices of America’s past, present, and future.

Led by noted historian and humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson, Listening to America travels the country’s less visited byways, from national parks and forests to historic sites to countless under-recognized rural and urban places. Through this exploration, Clay and team find and tell the overlooked historical and contemporary stories that shape America’s people and places. Visit our website at ltamerica.org.

Listening to America Listening to America

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.6 • 1K Ratings

Listening to America aims to “light out for the territories,” traveling less visited byways and taking time to see this immense, extraordinary country with fresh eyes while listening to the many voices of America’s past, present, and future.

Led by noted historian and humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson, Listening to America travels the country’s less visited byways, from national parks and forests to historic sites to countless under-recognized rural and urban places. Through this exploration, Clay and team find and tell the overlooked historical and contemporary stories that shape America’s people and places. Visit our website at ltamerica.org.

    Geert Mak and John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley

    Geert Mak and John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley

    Clay Jenkinson’s interview with the distinguished Dutch journalist Geert Mak, the author of In Europe, and also In America: Travels with John Steinbeck. In 2010 Geert Mak and his wife retraced the entire Steinbeck journey in a rented Jeep. After he returned to the Netherlands, Mak wrote a 550-page account of his travels. Though Steinbeck isn’t the main theme of In America, Mak fulfills the mission that Steinbeck set out to accomplish—that is, to wrestle with the character and narrative of what Steinbeck called “this monster country.” Clay and Mr. Mak discuss the sheer size of America, Steinbeck’s occasional fibs about the exact circumstances of the journey, race relations in America, violence in America, and the current state of the American Dream. It’s an amazing and quite moving interview.

    • 58 min
    #1591 The Election of 2024 and the Constitution

    #1591 The Election of 2024 and the Constitution

    Clay Jenkinson and regular guest Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky talk about the ways in which the Constitution of the United States is impeding and even preventing good government, with a particular focus on the coming election of 2024. Topics include the need for a uniform national election procedures act; the many problems of the Electoral College; and the possibility that in the next four years we may need to invoke the 25th Amendment, which was passed in 1967 to prepare for the possibility that a President might be incapacitated before the end of his term. We also look briefly at civilian control of the military and the future of the religious freedom principles of the First Amendment. 

    • 55 min
    #1590 Ten Things: The Jefferson-Adams Correspondence

    #1590 Ten Things: The Jefferson-Adams Correspondence

    Clay Jenkinson is joined by regular guest Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky to discuss the extraordinary correspondence between former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Between 1812 and 1826, they exchanged 158 letters, thought by historians to be the finest correspondence in American history. They wrote about their political visions and disagreements, the French Revolution, the origin of Native Americans, their private and public religious views, the American West, their children and grandchildren, and so much more. Jefferson was more formal and serene, Adams more candid and at times aggressive. In his fourth or fifth letter Adams said, “we must not die until we have explained ourselves to each other.” They both worked hard at it, usually with remarkable harmony. They died on the same day, July 4, 1826, Jefferson first at Monticello and Adams five hours later in his bed in Quincy, Massachusetts.

    • 59 min
    #1589 Loss of Respect for American Institutions

    #1589 Loss of Respect for American Institutions

    Clay Jenkinson interviews Dr. Henry Brady of the University of California at Berkeley about loss of respect for sixteen American institutions, some public, and some private: the police, the church, the Supreme Court, Higher Education, the FBI, the presidency, and, of course Congress. How did we lose faith? Has there been moral and ethical slippage in the last fifty years or are we just more aware of the imperfections of these institutions thanks to 24/7 media, including social media? What role has demagoguery played in the plummeting of respect for our institutions? How do we restore respect and trust in our basic institutions and how likely are we to see those reforms?

    • 1 hr 3 min
    Presidential Norms

    Presidential Norms

    Guest host David Horton of Virginia leads a discussion with Clay Jenkinson about the difference between Constitutional requirements and what are called presidential norms. George Washington, for example, did not shake hands with the American people. He held formal levees once a week. Jefferson regarded those as monarchical habits and he performed a series of acts of political theater to tone down the presidency during his two terms. Nothing in the Constitution requires the outgoing president to attend his successor’s inauguration, but it is an established American norm, and when that norm and others are violated, it weakens the fabric of the American republic. David and Clay talk about the presidencies of the two Roosevelts, both of whom enjoyed expanding the powers of the presidency, and of course the disruptive events of the last ten years.

    • 1 hr 7 min
    The Sad History of Executive Orders

    The Sad History of Executive Orders

    Clay Jenkinson and guest host David Horton discuss the history of executive orders. Even though they are not authorized by the U.S. Constitution, every president except William Henry Harrison has issued at least one. David and Clay review the most important executive orders in American history: the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863; the Japanese internment camps brought on by FDR in 1942. Truman integrated the U.S. military and JFK created the Peace Corps using executive orders. Clay argues that they should not be used by the president in lieu of letting Congress hammer out public policy, particularly when tax dollars are at stake. And now, in this disruptive age, each president rescinds some of the executive orders of his predecessor, and the process repeats itself at the next election. 

    • 50 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
1K Ratings

1K Ratings

Latif mansplains ,

What do you mean leftist?

The people give minimal stars to this show because of its supposed leftist views are plain stupid. Uninformed. Ignorant. Completely devoid of any semblance of a complex thought. I urge the listeners here to crack open a book from time to time, too much social media and local news seem to have warped their already delicate minds. Do yourself and society a favor and learn something. Stop listening to stories from your Confederate-sympathizing grandpa.

DarrStew ,

Yikes

For context I’m about as far left as you can get, and have been a fan since stumbling onto this show circa 2010-2011. I just heard a guest say, almost in the same breath that: young people often don’t know history as well as they think, when they do know history it’s often over-simplistic and unaware or ignoring nuance and complexity, and then said that young people don’t realize that one can hold two conflicting views at the same like (I’m paraphrasing) “hamas’s attack on Israel was vile and horrendous, and that there are real humanitarian concerns in Gaza”.
I’ll just summarize my issue with a now infamous phrase “both sides had very good people”

3rd grade yoga teacher ,

Jefferson, not Jenkinson

Great show with a unique idea - what would Jefferson say/do. Then for some reason the portrayer of Jefferson thought the listener tuned in for him and not the 3rd president. This is not what made the podcast unique, enjoyable, successful…I think even Jefferson would agree this was a bad decision.

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

MeSsy with Christina Applegate & Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Wishbone Production
Stuff You Should Know
iHeartPodcasts
The Viall Files
Nick Viall
This American Life
This American Life
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
Vox Media Podcast Network
Shawn Ryan Show
Shawn Ryan | Cumulus Podcast Network

You Might Also Like

Ben Franklin's World
Liz Covart
Lectures in History
C-SPAN
For the Ages: A History Podcast
New-York Historical Society
This American President
Parthenon Podcast Network
History Unplugged Podcast
Scott Rank, PhD
Booknotes+
C-SPAN