Podcast
For the Ages: A History Podcast
Hosted by The New York Historical · EN
Explore the rich and complex history of the United States and beyond. Produced by The New York Historical, host David M. Rubenstein engages the nation’s foremost historians and creative thinkers on a wide range of topics, including presidential biography, the nation’s founding, and the people who have shaped the American story. Learn more at nyhistory.org.
25episodes
Episodes
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Baseball's Past and Present
1w ago00:27:12Tap to summarizeKnown as “America’s pastime,” baseball is much more than a game in the United States. Both a source of national pride and symbol of our identity, the sport is also a window into our past. Born out of alleys and vacant lots and now played in an arena of multi-million dollar contracts and international celebrity, baseball’s trajectory has in many ways mirrored that of our nation. Renowned filmmaker Ken Burns joins David M. Rubenstein to explore the story of this iconic national sport and to investigate what it reveals about the triumphs and tragedies of American history.Recorded on February 10, 2025
Transcribe →An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s
3w ago00:26:31Tap to summarizeIt’s been said that if you remember the ‘60s, you weren’t really there, but when Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and her late husband, Dick, started to go through his papers from his time as one of the men behind JFK’s New Frontier, co-designer of LBJ’s Great Society, and RFK’s close advisor, that revolutionary decade became as tangible to the couple as it was 60 years ago. Goodwin, who also worked for Johnson, joins David M. Rubenstein for a conversation on historical reckoning and the people who make history behind the scenes. Recorded on December 2, 2024
Transcribe →The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America
Apr 2000:33:01Tap to summarizeThe argument over states’ rights versus a strong federal government is far from a new debate in this country. Before the divisions of today, two men represented contrasting visions of what America could be: Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson believed in individual liberties and limited federal power, while Hamilton promoted a strong national government. Their rivalry helped shape the nation’s earliest political battles and continues to echo through American politics, influencing leaders from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Donald Trump. In conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Jeffrey Rosen explores how the competing ideas of Jefferson and Hamilton still define the constitutional debates at the heart of American democracy today.Recorded on March 12, 2026
Transcribe →A Conversation with Oscar Tang on Business, Art, and Civic Leadership
Mar 3000:31:35Tap to summarizeBorn in wartime Shanghai and brought to the United States at age eleven with no knowledge of English, financier and philanthropist Oscar Tang reflects on a life shaped by displacement, ambition, and civic responsibility. In conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Tang recounts his journey from a small town in Vermont to Yale and Harvard, before building a successful career on Wall Street. He also discusses the experiences that shaped his philanthropic commitments—from supporting cultural institutions like the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Museum of Art to helping strengthen educational and civic institutions across the United States.Recorded on February 20, 2026
Transcribe →Conducting New York’s Legacy
Mar 1600:26:46Tap to summarizeFrom his childhood in Venezuela’s famed El Sistema music education program to his rise as one of the world’s leading conductors, Gustavo Dudamel reflects on the experiences that shaped his musical life. In conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Dudamel recounts conducting his first orchestra at age eleven, discusses the collaborative art of leading musicians, and shares how he prepares scores entirely from memory. Looking ahead to his tenure as music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic, he explores the role orchestras can play in connecting communities and inspiring new generations of listeners.Recorded on September 17, 2025
Transcribe →Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters
Mar 200:36:57Tap to summarizeAt the beginning of 1776, virtually no one in the colonies was advocating independence. What changed over the course of one year? From Thomas Paine’s Common Sense in January to the Continental Congress that first grounded the idea of independence, historian Edward Larson, in conversation with David M. Rubenstein, traces a narrative path that reminds us why, as we approach the 250th anniversary of American independence, 1776 matters.Recorded on January 26, 2026
Transcribe →McNamara at War: A New History
Feb 1600:45:13Tap to summarizeSecretary of defense and friend and ally to two presidents, Robert S. McNamara was one of the most controversial men in American history for his role in the Vietnam War. Beyond his time at Harvard Law, his service during World War II, and his leadership of the Ford Motor Company and the World Bank, he is inevitably remembered for his fierce escalation of an unpopular and arguably unwinnable war. Authors Philip and William Taubman join David M. Rubenstein to provide a window into McNamara’s mind, including his relationship with the Kennedy family and the evolution of his views on Vietnam.Recorded on January 16, 2026
Transcribe →The American Revolution: An Intimate History
Feb 200:23:12Tap to summarizeThe American Revolution was three wars rolled into one: a fight for independence, a civil conflict, and a struggle between nations. In this conversation with David M. Rubenstein, bestselling author Geoffrey Ward examines the many sides of the war through the stories of not just the Founding Fathers, but the soldiers, women, Loyalists, and others whose lives—and country—were forever changed by the movement. Recorded on December 12, 2025
Transcribe →Annapolis Goes to War: The Naval Academy Class of 1940 and its Trial by Fire in World War II
Jan 1900:36:03Tap to summarizeThe teenagers who made up the US Naval Academy class of 1940 arrived in Annapolis as boys on the eve of Hitler’s aggression and graduated as Europe collapsed, only to find themselves thrust into every major front of World War II, from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay and Normandy. Renowned military historian Craig Symonds joins David M. Rubenstein to discuss the young men’s sacrifice, loss, and extraordinary coming-of-age in history’s deadliest conflict.Recorded on November 24, 2025
Transcribe →Glorious Lessons: John Trumbull, Painter of the American Revolution
Jan 500:30:41Tap to summarizeHistory may be written by the victors, but it is illustrated by its painters, and perhaps few so famously or evocatively as John Trumbull—American Revolution army officer, spy, artist. In this conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Richard Brookhiser, Trumbull biographer and senior editor at National Review, delves into Trumbull’s tumultuous life.Recorded on November 14, 2025
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