Multimedia
The Book of Exodus, in Conversation with Bill Kristol
– "Leon Kass on the Book of Exodus," Conversations with Bill Kristol, March 24, 2021.Leon Kass discusses his work on Exodus on Conversations with Bill Kristol.
Exodus and Liberal Education
– Leon Kass, "Exodus and Liberal Education," Politics and the Humanities, March 3, 2021.Leon Kass joined the American University Politics and the Humanities podcast to discuss his recent work on the Book of Exodus.
On the formation of the People of Israel
– "The Formation of the People of Israel", Mosaic Podcast, May 15, 2020.Leon Kass joined the Mosaic Podcast to discuss his work on the Book of Exodus.
Leading a Worthy Life in a Scattered Time
Leon Kass discusses his new book Leading a Worthy Life with Liberty Law Fellow Richard Reinsch.
The Ten Commandments
– Leon Kass, Tikvah Podcast, May 18, 2017.In an interview with Jonathan Silver, Leon Kass discuss the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments
– "The Ten Commandments," PCG at Harvard seminar series, April 8, 2016.Leon Kass discusses the Ten Commandments at the Program on Constitutional Government lunchtime seminar series, convened by Harvey Mansfield.
Lincoln at Gettysburg
– Video conversation, AEI Program on American Citizenship, in partnership with WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org, 2015.Diana Schaub and Leon Kass discuss the Gettysburg Address.
Amy and Leon Kass on Liberal Education, Love & Friendship
– Leon and Amy Kass on Conversations with Bill Kristol, June 2014.In this 2014 release from Conversations with Bill Kristol, Leon and Amy Kass discuss the themes of their writing and teaching careers.
Why Two Covenants?
– Video conversation with Leon R. Kass, Mosaic, July 2013.When we last left Leon Kass, he was talking about the passions that “lurk in the hearts of men” and the guidance the Hebrew Bible can give us in learning how to channel them. Now we move from the formation of the individual and the family to the… More
The People Saw the Thunder
– Video conversation with Leon R. Kass, Mosaic, July 2013.The revelation at Sinai was a “phantasmagoric experience” where sight became sound, sound became sight, and the people stood in awe and confusion. But what about us, today? Can we, just by reading, vicariously experience the awe of the children at the… More
Pride, Lust, Technology—and the Hebrew Bible
– Video conversation with Leon R. Kass, Mosaic, July 2013.Last month, Mosaic visited Leon R. Kass, author of our June essay, “The Ten Commandments,” in his Washington, D.C. office. We spoke first about the passions, the human heart and its longings, and the wisdom and guidance the Bible has to offer in a time… More
Leon Kass and Walter Berns discuss Spielberg’s “Lincoln”
– Discussion with Walter Berns and Leon Kass, hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, 20 December 2012.At a discussion hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, What So Proudly We Hail editor Leon R. Kass and Walter Berns (professor emeritus, Georgetown University) discussed Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln and the lasting impact of our 16th… More
Seminar on George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation and O. Henry’s “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen”
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.In this session, editors Amy A. Kass, Leon R. Kass, and Diana Schaub use George Washington’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation and O. Henry’s short story “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen” to converse with guest host Christopher DeMuth… More
Seminar on Veterans Day Speech to the Semper Fi Society of St. Louis by John F. Kelly
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.Many American citizens are public-spirited at one time or another, but a remarkable minority of our fellow citizens—our police, firefighters, and military men and women—have made devotion to public safety and well-being their way of life, one that often… More
Leon Kass on Why Not Immortality?
– TV Ontario, September 21, 2012.Dr. Leon Kass, Chair of the President’s Council on Bioethics, examines the ethical dilemmas surrounding stem cell research. Dr. Kass addresses the philosophical question: Why not immortality?
Seminar on Making One Out of Many: “The Namesake,” by Willa Cather
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.Willa Sibert Cather (1873-1947), one of America’s most beloved authors, is best known for her novels depicting the lives of people who settled the American heartland and the Southwest: O! Pioneers, My Antonia, A Lost Lady, and Death Comes for the… More
Seminar on Compassion: “Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville”
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.Herman Melville (1819-1891), today hailed as one of America’s greatest writers, had in his own time a very mixed career. Some of his early sea-stories and sea-adventures were esteemed by the public, but his epic (and to him, most significant) novel,… More
Seminar on Courage and Self-Sacrifice: “Chamberlain” by Michael Shaara and Speech to the Third Army by George S. Patton
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.Courage is a virtue difficult to cultivate, especially among self-interested citizens oriented toward the pursuit of their own happiness. At the extreme, why shouldn’t I prefer the preservation of myself to the preservation of my nation? If there is both a… More
Seminar on Law-Abidingness: “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.Susan Glaspell (1876–1948) was an award-winning playwright and novelist, a writer of short stories, and, for a short while, a journalist. This story, “A Jury of Her Peers” (1917), among her most well known, was adapted from her one-act play,… More
Seminar on Self-Command: “The Project for Moral Perfection” by Benjamin Franklin
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.As the youngest son of the youngest son for five generations back, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was by custom and tradition destined to be a nobody. Yet thanks to his own resourcefulness, he more than escaped his destiny. His life spanned the 18th century,… More
Seminar on Freedom and Religion: “The May-Pole of Merry Mount” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), novelist and short story writer, was born in Salem, Massachusetts into an old, established New England family. His great-great-grandfather, John Hathorne, was one of the judges who presided over the Salem Witch Trials; it is… More
Seminar on Enterprise and Commerce: “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” by Mark Twain
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.Mark Twain (born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910) is well known as a humorist and satirist. But like many satirists, he had serious things in view. Writing in the latter part of the 19th century, as the so-called “robber barons”—the giants of the… More
Seminar on Equality: “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007) was born and raised in Indianapolis and later left college to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War II. He spent time as a German prisoner of war and won a Purple Heart, a distinction he later mocked. After the war, he worked… More
Seminar on Freedom and Individuality: “To Build a Fire” by Jack London
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.Jack London, like the unnamed man described in the story “To Build a Fire,” lived on the edge. Born in 1876, he died a short forty years later. As a young man, he was a full-fledged participant in the Yukon Gold Rush of 1897. Like many others at the time,… More
Seminar on National Identity: “The Man without a Country” by Edward Everett Hale
– WhatSoProudlyWeHail.org.It is probably no accident that Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909) was a life-long American patriot. He was the nephew of Edward Everett, renowned orator and statesman. And his father, Nathan Hale, was the namesake and nephew of Nathan Hale, executed by the… More
The Other War On Poverty
– “The Other War on Poverty: Finding Meaning in America,” 2012 Irving Kristol Lecture, American Enterprise Institute, 2 May 2012.On Wednesday, May 2, 2012, American educator Leon R. Kass (b. 1939) delivered the 2012 Irving Kristol Lecture at the American Enterprise Institute Annual Dinner in Washington, DC. In his remarks, titled “The Other War on Poverty: Finding Meaning in… More
First Among Equals: George Washington and the American Presidency
– CSPAN, February 17, 2012.To mark George Washington’s birthday, the American Enterprise Institute hosted a gathering of political thinkers to consider the presidency and legacy of our nation’s first chief executive. Among the topics discussed are Washington’s Farewell Address… More
Walter Berns and the Constitution: A Celebration of the Constitution, with Opening Remarks by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
– Panel hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, September 20, 2011.In mid-September 2011, as part of AEI’s Program on American Citizenship, we celebrated Constitution Day (September 17), the day thirty-nine members of the Constitutional Convention signed the draft constitution. In conjunction with that remembrance,… More
“Why Memorial Day?” A Discussion and Book Forum on What So Proudly We Hail: The American Soul in Story, Speech, and Song
– Panel hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, May 20, 2011.American public life requires citizens who know who they are as Americans, who are knowledgeably attached to their country and communities, and who possess the character–the attitudes, sensibilities, and virtues–necessary for robust civic… More
2011 Bradley Symposium: True Americanism: What It Is and Why It Matters
– The 2011 Bradley Symposium: True Americanism: What It Is and Why It Matters, Hudson Institute, 11 May 2011.What does it mean to be an American? To what larger community and ideals are we attached and devoted? The editors of What So Proudly We Hail are joined by leading thinkers to consider these thoughts and discuss Theodore Roosevelt’s “True… More
Keeping Life Human: Biology and Human Dignity
– Seminar, Princeton University, September 2010.Why Even Atheists Should Applaud the Ten Commandments
– Audio lecture, Bradley Lecture, American Enterprise Institute, January 12, 2009.Summary: ‘The Ten Commandments embody the core principles of the way of life of ancient Israel and of the Judeo-Christian ethic. Even in our increasingly secular age, their influence on the prevailing morality of the West is enormous–albeit not… More
Interview on Washington Journal
– CSPAN, July 18, 2006.Mr. Kass and Ms. Bok talked about stem cell research and legislation to expand federal funding for the research. The two ethicists represented opposite sides of the debate on embryonic stem cells. Dr. Kass was a current member and former chairman of… More
Interview on Newsmakers
– CSPAN, August 4, 2005.Dr. Kass talked about embryonic stem sell research, focusing on scientific issues and values, ethical considerations in both conducting and funding the research, and political opinions and movements involving embryonic stem cell research in a roundtable… More
Lecture on Science, Politics, and the Dilemmas of Bioethics
– CSPAN, March 21, 2005.Dr. Kass, Chairman of the President’s Council on Bioethics, delivered a lecture, titled “Science, Politics, and the Dilemmas of Bioethics.” Among the issues he addressed were the development of ethics in biological technology and research, the use of… More
Interview on Washington Journal
– CSPAN, April 25, 2004.Dr. Kass talked about a report by the President’s Council on Bioethics on reproductive techniques and guidelines for assisted reproductive procedures. He also responded to viewer comments and questions.
Interview on “Charlie Rose”
– "Charlie Rose," July 1, 2003.First, a conversation with Richard A. Clarke, former National Security Council official and anti-terrorism advisor, about his report released by the Council on Foreign Relations, in which he criticizes the Bush government for not taking proper precautions in… More
Interview on “NOW with Bill Moyers”
– “NOW with Bill Moyers,” PBS, July 25, 2003.Excerpt: ANNOUNCER: Tonight on NOW WITH BILL MOYERS: Congress defies the FCC decision to give big media more power. BURR: I think we ought to err on the side of looking out for the American people, and not necessarily for the corporations who have the most… More
Interview on Washington Journal
– CSPAN, January 1, 2003.Dr. Kass talked about ethical issues involving human cloning and recent news of the first human reproductive clone by a private organization. He also responded to viewer comments and questions.
American Enterprise Institute Event on the Human Cloning Report
– CSPAN, October 29, 2002.Participants talked about a report issued by the President’s Council on Bioethics. Among the topics they addressed were the ethics of human cloning, uses of cloning for biomedical research, and reproductive cloning. Following their remarks they answered… More
Book Discussion on Life, Liberty, and the Defense of Dignity
– CSPAN, October 25, 2002.Professor Leon Kass discussed his book Life, Liberty and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics, published by Encounter Books, at the Commonwealth Club of California. According to Dr. Kass, modern biomedical technology is threatening to… More
Report to the President on Human Cloning
– CPAN, July 11, 2002.Mr. Kass presented and summarized some of the debate found in the council’s report on human cloning. Among the issues that the report examined were reproductive and therapeutic cloning, ethical issues involved in medical uses of human cloning, the pace… More
President’s Council on Bioethics on Genetic Enhancement in Sports
– CSPAN, July 11, 2002.As part of a day-long conference on bioethics and human cloning, Doctor Friedman talked to council members about genetic engineering and its potential use in sports. Following his remarks they discussed the ethics of genetic engineering and potential… More
The President’s Council on Bioethics on Patenting Human Organs
– CSPAN, July 11, 2002.Council members talked about human cloning and bioethics, concentrating on the ethical questions surrounding granting patents for medical and scientific research and techniques using cloning technologies. They also talked about intellectual property,… More
Interview on Washington Journal
– CSPAN, January 23, 2002.Mr. Kass talked about his role in advising President Bush on cloning and stem cell research. The new President’s Council on Bioethics is made up of 17 philosophers, medical experts and lawyers who will advise the president on issues that involve… More
Book Discussion on The Ethics of Human Cloning
– CSPAN, December 11, 1998.Mr. Kass and Mr. Wilson talked about their book, The Ethics of Human Cloning, published by AEI Press. The book is about the ethical debate over human cloning. Mr. Kass is against human cloning; Mr. Wilson sees no essential problem with it as long… More
Testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on Assisted Suicide
– CSPAN, April 29, 1996.Committee members heard testimony from medical and legal professionals and caregivers concerning the advisability and constitutionality of assisted suicide and how it would change the physician’s role in the medical system. The hearing was prompted by… More