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
President Lyndon Johnson holding his face
Lyndon B. Johnson
'I’m Aching All Over'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Hubert H. Humphrey Jr.
McGeorge Bundy with 3 clocks in background 9:00 Washington, 1:00 GMT, 9:00 Presidential.
Lyndon B. Johnson
'We Have Time to Get Organized'
Lyndon B. Johnson | McGeorge 'Mac' Bundy
Posing for camera after conference L-R: Congr. Charles Halleck, Secy. John Foster Dulles (?), Sen. Everett Dirksen, Dean Acheson (?), Speaker Sam Rayburn, Secy. Neil McElroy, Pres. Dwight Eisenhower, V.P. Richard Nixon, Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
'We Got to Try to Unite the Country'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Everett M. Dirksen
Presidents Harry S. Truman and Lyndon Johnson stand together
Lyndon B. Johnson
'I’m Just So Honored'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Harry S. Truman
Robert Kennedy and LBJ waving to crowd
Lyndon B. Johnson
'He’d Have Been Beat'
Lyndon B. Johnson | McGeorge 'Mac' Bundy | Bill Moyers
President Lyndon B. Johnson standing with Hon. Edwin Weisl Sr.
Lyndon B. Johnson
'We’ve Got to Build That Up'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Edwin L. 'Eddie' Weisl Sr.
Sec. Clark Clifford (left) seated at table, speaking and gesturing as President Lyndon B. Johnson listens
Lyndon B. Johnson
'A Passion for Anonymity'
Lyndon B. Johnson | McGeorge 'Mac' Bundy | Bill Moyers
Robert Kennedy raises his arm with President Lyndon Johnson at a campaign event
Lyndon B. Johnson
Better Days
Lyndon B. Johnson | Robert F. 'Bobby' Kennedy | Hubert H. Humphrey Jr.
Congressman Howard W. Smith stands outside the White House on the lawn with President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
'We’ve Got to Work Our Will'
Lyndon B. Johnson | John W. McCormack
LBJ signing Medicare and Medicaid Act
Lyndon B. Johnson
Dr. Spock on Medicare Politics
Lyndon B. Johnson | Benjamin M. Spock
LBJ with Carl Albert
Lyndon B. Johnson
'We Can Pass Medicare'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Carl Albert Bio Page
LBJ talking to reporters holding microphones
Lyndon B. Johnson
'Put Some Better People on Your Team
Lyndon B. Johnson | George E. Reedy
Police officers standing in doorway
Lyndon B. Johnson
'A Model of Law Enforcement'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Robert McNamara
Belgian troops stepping off a plane in 1964
Lyndon B. Johnson
'OK, Go Ahead'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Dean Rusk | Cyrus R. “Cy” Vance
McGeorge Bundy sitting on couch next to framed photo of Lady Bird Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
'It’ll Hurt Us'
Lyndon B. Johnson | McGeorge 'Mac' Bundy
Robert McNamara and President Lyndon Johnson talking and sitting outside
Lyndon B. Johnson
'Militarily, A Highly Successful Operation'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Robert McNamara