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Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson

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.
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Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson
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Now displaying: January, 2017
Jan 27, 2017

We speak with President Thomas Jefferson this week about the unexpected emergence of the two-party political system during his time.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Learn more about "John Steinbeck’s California" Spring Book Retreat/Tour 2017, hosted by Odyssey Tours, a div. of Bek, Inc.

For more information, visit Odyssey Tours online or contact Becky Cawley: (208) 791-8721 or bek@odytours.net

Jan 26, 2017

In the first of a new series of essays, Clay draws comparisons between the inaugurations of Presidents Donald Trump and Thomas Jefferson.

The full essay can also be found on the blog.

"By not acknowledging the fact of the opposition—and making some gesture of his desire to represent them too, to find a way to win their approval—Trump spoke about 'the People' in a way that is merely demagogic and symbolic but without any fundamental truth or reality. ... Had he been a Jeffersonian, Trump would have acknowledged the polarization of the country."

Learn more about the 1776 Club.

Jan 20, 2017

This bonus episode is an excerpt from #752 Inaugural, originally published in January of 2009. Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson, discusses his inaugural address of March 4th, 1801.

You can hear the original episode in full on the blog.

Yale provides the full text of Jefferson's First Inaugural Address.

Jan 20, 2017

This week, we return with the 15th installment of the “Jefferson 101” series. In this second of two shows discussing Jefferson’s time as the first Secretary of State, we learn more about Jefferson’s vision of America and the strong disagreements he had with Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Jan 13, 2017

This week, we return with the 14th installment of the “Jefferson 101” series. The program is the first of two shows discussing Jefferson’s time as the first Secretary of State. It begins with the story of Jefferson’s return from Europe and the effect his time in France had on his own political sentiments.

Find this episode, along with further recommended reading, on the blog.

Jan 6, 2017

Clay S. Jenkinson, the creator of the Thomas Jefferson Hour, shares stories about his 2016 trip to Rome. Clay talks about the effect Rome had on Jefferson, despite the fact that Jefferson never visited the city.

Read more on the blog, where you can find images of the art and architecture discussed on this episode, along with additional recommended reading.

"I think [Jefferson] would have been a little offended, aesthetically, by the bulk and the weight and the density of the Pantheon. I think he would have said, 'That's not exactly the message we're trying to create in the United States. The message we're trying to create is of order, symmetry, an inspirational lift to the human spirit.'"

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