President Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosted an afternoon Hanukkah reception at the White House, where the president signed an executive order that defines Judaism as a nationality under federal civil rights law. Speakers at the reception included senior adviser Jared Kushner, New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft and retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz.
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor argued that Thomas Jefferson's egalitarian words differed from his actions and that the founding of the University of Virginia is an example of Jefferson's failed aspirations.
University of Maryland history professor Richard Bell looked at the underground web of slave traders and human traffickers who operated in the North during the early 19th century. He specifically recalled the kidnapping of five free black men from Philadelphia in 1825 who were transported to Mississippi and their subsequent struggle to escape and return home.
Historian Eric K. Washington recounted the life of James Williams, chief porter of Grand Central Terminal's Red Caps in the early 1900s, who was the face of his African-American workforce and championed their upward mobility.
Les Standiford recounted the creation of the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, by cereal company heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her husband, E.F. Hutton in 1927.
Joe Ricketts offered insights into becoming an entrepreneur and founding TD Ameritrade. He's interviewed by former Wall Street investment banker and author William Cohan.
Brendan and Timothy McNulty recalled the life and work of the late Democratic Congressman Jack Brooks of Texas, who served in the House of Representatives for forty-two years.
Mary Lane recalls Nazi efforts in the 1930s to repress artistic expression and remove work they deemed challenging. The author reports that thousands of art pieces were lost or destroyed and that, in 2012, the German government reclaimed works by Matisse, Monet, and more that were held by the son of one of Hitler's art dealers.
Mo Moulton chronicled author Dorothy Sayers work for women's rights in the early 20th century that included her membership in a group of like-minded female students at Oxford University, the Mutual Admiration Society, who were among the first women to receive full degrees from the University.
Eric Lichtblau recounted the life of Freddy Mayer, a Jewish German emigre to the U.S. in 1938, who was enlisted by the OSS, to return to Germany, where he impersonated a Nazi officer and French POW.
