Jill Lepore

Jill Lepore, professor of American History at Harvard University and staff writer at The New Yorker, discusses her new book, The Mansion of Happiness: A History of Life and Death, a history of American ideas about life and death from before the cradle to beyond the grave.

When does life begin? When does it end? In the political climate of the twenty-first century, as candidates spar over abortion and death panels, everyone seems to have a different opi...

Jill Lepore, professor of American history at Harvard, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle Over American History, discusses how four past historical moments have influenced the present political and social climate in the United States: the death of newspapers in 1765, the Karen Ann Quinlan right-to-die case of 1975, the Parrot Fever panic of 1930, and Clarence Darrow's defense in the 1898 right-to-strike case. 

Jill Lepore, professor of American history at Harvard, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle Over American History, concludes her stint as our weekly guest for the month of May. She will discuss how four past historical moments have influenced the present political and social climate in the United States.

Today's historical moment: The 1898 right to strike case and Clarence Darrow's defense.

Jill Lepore, professor of American history at Harvard, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle Over American History, continues her stint as our weekly guest for the month of May. She will discuss how four past historical moments have influenced the present political and social climate in the United States.

Today's historical moment: The Parrot Fever Panic of 1930

Jill Lepore, professor of American history at Harvard, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle Over American History, is our weekly guest for the month of May. She will discuss how four past historical moments have influenced the present political and social climate in the United States.

Today's historical moment: The Karen Ann Quinlan right-to-die case of 1975.

Jill Lepore, professor of American history at Harvard, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle Over American History, is our weekly guest for the month of May. She will discuss how four past historical moments have influenced the present political and social climate in the United States.

Today's historical moment: The death of newspapers in 1765.

The shooting in Arizona that resulted in the death of 6 people and the injury of 14 others, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, has prompted a new round of soul-searching about one of the most contentious topics in American politics: gun-control. Both Representative Peter King (R-NY) and Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) have announced intentions to introduce new gun control legislation in Congress, but many the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) lobby maintains that the right to bear arms is enshrined in the Bill of Rights and should not to be changed. Harvard University History Professor and New Yorker contributor Jill Lepore explains that the 2nd amendment was not always interpreted as the right to bear arms in the literal sense. She'll trace the history of this contentious amendment through its drafting to the present--and, along the way, will explain how the right to bear arms is inextricably linked with the unique way in which murders have been carried out on American soil.

For the final installment of our election series The Big Picture, contributing editor for Rolling Stone Matt Taibbi and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore discuss the results of Election Day—what happened at the polls, who won and who lost, and the state of the country. Taibbi’s new book Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America, unravels the story of financial crisis. Lepore’s new book The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party's Revolution and the Battle over American History looks at American history according to the far right.

Before Calvin Coolidge’s 1925 inaugural speech was broadcast via radio, inaugurals were usually only read in the newspaper. We look at inaugural speeches of the past, how they’ve evolved, and what tends to make a speech successful or not. Jill Lepore’s article in the Jan. 12, 2009 New Yorker

We discuss literary trends of the 18th century. Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore’s new novel, Blindspot, is a sendup of historical romance set in 1764 in Boston.

Event:
Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepre will be reading and signing books
Mon. Jan. 5 at 7 PM
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