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
African American and white supporters of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party holding signs in front of the convention hall at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Lyndon B. Johnson
'A Right to Vote'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Martin Luther King
President Lyndon Johnson and Representative Gerald Ford
Lyndon B. Johnson
Forging Bipartisanship
Lyndon B. Johnson | Gerald R. 'Jerry' Ford Jr.
Larry O'Brien, LBJ, and Lady Bird at at the Beautification Stamp unveiling
Lyndon B. Johnson
'They Want Beauty'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Walter P. Reuther
Adam Clayton Powell and LBJ look at each other
Lyndon B. Johnson
'Sure Thought I Had Better Leadership'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
Lady Bird Johnson gets a tour of a classroom with students in it
Lyndon B. Johnson
'Make Them Go Vote for Education'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Hubert H. Humphrey Jr.
President Johnson and the First Lady meet students at a school in West Virginia during the War on Poverty tour
Lyndon B. Johnson
'I’ll Spend the Goddamn Money'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Hubert H. Humphrey Jr.
Clergy members and supporters knee on the road, while police and reporters watch in Selma
Lyndon B. Johnson
'This Minister Is Going to Die, Isn’t He?'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Nicholas deB. 'Nick' Katzenbach
Alabama Governor George Wallace stands next to President Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
'He Is Absolutely Treacherous'
Lyndon B. Johnson | E. Buford Ellington | Juanita Roberts
President Johnson and Wilbur Cohen talking
Lyndon B. Johnson
'It’s a Great Bill, Mr. President'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Wilbur J. Cohen
LBJ watching the launch of Gemini III
Lyndon B. Johnson
'We Got a Fair Chance to Keep Up'
Lyndon B. Johnson | John L. McClellan
President Johnson and Wilbur Mills talking at a desk
Lyndon B. Johnson
'$400 Million’s Not Going to Separate Us'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Wilbur D. Mills
Law enforcement agents inspect the crime scene surrounding Viola Liuzzo's car.
Lyndon B. Johnson
'We Know Who They Are
Lyndon B. Johnson | J. Edgar Hoover
President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks with various judges and their wives
Lyndon B. Johnson
'All These Harvard Men'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Nicholas deB. 'Nick' Katzenbach
US soldiers next to a jeep in the Dominican Republic
Lyndon B. Johnson
'We Weren’t Killing Dominicans
Lyndon B. Johnson | George H. Mahon
US troops in Vietnam
Lyndon B. Johnson
'Where Do You Stop'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Michael J. 'Mike' Mansfield
LBJ with Thurgood Marshall standing outside
Lyndon B. Johnson
'Be My Solicitor General'
Lyndon B. Johnson | Thurgood Marshall