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Season 1 of "In the Room Where It Happened" focuses on America's defining father, Abraham Lincoln. In the final and fourth episode of the season, former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt speaks with New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Chiaverini. The pair discuss Elizabeth Keckley, Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker, the role she played in the Lincolns' lives and how she influenced emancipation.


Jennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty-three novels, including critically acclaimed historical fiction such as “Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker,” “Mrs. Lincoln’s Sisters” and “Fates and Traitors: A Novel of John Wilkes Booth.” In 2020, Jennifer was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association for her novel Resistance Women. In 2023, the WLA awarded her the honor of Notable Wisconsin Author for her significant contributions to the state’s literary heritage.

Season 1 of "In the Room Where It Happened" focuses on America's defining father, Abraham Lincoln. In episode three, former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt speaks with historian and scholar Dr. Allen C. Guelzo about how Abraham Lincoln managed public opinion as a president through patience and humility.


Dr. Allen C. Guelzo is Senior Research Scholar at the Council of the Humanities at Princeton University. He is the author of several books about the Civil War and early-nineteenth-century American history. He is a recipient of the Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize for Military History and has been awarded the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize three times.

Season 1 of "In the Room Where It Happened" focuses on America's defining father, Abraham Lincoln. In episode two, former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt speaks with professor and scholar Catherine Clinton about the life of Mary Todd Lincoln and her influence on Abraham Lincoln's presidency. 

Professor Catherine Clinton is a pioneering historian of American women, the American South and the Civil War. She is the author or editor of over 30 books, including “The Other Civil War: American Women in the Nineteenth Century,” “Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom” and “Mrs. Lincoln: A Life.” She served as a consultant for Steven Spielberg’s 2012 film “Lincoln.” She earned a B.A. from Harvard, her M.A. from the University of Sussex, and her Ph.D. from Princeton. She has taught previously at Harvard University, Wesleyan University and Brown University. She is currently a Professor of History at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Season 1 of "In the Room Where It Happened" focuses on America's defining father, Abraham Lincoln. In episode one, former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt, dives deeper into the life and death of President Abraham Lincoln with author and scholar Terry Alford. The pair discuss Lincoln's connection to spiritualism and the parallels between Lincoln and his assassinator, John Wilkes Booth.

Terry Alford is an author and historian. He received a Ph.D. in history from Mississippi State University and did post-doctoral work in family history at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Alford is a founding board member of the Abraham Lincoln Institute of Washington, D.C., and is a recognized authority on John Wilkes Booth and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. He is the author of “Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth” and “In the Houses of their Dead: The Lincolns, the Booths, and the Spirits.”

In episode nine of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington DC Mayor Sharon Pratt continues her exploration of America's first president, George Washington. She speaks with historical writer David O. Stewart about Washington's persona and political rise, as well as his experience leading an army.

Check out David O. Stewart's book here: https://davidostewart.com/books/george-washington-the-political-rise-of-americas-founding-father/

In episode eight of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington DC Mayor Sharon Pratt dives into the life of America's first president, George Washington. She speaks with professor and Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning historian, Joseph J. Ellis. Professor Ellis discusses George Washington's public persona, his view on the presidency and his role in bringing the capital to Washington D.C. He also discusses Washington's involvement in slavery and how he was perceived by others, including the other Founding Fathers.

Check out Joseph Ellis' book here: https://www.amazon.com/His-Excellency-Washington-Joseph-Ellis/dp/1400032539

For the final episode on Thomas Jefferson, Former D.C Mayor, Sharon Pratt hosts the "Where Do We Go From Here Symposium" live from Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.

The Series examines the education, philosophical influences, personal experiences, and the economic influences on these three Founding Fathers. The Series hosts 4-5 audio podcasts per President highlighting their education, their wives, their early careers, and their economic influences. With each President, the final episode is at their home (Montpelier, Monticello, and Mount Vernon.)

A historic discussion with panelists:
Former Mayor Sharon Pratt, IPPH Founding Director
Michael Steele, Former RNC Chair, "MSNBC" political analyst, and former Lt. Gov. Maryland
Niya Bates, Ph.D. candidate, Department of History & Department of African American Studies, Princeton University
Lisa A. Francavilla, Ph.D., Senior Managing Editor, Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series, International Center for Jefferson Studies
John A. Ragosta, Ph.D./J.D., Interim Saunders Director, Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello
With funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation & MFS Investments

Coming up next: George Washington.

In episode seven of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington D.C Mayor Sharon Pratt speaks with Gayle Jessup White to examine Thomas Jefferson's legacy, his descendants and America’s complex racial history.

Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s legendary estate, and a direct descendant of Jefferson. She speaks with Sharon Pratt about her quest to research her connection to Thomas Jefferson after hearing stories passed down from her father's family that they were descendants of Thomas Jefferson.

Gayle Jessup White is also the author of "Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy." The book chronicles her remarkable journey to understand and reclaim her heritage and ensure the nation lives up to the ideals advocated by her legendary ancestor.

In episode six of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington D.C Mayor Sharon Pratt dives into the life of Thomas Jefferson. Of all the founding fathers, he stood out as perhaps the most controversial and the most confounding. In this episode, she speaks with Professor Robert MacDonald about the complicated and powerful impact of the third president on our founding and our early years as a nation. Professor MacDonald discusses how Jefferson was unique among the Founding Fathers, what his greatest influences were, and Jefferson's bitter relationship with John Adams. They also discuss Jefferson's complicated relationship with slavery and how the man who wrote the words “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” did not provide liberty to the enslaved children he fathered with Sally Hemmings until they became adults. While we can see his limitations, we can also look to him for inspiration.

Professor Robert MacDonald teaches history at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is the author of multiple books on Thomas Jefferson, including "Confounding Father: Thomas Jefferson’s Image in His Own Time" and "Thomas Jefferson’s Lives: Biographers and the Battle for History."

Join us in the next episode when we speak with Gayle Jessup White, a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, as we explore Jefferson through the prism of America’s racial divide.

In episode seven of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington D.C Mayor Sharon Pratt speaks with Gayle Jessup White to examine Thomas Jefferson's legacy, his descendants and America’s complex racial history.

Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s legendary estate, and a direct descendant of Jefferson. She speaks with Sharon Pratt about her quest to research her connection to Thomas Jefferson after hearing stories passed down from her father's family that they were descendants of Thomas Jefferson.

Gayle Jessup White is also the author of "Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy." The book chronicles her remarkable journey to understand and reclaim her heritage and ensure the nation lives up to the ideals advocated by her legendary ancestor.


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