Featured Content / Listening to the Presidency

Listening to the Presidency

Candid, unscripted glimpses of American presidents

Explore audio recordings along with contextual materials from several presidential administrations. Miller Center scholars have selected and edited each recording to help visitors gain insights into the presidency.  

 

You can filter Listening to the Presidency conversations by president, topic, and keyword.  
Richard Nixon campaigning
Secret White House tapes

Hear conversations from the secret White House tapes. The Presidential Recordings Program lets users listen in on presidents and their advisers at critical historical moments.
Madeline Albright portrait
Oral histories

Review key excerpts from the Presidential Oral History Program as senior decision-makers reflect on their time in the White House.
LBJ at his desk
Sample conversation

President Johnson asks his mentor, Senator Richard B. “Dick” Russell Jr. [D–Georgia], for advice on the Vietnam War. “It’s the damned worst mess I ever saw,” Russell declares. 
Conversation Topics
President
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 Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
'The Damn Soviets'
John F. “Jack” Kennedy | Dwight D. Eisenhower
Cuba map
John F. Kennedy
'We Can’t Invade Cuba'
John F. “Jack” Kennedy | Richard B. 'Dick' Russell Jr.
President Kennedy with Dean Rusk and Robert McNamara
John F. Kennedy
'I Can’t Say That Strongly Enough'
John F. “Jack” Kennedy | Dean Rusk
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 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 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 Pat Brown
John F. Kennedy
'I Don't See How He Can Ever Recover'
John F. “Jack” Kennedy | Edmund G. “Pat” Brown
American troops in Vietnam
John F. Kennedy
'Bringing a Thousand Men Home'
John F. “Jack” Kennedy | Robert McNamara
President Diem of South Vietnam
John F. Kennedy
'They’re Just Not Right Very Often'
John F. “Jack” Kennedy | Roger Hilsman Jr.
Ngo Dinh Nhu in 1963
John F. Kennedy
'It’s Pretty Horrible to Contemplate'
John F. “Jack” Kennedy | Roger Hilsman Jr. | Dean Rusk