The Reading Octagon

Episode #2336

Ken Burns

· 3 books mentioned

Books mentioned

  1. Common Sense

    Thomas Paine

    Mentioned by Ken Burns · at 00:32:52 · ▶︎ Watch this moment on YouTube (approximate)

    Amazon (opens in a new tab; affiliate link) Source: Transcript (podscripts.co)

  2. The Bible

    Traditional

    Mentioned by Ken Burns · at 00:13:52 · ▶︎ Watch this moment on YouTube (approximate)

    Amazon (opens in a new tab; affiliate link) Source: Transcript (podscripts.co)

  3. Life on the Mississippi

    Mark Twain

    Mentioned by Ken Burns · at 02:38:05 · ▶︎ Watch this moment on YouTube (approximate)

    Amazon (opens in a new tab; affiliate link) Source: Transcript (podscripts.co)

Timestamps are segment start times from the podscripts.co transcript of the audio release (includes ad reads), so they may differ from the video by a few minutes.

Ken Burns, award-winning documentary filmmaker, discusses his career and upcoming series on the American Revolution. He explores the complexities of American history, the importance of multiple perspectives, and the role of storytelling in understanding national identity.

What they talked about

  • Ken Burns' career and PBS independence
  • American Revolution and founding of US government
  • Complexity of historical figures and slavery
  • Civil War's centrality in American history
  • Vietnam War and its lessons
  • Baseball, steroids, and Hall of Fame debates
  • Jack Johnson and Muhammad Ali as cultural icons
  • National parks and connection to nature

Data last updated · Report a mistake · How it works: mentions are pulled from public transcripts and episode descriptions, partly with AI-assisted extraction, so details and timestamps can be off.

Episode sources