March 11, 2021
About This Episode
John F. Kennedy ran for president as television was beginning to come into its own. The importance and power of presidents' use of the bully pulpit was growing as millions of viewers could watch a single presidential address live on television.
In this episode, we will hear from Adam Frankel, former speechwriter to President Barack Obama, about the relationship between President Kennedy and his most trusted speechwriter and aide Ted Sorensen. We will also speak with Vanessa Beasley, an expert on presidential rhetoric from Vanderbilt University, about the history of presidential speechmaking from President Kennedy to today.
View the transcript for this episode.
What We Talked About
- View our Oral History Collection, including several Oral Histories from Ted Sorensen
- Read a transcript of a Kennedy Library Forum with Ted Sorensen on the Inaugural Address.
- High School teachers: Visit our lesson plan on presidential rhetoric
- Revisit our 60/20 Podcast episodes on The New Frontier and the Kennedy Nixon Debates