Lessons on Democracy: A Call to Public Service

In this episode, we take a closer look at how President Kennedy viewed the social contract between the president and the American people with historian Fredrik Logevall. In particular, we’ll look at how that played out for four segments of the population who had been historically marginalized in varying ways: African Americans, women, people with intellectual disabilities, and immigrants. This episode is the last of a four-part series taking a closer look at what made President John F. Kennedy a strong democratic leader, not as a leader of the Democratic Party, but as the leader of a modern democracy.

In this episode, we explore how President Kennedy’s call to public service helped shape a generation of dedicated government leaders. His vision for a professional and expert-driven public sector laid the foundation for decades of democratic progress. Historian Fredrik Logevall joins us to reflect on the lasting impact of JFK’s New Frontier. This episode is part three of a four-part series taking a closer look at what made President John F. Kennedy a strong democratic leader, not as a leader of the Democratic Party, but as the leader of a modern democracy.

In this episode, we look back at how President Kennedy understood the needs of his roles as a diplomat abroad and a strong negotiator at home. Historian Fredrik Logevall joins a conversation as we look at events that tested Kennnedy’s skills as a negotiator. This episode is part two of a four-part series taking a closer look at what made President John F. Kennedy a strong democratic leader, not as a leader of the Democratic Party, but as the leader of a modern democracy.  

Democracy requires leaders who understand the responsibility they hold as elected leaders. In this episode, we will return to the speech President Kennedy made in Massachusetts, now referred to as the “City on a Hill” speech. Historian Fredrik Logevall joins a conversation that will look at the four specific qualities of leadership Kennedy highlighted as essential for a healthy democracy.  This episode is part one of a four-part series taking a closer look at what made President John F. Kennedy a strong democratic leader, not as a leader of the Democratic Party, but as the leader of a modern democracy.  

For more than 150 years, women have put their name forward to run in a presidential election. Of them, only three have made it on the ticket for a major party, and just two have made it to the top of the ticket. We discussed the history of women running for the top job with UMass-Boston Center for Women in Politics Director Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson and the state of the 2024 campaign with NPR political reporter Asma Khalid. This episode of JFK35 contains adult language that may not be appropriate for all listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

Presidential campaigns, from John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960 to today’s candidates, have strategically sought endorsements from celebrities and social influencers. We'll look at the history of campaigns using pop culture and technology to create viral moments.

From the 1960 campaign to today, black and latino voices have played important roles in presidential campaigns. In this episode, we speak with Columbia Journalism School Dean Jelani Cobb and Lincoln Project Co-Founder Mike Madrid about how presidential campaigns have made special efforts to earn the vote of the nation’s Black and Latino communities.

In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson told the nation he would not seek re-election as President. This year, President Joe Biden stepped down in the middle of the 2024 presidential campaign. In this episode, we speak with LBJ Foundation President and CEO Mark Updegrove along with presidential historian Alexis Coe about presidents who chose to “pass the baton” and the country’s legacy of ensuring peaceful transitions between presidents for nearly 250 years.

In John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Campaign, there were many concerns over the high costs of running for president. Still, the money required to run in 1960 is dwarfed by the expenses of today’s presidential and congressional campaigns. Former Senator Russell Feingold, a chief architect of bipartisan campaign finance reform, discusses how our elections got to this point and how America can still untangle the mess of financing political campaigns.

For the first time in more than 40 years, a president was fired on and injured by an assassin’s bullet. In this episode, we speak with presidential historian Alexis Coe about the history of violence against presidential candidates and author and writer Tom Nichols about how the country’s intensely partisan politics have spurred violent acts across American communities.