Podcasts History Presidential
Presidential

Presidential

54 episodes

The Washington Post's Presidential podcast explores how each former American president reached office, made decisions, handled crises and redefined the role of commander-in-chief. It was released leading up to up to Election Day 2016, starting with George Washington in week one and ending on week 44 with the president-elect. New special episodes in the countdown to the 2020 presidential election highlight other stories from U.S. presidential history that can help illuminate our current moment. Hosted by Lillian Cunningham, the series features Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers like David McCullough and Washington Post journalists like Bob Woodward. [When you're done, listen to Lillian's other historical podcasts: Constitutional and Moonrise]

Podcasts

The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop: Somebody knows

Published: Nov. 22, 2023, 1:30 p.m.
Duration: 51 minutes 14 seconds

Listed in: History

Introducing The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop

Published: Oct. 13, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
Duration: 3 minutes 34 seconds

Listed in: History

Listen to the first episode of Field Trip: Yosemite National Park

Published: June 28, 2023, 10:30 a.m.
Duration: 55 minutes 41 seconds

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Introducing Field Trip

Published: June 14, 2023, 11 a.m.
Duration: 3 minutes 13 seconds

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A sneak peek from Lillian

Published: June 6, 2023, 2:44 p.m.
Duration: 56 seconds

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BONUS | Happy Presidents Day! Or ... not?

Published: Feb. 21, 2022, 2:33 p.m.
Duration: 26 minutes 11 seconds

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Joe Biden: Triumph, tragedy and the fate of the center

Published: Nov. 8, 2020, 4:55 a.m.
Duration: 53 minutes 29 seconds

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BONUS | What books about Trump say about America

Published: Oct. 23, 2020, 10 a.m.
Duration: 30 minutes 49 seconds

Listed in: History

BONUS | Pandemic, propaganda and the presidency

Published: Sept. 24, 2020, 10 a.m.
Duration: 40 minutes 15 seconds

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BONUS | When a VP pick changes history

Published: Aug. 7, 2020, 9:52 p.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 3 seconds

Listed in: History

BONUS | Binding up the nation's wounds

Published: June 19, 2020, 5:12 p.m.
Duration: 29 minutes 4 seconds

Listed in: History

Binding up the nation's wounds

Published: June 19, 2020, 5:12 p.m.
Duration: 30 minutes 2 seconds

Listed in: History

LIVE EVENT | 'Unprecedented Presidents' live from WBUR CitySpace

Published: March 6, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
Duration: 43 minutes 36 seconds

Listed in: History

BONUS: 'Unprecedented Presidents' live from WBUR CitySpace

Published: March 6, 2020, 3:33 p.m.
Duration: 43 minutes 36 seconds

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Introducing Moonrise

Published: July 19, 2019, 2 p.m.
Duration: 4 minutes 55 seconds

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Donald Trump: Division and union

Published: Nov. 9, 2016, 9:58 a.m.
Duration: 56 minutes 13 seconds

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Barack Obama: The pursuit of identity

Published: Oct. 30, 2016, 10:30 p.m.
Duration: 56 minutes 14 seconds

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George W. Bush: Changing course

Published: Oct. 23, 2016, 10:46 p.m.
Duration: 46 minutes 26 seconds

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Bill Clinton: The good and the bad

Published: Oct. 16, 2016, 2 p.m.
Duration: 48 minutes 26 seconds

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George H. W. Bush: Restraint

Published: Oct. 9, 2016, 2:23 p.m.
Duration: 51 minutes 59 seconds

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Ronald Reagan: Myths and truths

Published: Oct. 2, 2016, 9:13 p.m.
Duration: 43 minutes 41 seconds

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Jimmy Carter: Keeping the faith

Published: Sept. 25, 2016, 4:15 p.m.
Duration: 57 minutes 32 seconds

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Gerald Ford: It's personal

Published: Sept. 18, 2016, 9:29 p.m.
Duration: 55 minutes 42 seconds

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Richard Nixon: Looking inward

Published: Sept. 11, 2016, 9:55 p.m.
Duration: 42 minutes 1 second

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Lyndon B. Johnson: Power

Published: Sept. 4, 2016, 5:55 p.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 43 seconds

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John F. Kennedy: We are all mortal

Published: Aug. 28, 2016, 11:14 p.m.
Duration: 47 minutes 51 seconds

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Dwight D. Eisenhower: Covert action

Published: Aug. 21, 2016, 2 p.m.
Duration: 51 minutes 29 seconds

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Harry S. Truman: Trying to make the right call

Published: Aug. 15, 2016, 3:56 a.m.
Duration: 36 minutes 49 seconds

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Franklin D. Roosevelt: Through Eleanor's eyes

Published: Aug. 7, 2016, 6:27 p.m.
Duration: 53 minutes 9 seconds

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Herbert Hoover: Dealing with disaster

Published: July 31, 2016, 7:47 p.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 24 seconds

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Calvin Coolidge: A tale of two Coolidges

Published: July 25, 2016, 3:55 a.m.
Duration: 46 minutes

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Warren G. Harding: Love and scandal

Published: July 18, 2016, 3:59 a.m.
Duration: 42 minutes 34 seconds

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Woodrow Wilson: A complicated legacy

Published: July 11, 2016, 3:58 a.m.
Duration: 45 minutes 22 seconds

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William Howard Taft: This chief, not that chief

Published: July 3, 2016, 1:58 p.m.
Duration: 37 minutes 52 seconds

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Theodore Roosevelt: Exuberance

Published: June 26, 2016, 1:57 p.m.
Duration: 42 minutes 14 seconds

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William McKinley: The modern campaign

Published: June 20, 2016, 12:03 a.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 32 seconds

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Benjamin Harrison: The president as conservationist

Published: June 12, 2016, 1:59 p.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 58 seconds

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Grover Cleveland: Tell the truth

Published: June 5, 2016, 4:39 p.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 58 seconds

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Chester A. Arthur: Redemption

Published: May 29, 2016, 1:58 p.m.
Duration: 41 minutes 13 seconds

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James A. Garfield: Shot down

Published: May 23, 2016, 12:45 a.m.
Duration: 42 minutes 19 seconds

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Rutherford B. Hayes: The most contested election

Published: May 15, 2016, 8:27 p.m.
Duration: 43 minutes 28 seconds

Listed in: History

Ulysses S. Grant: Lover, fighter, writer

Published: May 8, 2016, 1:59 p.m.
Duration: 43 minutes 29 seconds

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Andrew Johnson: Stitching up a torn country

Published: May 2, 2016, 12:15 a.m.
Duration: 36 minutes 42 seconds

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Abraham Lincoln: His hand and his pen

Published: April 24, 2016, 8:43 p.m.
Duration: 55 minutes 32 seconds

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James Buchanan: The bachelor and the bloodshed

Published: April 18, 2016, 12:05 a.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 18 seconds

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Franklin Pierce: Rolling off the tracks

Published: April 10, 2016, 1:55 p.m.
Duration: 31 minutes 29 seconds

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Millard Fillmore: Teaching the obscure presidents

Published: April 3, 2016, 4:47 p.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 23 seconds

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Zachary Taylor: War heroes and conspiracy theory

Published: March 27, 2016, 1:55 p.m.
Duration: 29 minutes 21 seconds

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James K. Polk: Getting it done

Published: March 20, 2016, 5:38 p.m.
Duration: 36 minutes 34 seconds

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John Tyler: Ghosts and the vice presidency

Published: March 13, 2016, 2:54 p.m.
Duration: 32 minutes 5 seconds

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William Henry Harrison: Great song, horrible death

Published: March 6, 2016, 6:39 p.m.
Duration: 30 minutes 42 seconds

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Martin Van Buren: The story of our two-party system

Published: Feb. 29, 2016, 3:58 a.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 2 seconds

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Andrew Jackson: The violence, the fight

Published: Feb. 21, 2016, 10:25 p.m.
Duration: 46 minutes 29 seconds

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John Quincy Adams: The trait that broke a presidency

Published: Feb. 14, 2016, 9 p.m.
Duration: 45 minutes 31 seconds

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James Monroe: The Forrest Gump of presidents

Published: Feb. 7, 2016, 7 p.m.
Duration: 40 minutes 40 seconds

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James Madison: Burning down the house

Published: Jan. 31, 2016, 11:34 p.m.
Duration: 38 minutes 55 seconds

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Thomas Jefferson: On food and freedom

Published: Jan. 25, 2016, 1 a.m.
Duration: 43 minutes 33 seconds

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John Adams: The case of the missing monument

Published: Jan. 18, 2016, 1:12 a.m.
Duration: 33 minutes 38 seconds

Listed in: History

George Washington: The man, the myth, the legend

Published: Jan. 10, 2016, 9 p.m.
Duration: 49 minutes 42 seconds

Listed in: History

Introduction: Welcome to Presidential

Published: Jan. 5, 2016, 5:15 p.m.
Duration: 3 minutes 12 seconds

Listed in: History