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
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
Cuba map
John F. Kennedy
'We Can’t Invade Cuba'
John F. “Jack” Kennedy , Richard B. 'Dick' Russell Jr.
President Kennedy listening to Adlai Stevenson
John F. Kennedy
'Get Them Out Ourselves'
John F. “Jack” Kennedy , Adlai E. Stevenson II, John A. McCone
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 Robert McNamara
John F. Kennedy
'Let’s Not Kid Ourselves'
John F. “Jack” Kennedy , Llewellyn E. “Tommy” Thompson Jr. , C. Douglas “Doug” Dillon
LBJ laying a wreath on President Kennedy's coffin
Lyndon B. Johnson
'The President Is Dead'
Pierre E. G. Salinger , Oliver S. Hallett
President Lyndon Johnson sits facing three civil rights workers on a couch, from left to right, Walter Fauntroy, Ralph Abernathy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Lyndon B. Johnson
'In Memory of President Kennedy'
Lyndon B. Johnson , Martin Luther King
Members of the Warren Commission hand LBJ the report
Lyndon B. Johnson
'I Would Be Honored to Do It'
Lyndon B. Johnson , Gerald R. 'Jerry' Ford Jr.
Richard Russell and LBJ talking close to each other
Lyndon B. Johnson
'You’re Goddamn Sure Going to Serve'
Lyndon B. Johnson , Richard B. 'Dick' Russell Jr.
LBJ greets Jackie Kennedy at the funeral of President John Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
'You Give Me Strength'
Lyndon B. Johnson , Jacqueline B. 'Jackie' Kennedy
Tom Mann and President Johnson talk to each other at desk
Lyndon B. Johnson
'We've Been Talking Enough'
Lyndon B. Johnson , Thomas C. 'Tom' Mann
LBJ sitting and talking to Walter Heller
Lyndon B. Johnson
'He’s for Grandma'
Lyndon B. Johnson , Walter W. Heller
Group sitting around the LBJ Ranch living room
Lyndon B. Johnson
'I’m Not Lying About That One'
Lyndon B. Johnson , Lady Bird Johnson , Albert W. 'Judge' Moursund III , Richard B. 'Dick' Russell Jr.
LBJ talks to advisers in the White House pool
Lyndon B. Johnson
'Never Felt Better in My Life'
Lyndon B. Johnson , Walker Stone