Kevin welcomes Tommy Kidd to LBE to talk about Tommy’s new biography on Thomas Jefferson. How should we understand Jefferson’s many inconsistencies and contradictions? How do we make sense of his significant moral failings? Was he a Christian? Is his legacy worth commemorating and celebrating? Kevin and Tommy talk about these questions and many others in an hour-long discussion that goes deep into history and helps us think about the Declaration of Independence that Americans will celebrate in just a few days.

Timestamps:

Intro and Guest: Thomas Kidd [0:00-6:32]

The Discipline of Writing [6:33-10:14]

Jefferson: Historical Hypocrite? [10:15-32:41]

Sally Hemmings [32:42-38:20

Jefferson's Religion [38:21-52:47]

The Mammoth Cheese Episode [52:48-56:33]

Jefferson vs. Patrick Henry [56:34-59:06]

Father of the University of Virginia [59:07-1:04:02]

Why Celebrate Jefferson? [1:04:03-1:10:46]

Books and Everything:

Thomas Kidd's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/thomasskidd

Thomas Kidd's newsletter: https://twitter.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=393885e6de8bef994ad9a4c3b&id=f10e42555a

Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh: https://a.co/d/elVxdLe