The Voting Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act. Medicare. Vietnam. The 1960s were a transformational time for America and at the center of much of it was Lyndon B. Johnson. This year marks the 50th anniversary for landmark legislation that would not have been possible without one of Washington’s most heralded legislators.
On this week’s podcast, host Andrea Seabrook sits down with Julian Zelizer, author of “The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress and the Battle for the Great Society.” Zelizer says yes, Lyndon Johnson was an incredible legislator. But in order to really understand how he was able to move massive change through Congress, we have to look at the broader social and political context of the time.
It’s this bigger picture, says Zelizer, that can give us clues on how to break through today’s Washington gridlock.

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