Staff
#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
Episode
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
Episode
Staff
#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
Episode
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
Episode
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

Food

#1341 Dinner with Jefferson

#1341 Dinner with Jefferson

"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend."

— Thomas Jefferson, 1800

This week, we ask President Jefferson about his famous dinner parties and their extensive menus. It was important to Jefferson to not appear too regal, and the dinner parties were kept somewhat casual. In 1802, a Federalist senator from New Hampshire was meeting Jefferson at a dinner when “a tall high boned man” entered the room wearing “an old brown coat, red waistcoat, old corduroy small clothes, much soiled—woolen hose—& slippers without heels.” He added, “I thought this man was a servant; but was surprised by the announcement it was the President.”

#1280 Tomatoes

#1280 Tomatoes

"That is one of the most fun things that I try to do, reacquaint people with the joyous flavor of the tomato that they crave."

— Craig LeHoullier

Inspired by a letter from Alison Hagan, we talk with three tomato experts: Craig LeHoullier, author of Epic Tomatoes; Harry J. Klee, Ph.D. from the University of Florida; and Pat Brodowski, Head Gardener at Monticello. They speak about the best-tasting tomatoes, how to grow them, where to get seeds, why commercial varieties have lost their flavor, and how Jefferson is connected to all this.

#1278 Adams, Bees and Guns

#1278 Adams, Bees and Guns

"I believe that we have the right to revolution."

— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson

President Jefferson answers listener questions about his relationship with John Adams, replacing the Constitution once every generation, bees at Monticello, and the Second Amendment.

#1264 Representation

#1264 Representation

"It's so hard for me to think that one citizen, for whatever reason, would commit such mayhem."

— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson

The Ethics of Food

The Ethics of Food

In the end food is just fuel. It keeps the engine running, and for me the engine was designed to do the work of the soul—to read books and maybe write some too, to imagine the world you want to live in, to evaluate the events that take place in the public square, to lift oneself and those around you to a higher plane of enlightenment, to do what you can—in Jefferson’s words—to ameliorate the condition of mankind.

#1261 Jefferson's Table

#1261 Jefferson's Table

"Literally everyone in Washington, D.C. wanted invitations to my White House dinners."

— Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson

Catherine Jenkinson returns as guest host this week to speak with President Jefferson about all things food and to wish all our listeners a happy Thanksgiving.

#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."

#1241 4th of July

#1241 4th of July

We speak with President Jefferson this week in our annual 4th of July Show. Jefferson shares his thoughts on why the holiday is so important to Americans and recalls how it was celebrated during his time. We also speak to Gaye Wilson, the Shannon Senior Historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies and Pat Brodowski, specialty gardener at Monticello who tell us about the celebrations being held at Monticello.