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.
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.
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.
The Densmore Project’s website: lakotasongs.com
The Densmore Project on YouTube
KX News: Re-introducing Lakota Songs
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."
This week's show features President Thomas Jefferson answering pre-recorded questions sent to him from Columbus High in Cerro Gordo, North Carolina by Zachary Rudisin, a Social Studies teacher and his students (Austin, Ambre'Nasia, Alexandria, Adam, Ivana, Autumn, Madison, Mary Allen and Trey). Mister Jefferson has a bit of trouble accepting the technology of recorded sound, but does answer all of their questions.
Each year, Odyssey Tours and Clay S. Jenkinson host a winter humanities retreat at Lochsa Lodge in north-central Idaho. This week's program, hosted by Russ Eagle, was recorded on location during the winter book retreat and and features questions for President Thomas Jefferson from those in attendance.
Prompted by a listener question, this week's show is a re-broadcast of a classic show from 2008 when President Jefferson was asked whom he would invite to a dinner party if he was unrestricted by location or time. Listen to find out which friends or historical figures he would like to share an evening with.
This week, President Thomas Jefferson discusses and explains his complex view and vision of an agrarian America. While in Paris in 1785, Jefferson wrote, "Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to it's liberty and interests by the most lasting bands."
President Thomas Jefferson answers listener questions including, "How can I lead a more enlightened life?" Gardening, reading, participation in public life, more conversation? Also, a question about Jefferson playing chess (he was proud to say he once beat Benjamin Franklin), Jefferson's thoughts on art, his thoughts on celebrity, and how he dealt with conflict and always tried to maintain civil discourse.
