Doris Kearns Goodwin: Leadership in Turbulent Times

As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration in 2025, Road Scholar is thrilled to offer this special gift to our participants: a free virtual lecture by Doris Kearns Goodwin, one of the most renowned historians of our time. 

At a pivotal moment in our nation’s history, as we confront a cascade of crises — concerns about the fragility of our democracy and a deepening political polarization unmatched since the Civil War — Doris Kearns Goodwin offers critical historical context. Not since the 1850s has our nation been so politically divided. Not since the Great Depression and World War II have we faced such a succession of shared hardships. And not since the 1960s have we grappled so intensely with the struggle for social and economic equality. 

Drawing from her book, “Leadership: In Turbulent Times,” Goodwin transports us back in time to provide perspective and analysis as she helps us understand how the presidents she’s studied most closely — Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson — provide proof that as a country and a people we’ve been through most difficult times before and came through stronger. History, as Goodwin demonstrates, provides lessons, solace and even hope.