© 2026 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Jill Lepore and Jon Meacham on Lessons from History (Part II)

Khalilah Brown-Dean hosted an event this month with Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and historians Jill Lepore to her left and Jon Meacham on her right. The theme of the conversation, held at The Connecticut Forum, was “Lessons from History.” ” Their conversations explore “how the study of the past can guide us toward a deeper understanding of the present—and help illuminate the path forward for our democracy.”
Nick Caito
/
Connecticut Public
Khalilah Brown-Dean hosted an event this month with Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and historians Jill Lepore (to her left) and Jon Meacham (to her right). The theme of the conversation, held at The Connecticut Forum, was “Lessons from History.” Their conversation explores “how the study of the past can guide us toward a deeper understanding of the present—and help illuminate the path forward for our democracy.”

“History repeats itself,” the saying goes. Or, as another saying goes, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” There’s also “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.”

Together these sayings suggest the value of history in our culture and our belief that it can help us understand the present.

This hour, we’re talking about history and our current political moment. This episode is the second featuring a live event with Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Jon Meacham and Jill Lepore. If you missed the first episode, don't worry— this discussion will stand on its own.

The event was the final discussion of The Connecticut Forum’s 34th season.

GUESTS:

Disrupted is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Kevin Chang Barnum is a producer for Connecticut Public Radio’s weekly show Disrupted. Kevin grew up in Connecticut and started his radio work at his graduate university’s radio station, KUCI. He has also worked for HRN, a network of food and beverage podcasts.
Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean is an award-winning scholar at Wesleyan University, author, and host of 'Disrupted' on Connecticut Public.
Erica McIntosh is Senior Regional Editor for Southern Connecticut. Erica was born and raised in Connecticut.
Robyn Doyon-Aitken is the Deputy Director of Audio Storytelling and Talk Shows
Meg Fitzgerald is the senior manager of projects and radio programming.

Funding provided by:
The Connecticut Office of Film, Television and Digital Media