March 21, 2024
About This Episode
Historian Alexis Coe has written a biography of George Washington, and is researching for her upcoming book focusing on John F. Kennedy’s youth. Now in this election year, she’s a fellow at New America where she is asking the question: how should a president be? In this episode, we talk with her about her work, including challenging myths, making connections between the past and the present, and where the 1st president and 35th president are similar. We'll also hear President Kennedy's own thoughts on the presidency from an interview he did in the Oval Office two years into his administration.
View the transcript for this episode.
Related Material
- Learn more about Alexis Coe and her work
- Listen to “After Two Years: A Conversation with the President": part one (28 minutes) and part two (30 minutes)
- Read a transcript of the interview
- Read the oral history interviews with two of the correspondents where they discuss covering President Kennedy: William Lawrence and Sander Vanocur
- See behind the scenes photos of interview
- Read the New York Times op ed on “After Two Years” in the New York Times Archive (gifted link)