December Noontime Public Programs at the National Archives
Press Release · Monday, November 19, 2018

Washington, DC

National Archives noontime programs in December include Stephen Hess discussing his new book Bit Player: My Life with Presidents and Ideas; short documentary film screenings in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 flight; a screening of the controversial Vietnam!, Vietnam! narrated by Charlton Heston and produced by John Ford; and Terry Golway discussing Frank and Al: FDR, Al Smith, and the Unlikely Alliance that Created the Modern Democratic Party.

These programs are free and open to the public and will be held at noon in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC.  Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7th Street, NW.  Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines, Archives/Navy Memnorial/Penn Quarter station. Reservations are recommended and can be made online. For those without reservations, seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The Theater doors will open 45 minutes prior to the start of the program. Late seating will not be permitted 20 minutes after the program begins.

BOOK TALK & SIGNING: Bit Player: My Life with Presidents and Ideas
Tuesday, December 4
Reserve a seat; watch the live stream on our YouTube Channel
Award-winning author Stephen Hess, as a 25-year-old, recently-discharged Army private in the 1950s, suddenly found himself as a part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s speechwriting team. Over the following decades, Hess played bit roles in aiding other Presidents from both parties. Bit Player is an insightful and often humorous look at how Washington works—or doesn’t. Chuck Todd, host of NBC’s Meet the Press will moderate this discussion.

DOCUMENTARY FILM SCREENING: Earthrise and Debrief: Apollo 8
Wednesday, December 5
Reserve a seat
In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the flight of Apollo 8, the first manned spaceflight to leave the Earth’s orbit, two short documentary films will be screened.  Earthrise (2018; 30 minutes), tells the story of the first images of Earth taken from space in 1968. Told solely by the Apollo 8 astronauts, the film recounts their experiences and explores the beauty of Earth against the blackness of space.  Debrief: Apollo 8 (1969; 30 minutes) was produced by NASA after the historic mission and is narrated by Burgess Meredith.

DOCUMENTARY FILM SCREENING: From the Vaults: Remembering Vietnam
Friday, December 7
Reserve a seat 
The fourth and final in the series of archival film from the National Archives’ motion picture holdings related to the war in Vietnam.  Featured will be Vietnam!, Vietnam! (1971, 60 minutes), the controversial documentary from the United States Information Agency narrated by Charlton Heston and produced by John Ford.

“Remembering Vietnam” is presented in part by the Lawrence F. O’Brien Family, Pritzker Military Museum & Library, AARP, FedEx Corporation, and the National Archives Foundation. Additional support provided by the Maris S. Cuneo Foundation, The Eliasberg Family Foundation, Inc., and HISTORYⓇ.
 

BOOK TALK & SIGNING: Frank and Al: FDR, Al Smith, and the Unlikely Alliance that Created the Modern Democratic Party
Tuesday, December 11
Reserve a seat; watch the live stream on our YouTube Channel
In his latest book, Frank and Al, editor and author Terry Golway tells the untold story of an unlikely political partnership--between a to-the-manor-born Protestant (Franklin D. Roosevelt) and a Lower East Side Catholic (Al Smith)--and how they transformed the Democratic Party and took it and American politics out of the 19th century and into the 20th century.