Q&A: Recent Episodes
C-SPAN
Interesting people. Informative conversations. Every Sunday night on Q&A, we introduce you to the people who are making things happen in politics, the media, education, and science and technology in hour-long conversations about their lives and their work.
Journalist and historian Craig Fehrman analyzes American presidents through the lens of the books they've written.
Lual Mayen recounts his journey from life as a South Sudanese refugee to a Washington, D.C.-based video game developer and CEO of his company Junub Games.
Kathryn Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space, talks about being part of NASA's first class of female astronauts and her participation in the launch and maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope.
David Yepsen talks about the history of the "First-in-the-Nation" Iowa caucuses, which are held this year on February 3, 2020. Mr. Yepsen was the chief political writer for the Des Moines Register, where he covered politics for 34 years.
Former [New Hampshire Union Leader] Publisher and now Editor-at-Large Joseph McQuaid talks about his state's presidential primary history. This year's primary is February 11, 2020.
Historian emeritus of the U.S. Senate, Donald Ritchie, talks about the process and history of Senate impeachment trials, including those of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump.
Daniel Weiss, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, talks about the life of poet Michael O'Donnell, who went missing in action during the Vietnam War after the helicopter he was piloting was shot down over Cambodia.
Dr. Azra Raza, professor of medicine and director of the MDS Center at Columbia University, takes a critical look at the way we have treated cancer in the United States since the early 1970s and discusses how patient care can be improved.
University of Massachusetts professor Holly Jackson discusses her book, [American Radicals], about the people, inspired by the Founding Fathers, who worked to spread freedom and equality in the United States during the 19th Century.
The Newseum's Patty Rhule talks about how the press has covered American presidents over the course of our history. She is vice president of the museum's content and exhibit development.
Lara Brown of George Washington University discusses how the current presidential nominating system developed. She is the political management school director at George Washington University & author of "Jockeying for the American Presidency."
Pamela Constable recently completed a lengthy tour as the [Washington Post]'s Afghanistan/Pakistan bureau chief. She talks about her work, the people she's met, the issues she's covered, and conditions today.
Journalist Susannah Cahalan discusses her book, [The Great Pretender], about a 1973 experiment led by Stanford psychologist David Rosenhan that was conducted to test the legitimacy of psychiatric hospitals in America.
Elizabeth Papez - a litigator and partner in the firm of Gibson Dunn, and former U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas -- discusses several high profile U.S. Supreme Court chief justices.
Former Wall Street trader turned photojournalist Chris Arnade discusses his book, [Dignity], in which he documents the plight of those living on the margins of society in America.
Alan Kraut, an American University distinguished professor of history, looks back on the transformation over more than 200 years of U.S. laws and policies designed to manage immigration.
Historian Jeff Guinn writes about the highly publicized summer road trips taken by Henry Ford and Thomas Edison between 1914-1925 in his book, [The Vagabonds].
The Smithsonian Institution's Peter Liebhold discusses the history of tariffs in managing the U.S. economy. He is a work and industry curator at the National Museum of American History.
Historian James Banner discusses his book, "Presidential Misconduct: From George Washington to Today"
Kay Coles James about her life, career in government and politics, and her work as president of the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, D.C.
Bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell discusses about his new book, [Talking to Strangers], about how we make judgments, often inaccurately, about people we don't know.
University of Washington history professor Margaret O'Mara discusses her book, [The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America], about the rise of Silicon Valley and the role that the federal government played in its evolution.
Historian David McCullough discusses his latest book, [The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West].
Journalist and author David Maraniss discusses his book, [A Good American Family: The Red Scare and My Father].
Harold Holzer and Amity Shlaes talk about C-SPAN's latest book, [The Presidents: Noted Historians Rank America's Best - and Worst - Chief Executives].
New York Times columnist David Brooks discusses his book "The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life."
High school students from the U.S. Senate Youth Program talk about their week in Washington and what they've learned from the experience.
USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page discusses her book, [The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty].
Historian Douglas Brinkley talks about his book, "American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race."
Supreme Court reporter Joan Biskupic discusses her biography of Chief Justice John Roberts.
Author and LBJ biographer Robert Caro discusses his book, [Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing].
Iraq War veteran and former State Department official Matthew Hoh talks about his article, "Time for Peace in Afghanistan and an End to the Lies."
Penn State history professor Amy Greenberg discusses her book [Lady First: The World of First Lady Sarah Polk].
U.S. Army veteran Eileen Rivers talks about her book "Beyond the Call: Three Women on the Front Lines in Afghanistan."
West Point English professor Elizabeth Samet discusses her annotated edition of Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) talks about her memoir, [Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back].
Yale University historian Joanne Freeman discusses her book, "The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War."
Southern Methodist University's Jeffrey Engel discusses his book, [When the World Seemed New: George H. W. Bush and the End of the Cold War].
Grace Kennan Warnecke, daughter of American diplomat George Kennan, discusses her memoir, [Daughter of the Cold War]."
University of Pennsylvania Law School professor Amy Wax talked about the limits of free expression on college campuses in the United States.
Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku talks about his book, [The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth].
Yale University Law School professor Amy Chua discusses her book, [Political Tribes], about the role that group identity plays in shaping domestic and foreign affairs.
Prosperity gospel scholar, Kate Bowler, discusses her memoir, [Everything Happens for a Reason], in which she reflects on being diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at the age of 35.
New York Times staff photographer Doug Mills talks about some of the photos he took during the 2016 presidential race and discusses what it's like to cover President Trump.
Caitriona Perry, former Washington correspondent for RTE, Ireland's public service broadcaster, talks about her book, [In America], which chronicles her encounters with Trump supporters during the 2016 presidential election season.
Musician and author Daryl Davis talks about his efforts over the past 30 years to befriend members of the Ku Klux Klan to try to understand their hatred and to convince them that they are wrong.
Allison Stanger, professor of international politics and economics at Middlebury College in Vermont, talks about students' reaction to the appearance of author Charles Murray on Campus last March. Both were attacked by students following the event.
Saudi Arabian women's rights activist Manal Al-Sharif talks about her book, [Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening].
Columnist and political commentator Pat Buchanan, who served as a speechwriter and senior adviser to President Nixon, discusses his book, [Nixon's White House Wars].
Cumberland University history professor Mark Cheathem discusses his book, [Andrew Jackson, Southerner], and talks about the comparisons made between President Jackson and President Trump.
Heather McGhee, president of Demos, talks about an August 2016 appearance on Washington Journal and how a call from a white man in North Carolina, who said he was prejudiced, started a conversation about race in America and evolved into a friendship.
Johns Hopkins University political science professor Benjamin Ginsberg discusses his book, [What Washington Gets Wrong: The Unelected Officials Who Actually Run the Government and Their Misconceptions about the American People].
Robert Strauss discusses his book, [Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents].
Historian Candice Millard discusses her book, [Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill].
Former New York Police Department Deputy Inspector Corey Pegues discusses his book, [Once a Cop: The Street, the Law, Two Worlds, One Man], about his experiences in law enforcement.
Editorial cartoonist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Ramirez talks about his career and his book, [Give Me Liberty or Give Me Obamacare].
Author Edmund Morris discusses his most recent book [This Living Hand: and Other Essays], his upcoming book on Thomas Edison, his career as a biographer of presidents and other notable figures, and how he approaches his craft as a writer.
Author Robert Dallek talks about his recently released historical narrative, "Camelot's Court: Inside the Kennedy White House." Dallek describes his book as taking an inside look at the brain trust surrounding President Kennedy's administration.
Bloomberg correspondent and author Amity Shlaes talks about her biography of President Calvin Coolidge, [Coolidge], in which she traces the life of the president from his early days through his presidency and ultimate return to New England.
Former Justice John Paul Stevens discusses his memoir detailing the workings of the Supreme Court, including his personal views of and interactions with the five most recent chief justices.
John Doar, former assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, talked about his involvement in several major civil rights events during the 1960s.
In 1962, he worked to gain the entry of James Meredith into the then-segregated University of Mississippi. In 1963, he confronted and calmed protesters in Jackson, Mississippi, after the assassination of Medgar Evers. He also prosecuted and convicted many individuals on federal civil rights violations including those accused of killing three Mississippi civil rights workers, which was later depicted in movie [Mississippi Burning]. In 1974, he became chief counsel for the House Judiciary Committee's investigation of Watergate and helped to prepare articles of impeachment against President Nixon.
In this 2008 interview from C-SPAN's Q&A series, the late historian and author William Seale discusses the history of the White House and its residents.