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#1530 A Conversation with Jeffersonian Gardener ...

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Clay Jenkinson visits with Pat Brodowski, formerly the head gardener at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Pat explains how she found her way to Monticello, what she learned about Thomas Jefferson from working every day in his extensive garden, and how she is occupying her time now as a retiree. Plus, Pat gives tips to our listeners about how to grow something in the next year.

#1530 A Conversation with Jeffersonian Gardener Pat Brodowski
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Staff
#1515 Ten Things About Jefferson's Daughters ...

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss Jefferson's daughters. Thomas Jefferson was highly expectant of their behavior and let them know it through a series of letters. When he died in bankruptcy, his daughter Martha was left nearly penniless and had to deal with the aftermath of Jefferson's poor money management.

#1515 Ten Things About Jefferson's Daughters with Lindsay Chervinsky
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#1511 The Densmore Repatriation Project

Clay Jenkinson speaks with David Swenson about the ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore and her work with the Lakota in the Dakotas beginning in 1911. David has spent the last year working on The Densmore Repatriation Project, re-cataloging and restoring her wax cylinder recordings.

At Standing Rock in 1911, Frances Densmore met with dozens of tribal elders and recorded traditional songs on wax cylinder. Densmore documented this work in her book Teton Sioux Music which became a touchstone for learning about Lakota/Dakota culture. The Densmore Repatriation Project reintroduces the songs with new recordings made by contemporary Native singers.

#1511 The Densmore Repatriation Project
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Staff
#1502 Ten Things About the Supreme Court

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson present ten things about the Supreme Court.

#1502 Ten Things About the Supreme Court
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Staff
#1492 Ten Things About King George III

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss King George III and his effect on the American Revolution. According to the British historian George Otto Trevelyan, the King was determined to "keep the rebels harassed, anxious, and poor, until the day when, by a natural and inevitable process, discontent and disappointment were converted into penitence and remorse."

#1492 Ten Things About King George III

Enlightenment

#1460 The Enlightenment with Lindsay Chervinsky

#1460 The Enlightenment with Lindsay Chervinsky

The noted author and historian Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky joins Clay Jenkinson this week for a discussion about the Enlightenment. Together they try to answer whether or not it is a self-correcting mechanism that will lead us into greater human rights and progress, or if it's now in jeopardy in the midst of the explosion of human knowledge.

#1372 Incarceration

#1372 Incarceration

This week's guest host Catherine Jenkinson speaks with President Jefferson about incarceration policies in early and present day America. Jefferson was a reformist, and revised the entire law code of Virginia. Jefferson was enamored with the work of Cesare Beccaria, who wrote the 1764 treatise On Crimes and Punishments.

#1325 Pax Americana

#1325 Pax Americana

We answer listener questions this week, and the most mail we received was about Robert Kagan's new book, The Jungle Grows Back, which Tom Friedman of The New York Times called "An incisive, elegantly written, new book about America’s unique role in the world."

#1288 Truth Matters

#1288 Truth Matters

"I think that an ideal citizen is a bit grumpy, is always concerned that government is up to no good."

— Thomas Jefferson, Second Inaugural Address

We begin our conversation with President Thomas Jefferson asking about the actual location of his tombstone. We also discuss truthfulness, free speech, personal freedoms, upholding international agreements, and what Thomas Jefferson thinks about executive privilege and our current government.

#1252 Mildness & Amenity

#1252 Mildness & Amenity

"I am more candid in your era than I ever would have been in mine."

— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson

This week, we speak with President Jefferson about his hospitality and good manners. In her book, The First Forty Years of Washington Society Margaret Bayard Smith quotes federalist Supreme Court Justice William Paterson’s opinion of Thomas Jefferson. Of Jefferson he said,  “No man can be personally acquainted with Mr. Jefferson and remain his personal enemy."

#1248 Private Thoughts

#1248 Private Thoughts

"I'm trying to explain to you and to your listeners what makes for a happy life."

— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson

President Thomas Jefferson speaks about Monticello, his private and daily habits, his compulsiveness and how his Virginian hospitality cost him a personal fortune.

#1232 Listener Questions

#1232 Listener Questions

This week, we discuss listener questions about architecture, Sally Hemings, revolutionary war, Jefferson as a scientist, recommended books and how Clay's life has been affected by performing as Thomas Jefferson.

"What I discovered was that Jefferson embodies — in many respects, not in all of them — the world that I want to live in. I want to live in Thomas Jefferson's America." — Clay

#1150 Natural Resources

#1150 Natural Resources

Dr. Kimberly Crowley speaks with President Thomas Jefferson about natural resources and Jefferson's expectations of each citizen. According to Clay, Jefferson believed that under the right circumstances each citizen could reach a level of enlightenment that would negate the need for intrusive and large government.

#1134 Hannah & Mercy

#1134 Hannah & Mercy

This week, President Thomas Jefferson answers listener questions including a response to Hannah who asks about Jefferson's concept of enlightenment. Jefferson also speaks about political writer and propagandist of the American Revolution, Mercy Otis Warren.