Opening the Oval with David M. Rubenstein
Explore the history of the American presidency with this 5-episode series featuring host David M. Rubenstein and expert guests, who illuminate the ways the role of the presidency has shifted to reflect political and cultural changes in the U.S.
Episode 5: The Role of First Ladies
The stories of the First Ladies can teach us new lessons about the presidency and the nature of power. Host David M. Rubenstein talks to historian Annette Gordon-Reed, journalist Jonathan Alter, and the late Cokie Roberts about the women who lacked official power but left lasting marks on American history.
Episode 4: The Road to Women’s Suffrage
Just over a century ago, half of the U.S. population was excluded from the democratic process. Host David M. Rubenstein talks to journalist Elaine Weiss and the late Cokie Roberts about the groundbreaking suffragists who secured the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Episode 3: Lincoln and Emancipation
Imagine you're a leader trying to advance a moral cause during a time when the country is deeply divided. Host David M. Rubenstein talks to historians H.W. Brands, Eric Foner, David W. Blight, and Drew Gilpin Faust about the story of Abraham Lincoln and his approach to the abolition of slavery in the United States.
Episode 2: Presidential Power in Wartime
During times of conflict, presidents have to make life-or-death decisions that affect millions of people. Host David M. Rubenstein, historian Michael Beschloss, and filmmaker Ken Burns explore the roles and responsibilities of presidents during wartime with a particular focus on Harry Truman during the Korean War and the escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Episode 1: Presidential Leadership
What makes a good leader? Explore the qualities necessary to succeed as president with historian and CNN commentator Douglas Brinkley and New York Times editor Jia Lynn Yang. They join David M. Rubenstein to outline such traits as character, honesty, and courage and look to the examples of George Washington, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Ronald Reagan to illustrate them.
David M. Rubenstein is Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms. Established in 1987, Carlyle now manages $301 billion from 26 offices around the world.
Mr. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Gallery of Art, and the Economic Club of Washington; a Fellow of the Harvard Corporation; a Trustee of the University of Chicago, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Institute for Advanced Study, the National Constitution Center, the Brookings Institution, and the World Economic Forum; and a Director of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, among other board seats.
Mr. Rubenstein is a leader in the area of Patriotic Philanthropy, having made transformative gifts for the restoration or repair of the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Monticello, Montpelier, Mount Vernon, Arlington House, Iwo Jima Memorial, the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, the National Archives, the National Zoo, the Library of Congress, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Mr. Rubenstein has also provided to the U.S. government long-term loans of his rare copies of the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th Amendment, the first map of the U.S. (Abel Buell map), and the first book printed in the U.S. (Bay Psalm Book).
Mr. Rubenstein is an original signer of The Giving Pledge; the host of The David Rubenstein Show and Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein; and the author of The American Story, How to Lead, and The American Experiment.
