Featured Content / Listening to the Presidency

Listening to the Presidency

Candid, unscripted glimpses of American presidents

Explore recordings along with contextual materials from select presidential administrations.

 

You can filter Listening to the Presidency conversations by topics.

Franklin D. Roosevelt headshot

Franklin Roosevelt
John F. Kennedy headshot

John Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson headshot

Lyndon Johnson
Richard Nixon headshot

Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford headshot

Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter headshot

Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan headshot

Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush headshot

George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton headshot

Bill Clinton
George W. Bush headshot

George W. Bush
Barack Obama headshot

Barack Obama
President
Conversation Topics
African American members of the 477th Antiaircraft Artillery study maps in an operations center.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
'The Right to Participate'
Franklin D. Roosevelt Sr. | A. Phillip Randolph | Robert P. Patterson Sr.
Chinese and U.S. Army manned tanks patrol the Burma Road.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
'We Are Worried, Awfully Worried'
Franklin D. Roosevelt Sr. | Walter Winchell 
FDR in the Oval Office
Franklin D. Roosevelt
'The President Has to Do Something'
Franklin D. Roosevelt Sr. | J. Frederick Essary  | Stephen T. 'Steve' Early
Cuba map
John F. Kennedy
'A Pretty Bad Fix'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | Curtis E. LeMay
President Kennedy and Curtis E. LeMay
John F. Kennedy
'As Bad as the Appeasement at Munich'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | Curtis E. LeMay
President Kennedy with Dean Rusk and Robert McNamara
John F. Kennedy
'I Can’t Say That Strongly Enough'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | Dean Rusk
Cuba map
John F. Kennedy
'We Can’t Invade Cuba'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | Richard B. 'Dick' Russell Jr.
President Kennedy with Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
'The Damn Soviets'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | Dwight D. Eisenhower
President Kennedy and advisors on White House colonnade
John F. Kennedy
'Put the Screws On'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | John A. McCone | Robert McNamara | McGeorge 'Mac' Bundy | Robert A. Lovett
President Kennedy and Robert McNamara
John F. Kennedy
'It Might Be Sunk'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | Robert McNamara | C. Douglas “Doug” Dillon | McGeorge 'Mac' Bundy
President Kennedy listening to Adlai Stevenson
John F. Kennedy
'Get Them Out Ourselves'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | Adlai E. Stevenson II | John A. McCone
President Kennedy and Ted Sorensen
John F. Kennedy
'It Will Look Like a Very Fair Trade'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | McGeorge 'Mac' Bundy | Theodore C. “Ted” Sorensen
President Kennedy and Robert McNamara
John F. Kennedy
'Let’s Not Kid Ourselves'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | Llewellyn E. 'Tommy' Thompson Jr. | C. Douglas “Doug” Dillon
Cabinet Room meeting
John F. Kennedy
'A Quid Pro Quo'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | U. Alexis “Alex” Johnson | McGeorge 'Mac' Bundy
President Kennedy and Pat Brown
John F. Kennedy
'I Don't See How He Can Ever Recover'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy | Edmund G. “Pat” Brown
President John F. Kennedy with his kids in the Oval Office.
John F. Kennedy
'One of Those Blue Pills'
John F. 'Jack' Kennedy