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Event Audio

To listen to an audio recording of a previous Library special event, click the icon. The audio file will launch the media player on your computer.

The most recent recording displays at the top. The Library offers recordings only with the permission of the presenter. Please allow 7-10 days for the recording to be posted.

  • Author Brandon G. Kinney explores the complex series of events that led to Missouri’s brief but bloody Mormon War of 1838, a conflict over religion, ideology, and land.
    Brandon G. Kinney: The Mormon War of 1838
    Sunday, June 24, 2012
    Central Library

    Author Brandon G. Kinney explores the complex series of events that led to the brief but bloody Mormon War of 1838, a conflict over religion, ideology, and land pitting Joseph Smith and his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints against other Missouri residents, the governor, and the state militia.

    Kinney is a graduate of the Creighton University School of Law and practices law in Butler, Missouri. He is the author of The Mormon War: Zion and the Missouri Extermination Order of 1838.

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  • When her husband, President Woodrow Wilson, suffered a stroke in 1919, did Edith Wilson control the reins of power to become, in effect, our first woman president?
    Kristie Miller: Edith Bolling Wilson
    Thursday, June 21, 2012
    Plaza Branch

    Flamboyant, confident, and controversial, Edith Bolling Wilson was not your traditional First Lady. After her husband, Woodrow Wilson, suffered a debilitating stroke in 1919, she took the reins of government and acted on behalf of her ailing spouse. Historian Kristie Miller looks into the life of the woman known as “Madame Regent” and “the Assistant President” and asks: Was Edith Wilson, in effect, our first woman president?

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  • Author Max Holland delves into the mystery of Mark Felt, the FBI official who as the legendary “Deep Throat” helped bring down the presidency of Richard Nixon.
    Max Holland - Leak: Why Mark Felt Became Deep Throat
    Monday, June 18, 2012
    Central Library

    Author Max Holland delves into the enigma that is Mark Felt (1913-2008), the FBI official who as the mysterious Deep Throat shared with reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein insider information on the Watergate scandal and by doing so helped to bring down President Richard Nixon.

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  • Philip E. Auerswald predicts that a new wave of entrepreneurship will improve the lives not only of the previously excluded global majority, but also the citizens of the industrialized nations.
    Philip E. Auerswald - The Coming Prosperity: How Entrepreneurs Are Transforming the Global Economy
    Tuesday, June 12, 2012
    Plaza Branch

    In his new book, Philip E. Auerswald envisions an optimistic future in which forward-thinking entrepreneurs emerge from cultures around the world to tackle challenges like climate change, water scarcity, and rapid urbanization. By introducing new goods and services while challenging established business interests, these visionaries will improve the lives not only of the previously excluded global majority, but also of the citizens of the industrialized nations.

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  • A survivor of a Nazi concentration camp and a veteran of the U.S. Special Forces, Major General Sid Shachnow relates highlights of the incredible life recorded in his memoir Hope and Honor.
    Maj. Gen. Sid Shachnow: Hope and Honor
    Tuesday, June 12, 2012
    Central Library

    Sid Shachnow discusses his new memoir Hope and Honor, which traces his life from a childhood spent in the notorious Kovno concentration camp to his rise to the rank of Major General in the U.S. Army.

    Born in Lithuania in 1934, Sid Shachnow spent three years in a Nazi concentration camp. With most of his family dead, he escaped both the Nazis and the Soviets and immigrated to the United States.

    Co-sponsored by the Command and General Staff College Foundation, Inc.

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  • Military historian Ethan S. Rafuse delves into the life and accomplishments of Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson, perhaps the Confederacy’s greatest military strategist.
    Ethan S. Rafuse: “Stonewall” Jackson
    Thursday, June 7, 2012
    Central Library

    Ethan S. Rafuse of the military history department of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth discusses the life and accomplishments of Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson.

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  • Walter Cronkite biographer Douglas Brinkley looks at the life and career of the CBS newsman who became “Uncle Walter,” the most trusted man in America.
    Douglas Brinkley: Cronkite
    Tuesday, June 5, 2012
    Plaza Branch

    Biographer Douglas Brinkley looks at the life and career of CBS newsman Walter Cronkite, the St. Joseph native who became the most trusted man in America. Drawing on newly disclosed letters, diaries and interviews with nearly 200 of Cronkite’s friends and colleagues, Cronkite reveals not an icon but a real human with passions, loves, and occasional enmities.

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  • Western historian and award-winning author Paul L. Hedren asks: Was George Custer’s defeat at Little Bighorn the greatest American Indian victory? Or was it the beginning of the end for Sioux country?
    Paul L. Hedren - After Custer: The Transformation of Sioux Country
    Sunday, June 3, 2012
    Central Library

    On the eve of the 136th anniversary of the famous “Last Stand,” retired National Park Service Superintendent Paul L. Hedren asks: Was General George Custer’s defeat at the Little Bighorn on June 26, 1876, the greatest American Indian military victory? Or was it the beginning of the end of Sioux Country as the native peoples knew it?

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  • Economist Viral V. Acharya argues that the collapse of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was virtually inevitable and discusses how we can limit the damage and avoid the same mistakes in the future.
    Viral V. Acharya: Guaranteed to Fail
    Wednesday, May 30, 2012
    Central Library

    The 2008 financial collapse of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac resulted in a sweeping government bailout that cost the American taxpayers $150 billion. Economist Viral V. Acharya, co-author of Guaranteed to Fail: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Debacle of Mortgage Finance, argues that given government policy, the meltdown was virtually inevitable. He discusses how economic damage can be limited and how to avoid the same mistakes in the future.

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  • Historian Barry Strauss delves into the personalities and methodologies of Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar, ancient generals who offer valuable lessons 2,000 years later.
    Barry Strauss: Masters of Command
    Tuesday, May 29, 2012
    Central Library

    Historian Barry Strauss delves into the personalities and methodologies of Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar, three generals of the ancient world who had to look beyond the battlefield to decide what constitutes victory, when to end the fighting, and how to bring stability to the lands they conquered. These warrior-statesmen, Strauss argues, provide valuable lessons 2,000 years later.

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