The Kalb Report - The American Story: A Master Class with David McCullough

From his Pulitzer-prize winning biographies John Adams and Truman, to his distinctive narration of Ken Burns’ seminal documentaries “The Civil War” and “Baseball,” David McCullough is perhaps America’s most recognized storyteller.
On this special daytime edition of The Kalb Report, moderator Marvin Kalb and McCullough, the renowned author and historian, discuss our founding fathers (and mothers), freedom of the press and the challenges facing our democracy today.
The Kalb Report series is produced jointly by The National Press Club Journalism Institute, the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, Harvard University's Shorenstein Center, University of Maryland University College and the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

[@joedellaselva1251]

29:20 Talk about remarkable prescience by Mr. McCullough! He said this 4 years before COVID-19.

[@mr.skipper4544]

I love to hear Mr. McCullough talk about history

[@Einstein1414]

He was an American Treasure. God Bless him.

[@rockets4kids]

29:44 2022 checking in, we don't need to imagine.

NEVER GIVE UP, so said WSC.

[@nemam6954]

John Chancellor narrated "Baseball".

[@gddecker]

The stream is off with the audio. Can you fix it? Please.

[@schwinn434]

Very ironic in the year 2024, watching this interview when: McCullough talks about what would people do in this country if every night the news was talking about an epidemic - which would kill some 1.5 million people in the U.S..

[@paulposey1162]

Everything he says about Trump is ditto for Obama

[@clipelineman30]

David McCullough didn't narrate Baseball.

[@jaimesandoval1988]

People confuse his face with the Brewers radio guy Bob Uecker.

[@ArmstrongSimms]

what a horrible host

[@hubertmichael1595]

The Jesuit school in Maryland/now in Washington, DC sold black slaves throughout the South for over 100 years. This was the first Bishop, and diocese in the colonies. This was GW college. (George Washington.) The NAACP has had a law suit against this school for many years now.

[@paulsolon6229]

Fine writer Fine man He loved USA, loved his work

[@MrTitanic222]

David McCullough is a national treasure.

[@oconnor1951]

If you read one of David McCullough's books, you will want to read them all and gift them to friends!

[@rsr789]

As fantastic as the John Adams miniseries is, the book is unbelievably fantastic.

[@cbroz7492]

McCullough could make the process of paint drying interesting...his first book that I read was The Great Bridge...thecstory of the Brooklyn Bridge...

[@peterjohnson617]

And so I did.....

[@janmandeville2512]

I own almost all of his books. I grieve his passing every day. I learned no history until I found this man’s books. I too was an English major.

[@drewhendley]

David McCullough: America’s national historian 🇺🇸

[@Xycester]

Anyone else notice the cutoff of the question by the iHeartRadio representative about Trump comparing himself to Truman? It starts at 1:12:00.

[@dwaynebrue6028]

David MCcullough was such a Great Man and Historian.

[@Franklin-pc3xd]

Kalb was just an insufferable hack. Is he still around?

[@kevinw9073]

Mr. McCullough is an American Institution who has made us all richer because of it. "Bravo," well done.

[@Hymn43]

Yes sir! I concur.

[@tianahinnant1601]

Such a wonderful interview with a phenomenal man....so much insight . I wish I had heard this when my children were small... the emphasis on the importance of family, of parents and teachers .. and of values such as integrity, tenacity, determination. This man is an American jewel, and his ability to help us all see history's magic and application to us all is simply unprecedented.

[@joedellaselva1251]

25:39 "...whether you feel that the news media had the capacity to mislead the American people into misinterpreting an incumbent President?' "Absolutely, Absolutely...they're human.....and they tend to go with the crowd meaning their own professional crowd." This is May, 2016!!! What happened on November 8, 2016?

[@mralowen]

His voice though! It's amazing, I'm in 1776 right now and loving it. He's a treasure.

[@jeannemcmahonpowers5780]

Our children need to hear this .

[@bubbagintz1274]

You Sir David McCullough are the epitome of the great American Story. A true blessing to all generations and thanks to your wonderful and documentaries generations to come. Yours is truly a heavenly gift . God has blessed us all through your gifts and humor

[@theycallmemcgyver]

I hung on every word he spoke notwithstanding having heard many of his other interviews and read many of his books. Fascinating. What a terrible loss is his death.

[@jeanmorin3247]

It is so good that we can access this through You Tube. Thank you for it to all who made this happen.

[@buddysteele7624]

It’s sad that History is being pushed aside as an educational pursuit and hobbie. It’s because there’s no money in it. It’s so sad and they need to ready McColloughs books

[@joedellaselva1251]

32:12 What was Barack Obama's experience for President of the United States? He was a US Senator from January 3, 2005 to November 16, 2008. That was the resume and he was elected.

[@paulsolon6229]

We are addicted to drugs. Obama knew drugs

[@bernardcleary4330]

Brilliant. Every one of this man's books is expertly crafted and compelling to read.

[@ArnaGSmith]

I had the privilege of meeting Harry Truman's granddaughter!

[@SabbathSOG]

Sir, the number dead regarding the Spanish Flu wss 50,000,000. Not 500k.

[@ducksinarowpatience3670]

so brilliant so wonderful I adore you Mr M

[@sgringo]

36:52 - "... ask [the candidates] sort of basic questions..." I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS! IMO, Hillary Clinton, and all the rest of Trump's political rivals, made the same mistake: they treated him as an equal. They afforded him too much respect. During the 2016 presidential debates, imagine if Clinton had asked Trump questions like... - _Describe how a bill becomes a law._ - _What are the three branches of government?_ - _What is meant by a bicameral congress?_ - _What is the Bill of Rights?_ I am *100% CERTAIN* that Trump couldn't have answered any of these questions and probably still can't. It was an opportunity to expose Trump's ignorance in dramatic fashion. Clinton squandered the opportunity, just as his opponents are squandering it today. How can none of them have thought of this??

[@joyt.trigodds.8006]

This is a brilliant idea. He wouldn’t have been able to answer any of those questions.

[@carriemitch1]

Just FYI, John Adams was not the only person who signed the Declaration of Independence that never owned slaves. That is such a glaring mistake.

[@borntobewild4708]

Who else then?

[@GH-oi2jf]

mitchcee - Yes, just the most famous. Sixteen did not. Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry, others less well-known. There were many more who either did or had owned slaves.

[@shilpabahri]

GH1618 The ones from Massachusetts?

[@julieb7785]

Marvelous. Thanks for putting this up.

[@ronniebishop2496]

Why am I so disappointed with the media? Something I wanted to do at one time and was in Vietnam and darn good at it. But I'm very disappointed with your reporting and it is unfair and nothing like you covered Obama.

[@david6532]

this guy is just fascinating.

[@markstephan2304]

He loved our country, but his version of it. He loved people, but his kind. I was enjoying the discussion until they both turned into old biddies by Trump bashing, offering only innuendo and diatribe. History will show that DJT was a great president in the Jacksonian mold. Perhaps historians should stick with history and not prognostication.

[@FoxMacLeod2501]

@0:41, the "Welcome" of Mr. Kalb was quite reminiscent of the iconic "welcome!" of America On-Line! I had to repeat it a few times to be sure it wasn't just in my mind, but it's definitely not my imagination. It definitely evokes the sound clip played to let the user know of a successful connection to the internet... The vocal recording was, most often, present just before you would have likely heard the even more famous "you've got mail!" sound clip. Yes, the excessive space is intentional, as I always noticed a slight pause before the word "mail."

[@mellamp2105]

I am so honored to have met him, albeit only through KZbin. As a 68 yo architect, I now must restart my handwritten letters to those that I admire and thank those who have helped, and not least of all start back my painting.

[@musicfan6575]

A Class act!!

[@lizgichora6472]

Education is the most vital tool; leadership in Education will lead the way, along with in built values from home, 'Never give up'. Thank you both very much for a compelling conversation.

[@EarthSurferUSA]

Who should be the leader of education? Lets start thinking from there. I say it should be free of government influence and run/funded by free market interests. Many local businesses donate to local colleges so people can learn something, make money, and even compete in a free society, (I don't like the word "worker", as it implies that is all you can be.). Back when we did more of that,---not too many kids had to move back home to their parents house after college graduation. The result are in.

[@tjPennings]

I greatly appreciate McCullough's lectures and books, but this interview bothers me. Repeatedly he doesn't seem to understand the intent of the question and he instantly has an answer. Do NONE of these thoughtful questions require a bit of reflective thought before answering?

[@reddeserted13]

30:00 predicts Covid.

[@EarthSurferUSA]

Like he got the memo.

[@mynamedoesntmatter8652]

He didn’t predict covid. “If that were to happen today” is not a prediction.

[@reddeserted13]

@@mynamedoesntmatter8652 Wrong. Predicted what would happen if that happened and it did.

[@mynamedoesntmatter8652]

@@reddeserted13 “Predicts covid.” That’s what you said. He did not predict covid, he projected what would happen if something like the Spanish flu should occur with today’s population. You’re trying to say two different things but you contradict yourself. Sorry if you can’t see that.

[@johnwbudris]

David McCullough did not narrate Ken Burns' "Baseball." Though McCullough did narrate some other Burns' works, "Baseball" was narrated by John Chancellor.

[@jeffreymiller2164]

For years I thought John Chancellor had narrated Burns' The Civil War. I was pleasantly surprised to discover DM from that experience.

[@gamer38998]

Uhhhh.. 30:00 hit real hard.

[@cbroz7492]

It's called "Historical Perspective"...I learned that as a freshman in college...MOST IMPORTANT!!!

[@SabbathSOG]

I cannot believe you guys talked about Trump. Mr DeKalb you don't think all politicians skirt around questions?

[@suesandlin-plaehn3565]

Thank you for sharing this interview again. I have been a lifelong admirer of the wonderful historians that America has produced. So sad they are not widely read and respected in our country today.

[@christersvensson4948]

Well, you have to go back to school, the slave issue has been answered many times in the 1960s and 1970s, couldn't you sort this out once and for all, several of the founding fathers spoke out against slavery and set their slaves free, Jefferson called it an abominable institution, which other countries national leaders spoke out against slavery in the late 18th cent?//Chris

[@GH-oi2jf]

Christer Svensson - As a young man, Jefferson may have spoke against slavery, but in his later years he kept his slaves at Monticello. Western European countries which had been involved in slavery outlawed it before the United States.

[@shilpabahri]

GH1618 bravo

[@ArnaGSmith]

John Adams wasn't too happy about that painting. He said that on no occasion were all of them in the room at any time!

[@GH-oi2jf]

Arna G. Smith - He didn’t understand the concept of artistic license.

[@johng041]

He basically predicted COVID 29:45..

[@Pamela-b5e]

Wonderful. This man should have been the permanent President.

[@ronalddeavy2657]

Surely he meant 50 million deaths in the flu epidemic of 1918,19?

[@AndreaBaumann-b1i]

Best to refrain from politics. You’ve missed something here.

[@BrookeNina-r2n]

Lopez Sarah Lopez Helen Jackson John

I love the Irish and David in particular (after I read Truman)

[@hjander]

Treasure

[@austinmoore1113]

An American treasure.

[@flyingface]

ah Americans, they think current events are history

[@barbararey843]

Families have given activities a priority rather than beecomin companions - to break bread together. Sharing food and listening and learning are essential to learning.

[@malcocreative]

My favorite of his books is one of the smaller ones, "The Greater Journey."

[@carolliubicich3153]

❤❤❤

[@busterbiloxi3833]

A True American.

[@renzo6490]

The Lanyard... Billy Collins The other day I was ricocheting slowly off the blue walls of this room, moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano, from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor, when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard. No cookie nibbled by a French novelist could send one into the past more suddenly- a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp by a deep Adirondack lake learning how to braid long thin plastic strips into a lanyard, a gift for my mother. I had never seen anyone use a lanyard or wear one, if that’s what you did with them, but that did not keep me from crossing strand over strand again and again until I had made a boxy red and white lanyard for my mother. She gave me life and milk from her breasts, and I gave her a lanyard. She nursed me in many a sick room, lifted spoons of medicine to my lips, laid cold face-cloths on my forehead, and then led me out into the airy light and taught me to walk and swim, and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard. Here are thousands of meals, she said, and here is clothing and a good education. And here is your lanyard, I replied, which I made with a little help from a counselor. Here is a breathing body and a beating heart, strong legs, bones and teeth, and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered, and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp. And here, I wish to say to her now, is a smaller gift-not the worn truth that you can never repay your mother, but the rueful admission that when she took the two-tone lanyard from my hand, I was as sure as a boy could be that this useless, worthless thing I wove out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

[@barcoded_organs]

This aged well...

[@patrickcasey357]

He’s great in a lot of ways but he’s very wrong about Trump.

[@rampagenelson9658]

How so??? Did Trump listen to the many Generals he put on his staff?

[@leanordials8008]

What did we miss at about 1:12 ?

[@raymondhummel5211]

David's talks are always so informative as he touches on so many subjects and adds his own form of wisdom to his remarks. He's the kind of writer that makes you think in multiple directions., with his straight forwardness and honesty

[@Applecompuser]

I dont think Truman was a good president and thats the one McCullough book I did not care for. I must have read Adams and 1776 about 10 times each and they still give me pleasure. RIP and thank you for all you have.

[@mynamedoesntmatter8652]

*McCullough

[@richmotroni]

I have attended three of his lectures and all three were just brilliant. He is one of those when he speaks, he owns the room.

[@ArnaGSmith]

Yes, it was more than a mistake. It hurts to see to much have happened and an entire group of so thoroughly excluded, pretty much to this day.

[@jimb3093]

tell stories, I like that. And everyone has a story-we shouldn't be afraid to tell our stories.

[@dell177]

Both of these men are the giants who's shoulders we should be standing on. The country has to start paying attention to the people we allow to direct the country. Either of these two men are heads and shoulders above the people we have put in office for the last generation.

[@peterjohnson617]

Mr McCullough is a National treasure. the video here was plain bad.

[@joedellaselva1251]

We are a Nation of legal immigrants.....correct?

[@dks13827]

No. Settlers.

He was dead wrong about TRUMPF!

[@renzo6490]

He was. He pinned his hopes on the ability of the press to wake the people up . But Trump ( in typical Fascist fashion ) began a campaign to discredit whatever media showed his true colors to the American people. At the same time, the media, instead of focusing on substantive news, focused on Trump the showman...his outrageous language and behavior, because that is what drew the public's attention. And advertisers buy space where the public eye goes. This is true of the press and of broadcast TV. Because in 2016, as now, they are competing with the internet for viewers of the news.

[@Johnconno]

A Quinn Martin Production!

Lots of cabbages around!

[@aa697]

He is not a historian in the academic sense but he is a real and great student of it. Which should be an inspiration to all of us.

[@manifold1476]

2 "is's" and an "ought": edit again

[@marcemmi8400]

Clearly both of your cluelessnees about Trump, shows that although you realize the country is in decline, you are part of the cause. It's funny to watch you try to discuss what can be done, while criticizing the solution that is in front of your face.

[@vladfara24]

Excellent

[@palashvictor]

👀

[@ArnaGSmith]

Please find another woman to right about, Mr. McCullough.

[@peterjohnson617]

? right ?

[@foprob]

I bet we are like Davids dad.. Oh that Donny isnt such a bad President. He belongs back in the Whitehouse!

[@davidjones8164]

I hope you will have an interest in writing Donald Trump's biography!

[@briandelaney9710]

Why would anyone waste their time doing that ?

But Ted Sorensen wrote Kennedy's speeches ( ask not……..)

[@ArnaGSmith]

No, we're not all going to get on board!

[@ArnaGSmith]

Yes, Mr. McCullough, what's next? John Quincy Adams -- the lost founding father! Somebody got your book though. I can't wait, however, to read your next book.

[@howardlovecraft750]

Quite sneaky how the interviewer tried pull McCullough into bashing Trump, but McCullough was to smart for that.