WEBVTT - The Presidents’ Book Club

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<v Speaker 1>I always joke that Daniel Craig should send the Kennedy

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<v Speaker 1>Estate a thank you note for having helped to make

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<v Speaker 1>the Bond franchise into the international behemoth that it is today.

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<v Speaker 2>Welcome to one day university talks with the world's most

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<v Speaker 2>engaging and inspiring professors discussing their most popular courses. This

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<v Speaker 2>podcast is your chance to discover some of our top

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<v Speaker 2>rated lectures on your own schedule. I'm Steven Schragis, and

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<v Speaker 2>we've put together some presidential recommended reads. American leaders of

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<v Speaker 2>the past and present have appreciated a variety of literature,

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<v Speaker 2>everything from plays to poetry to spy thrillers. But do

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<v Speaker 2>their reading habits give us any sense of their strength

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<v Speaker 2>as a leader? Professor Joseph Lutsey explores this in a

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<v Speaker 2>one day university lecture titled The President's Book Club. He's

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<v Speaker 2>a professor of comparative literature at Bard College, and he's

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<v Speaker 2>written books covering topics from Dante to Italian cinema. Joseph

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<v Speaker 2>says the idea for this talk came to him while

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<v Speaker 2>he was studying dystopian.

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<v Speaker 1>Literature a few years ago. I taught a course on

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<v Speaker 1>banned and censored books and one thing I noticed was

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<v Speaker 1>that in a lot of these dystopian worlds, one of

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<v Speaker 1>the first things that the kind of powers that be

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<v Speaker 1>would do. You see this in all this Huxley's Brave

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<v Speaker 1>New World. You see it in Margaret at Woods The

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<v Speaker 1>Handmaid's Tale, is that they would ban books. And I thought,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, how interesting and sinister that when a government

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<v Speaker 1>becomes a verse to freedom, it also becomes a verse

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<v Speaker 1>to books and learning. And I thought, well, that's a

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<v Speaker 1>connection I wanted to explore more. And then I would

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<v Speaker 1>say the tipping point was there was this article and

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<v Speaker 1>the Economists that I read shortly before kind of putting

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<v Speaker 1>the talk together, in which they talked about leadership and

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<v Speaker 1>leadership training. But they said, you know, instead of corporate retreats,

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<v Speaker 1>instead of how to books by people in the business world,

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<v Speaker 1>which of course have their validity, why not look to

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<v Speaker 1>great literature for models. And I said, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>really want to dig into this topic and see how

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<v Speaker 1>leaders themselves have approached the world of books. And that

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<v Speaker 1>sort of got everything rolling.

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<v Speaker 2>You picked a pretty logical starting point. George Washington obviously

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<v Speaker 2>he was first. Yeah, but that said George Washington wasn't

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<v Speaker 2>really known to be a scholar. Tell us about George

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<v Speaker 2>Washington and the book or the literary work that really

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<v Speaker 2>seemed to influence him.

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<v Speaker 1>This is one of my favorite discoveries. I remember I

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<v Speaker 1>went to a Fourth of July reenactment with my family

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<v Speaker 1>near my house and we met the person who played

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<v Speaker 1>George Washington, and we were talking with him and we said,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, what's one of your regrets in life, mister Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>And he said, not having a college education. And you know,

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<v Speaker 1>my family joke, Well, he went pretty far in the

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<v Speaker 1>world without one. But I think that image of George

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<v Speaker 1>Washington as a man of action, not an intellectual. We

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<v Speaker 1>associate John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, some of the earlier officeholders

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<v Speaker 1>of the presidency with a world of books, not so

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<v Speaker 1>much with George Washington. He was a general, he was

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<v Speaker 1>an farmer, he was a statesman. Interestingly, though, I found

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<v Speaker 1>that George Washington was very committed to the world of books.

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<v Speaker 1>He designed his own book plate, he had quite a

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<v Speaker 1>collection of books, and he also was a pretty passionate

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<v Speaker 1>reader of one particular play. It's called Cato Cato by

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<v Speaker 1>Joseph Addison and from the early seventeen hundreds, so It's

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<v Speaker 1>one of those works that hasn't stood the test of time,

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<v Speaker 1>but in its time, its effect was profound. Not just

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<v Speaker 1>George Washington. It was a play about Cato, the ancient

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<v Speaker 1>Roman who resisted the tyranny of the death of the

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<v Speaker 1>Roman Republic when Julius Caesar became tyrant and Cato took

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<v Speaker 1>his own life in defense, and so he kind of

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<v Speaker 1>became a symbol to the American revolutionaries. Allegedly, George Washington

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<v Speaker 1>had the play performed at Valley Forge. He sprinkled his

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<v Speaker 1>letters with references to it. But it wasn't just him.

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<v Speaker 1>Patrick Henry's great speech give me Liberty or give me

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<v Speaker 1>Death is lifted from Cato by Addison Nathan Hale the

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<v Speaker 1>American Patriot, when he said I regret that I have

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<v Speaker 1>but one life to give to my country. That also

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<v Speaker 1>comes from Joseph Addison's Cato. So it was an example

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<v Speaker 1>of how a forgotten literary war could actually be in

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<v Speaker 1>the dna of American democracy. And that was a kind

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<v Speaker 1>of thrilling discovery for me.

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<v Speaker 2>Before we move on to the next president, I have

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<v Speaker 2>the word etiquette books written on my notes here. What's

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<v Speaker 2>going on there?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, you know, George Washington had a particular genre of

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<v Speaker 1>books that he was quite devoted to, and that was

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<v Speaker 1>etiquette books. He loved to read etiquette books, he collected them.

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<v Speaker 1>These were books that we think of Emily Post in

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<v Speaker 1>the twentieth century, These books that teach us how to

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<v Speaker 1>gracefully accept or decline a dinner invitation, or I imagine

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<v Speaker 1>the updated version of Emily Post would be like how

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<v Speaker 1>to gently unfriend someone on Facebook. Obviously that wasn't something

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<v Speaker 1>that George Washington thought about, but these kind of etiquette

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<v Speaker 1>questions obsessed Washington, and I think it's in keeping with

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<v Speaker 1>his image as someone who knew how politically to say

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<v Speaker 1>and do the right thing, who took the quality of

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<v Speaker 1>dignity and decorum very seriously and sort of trained himself

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<v Speaker 1>in the images of these early etiquette manuals.

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<v Speaker 2>Second up on deck, it was Thomas Jefferson. Now, this

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<v Speaker 2>one's not a surprise. This is a man who all

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<v Speaker 2>of us think of as a dedicated reader. You've done

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<v Speaker 2>the research to document exactly why we think of Jefferson

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<v Speaker 2>as a voracious reader, and that his thoughts were even

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<v Speaker 2>reflected in the Declaration of Independence.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean, look, no surprise here, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>Thomas Jefferson, who founded the University of Virginia, was considered

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<v Speaker 1>a person of letters in his age. In his library

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<v Speaker 1>reflected that a wide range of interests, including the fields

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<v Speaker 1>like botany, wine making, philosophy, history, and whatnot. So that's

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<v Speaker 1>no surprise.

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<v Speaker 2>I think.

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<v Speaker 1>What was a surprise to me was looking at the documents, say,

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<v Speaker 1>a very famous document, the Declaration of Independence. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>think of aligned by Jefferson? We hold these truths to

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<v Speaker 1>be self evident, that all men are created equal, that

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<v Speaker 1>they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.

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<v Speaker 1>That among these are life, liberty in the pursuit of happiness.

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<v Speaker 1>That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men,

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<v Speaker 1>deriving their just powers from the consent of the government.

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<v Speaker 1>Now that's a bit of a mouthful. It's a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of eighteenth century political discourse. But I had been teaching

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<v Speaker 1>in Bard's first year seminar program, and we were reading

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<v Speaker 1>some of the founding figures of political philosophy, and two

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<v Speaker 1>figures in particular that i'd been teaching, John Locke and

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<v Speaker 1>Jean Jacques Rousseau. I saw how their ideas were permeating

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<v Speaker 1>Jefferson's writing and the Declaration of Independence. Let's take this

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<v Speaker 1>notion of equality, for example, that Jefferson talks about. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the engines for that comes from John Locke's

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<v Speaker 1>idea of thela raza, which means the blank slate, This

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<v Speaker 1>idea that you know, all people are created equal, that

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<v Speaker 1>no matter where you're born or when you're born, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a kind of neutrality to human nature. And you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we take it for granted now. And of course it

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't expressed politically in the eighteenth century because the eighteenth

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<v Speaker 1>century had terrible forms of inequality, including the evil of slavery.

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<v Speaker 1>But as an idea that informed the Declaration of Independence,

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<v Speaker 1>that idea of equality from Jefferson has to be informed

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<v Speaker 1>by Locke's notion of the blank slave. And similarly, when

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<v Speaker 1>Jefferson writes about the governments are instituted among men, deriving

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<v Speaker 1>their powers from the consent of the government, that that

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<v Speaker 1>idea of consent is so essential to social contract theory

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<v Speaker 1>of the eighteenth century, and that's where thinkers like Jean

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<v Speaker 1>Jacques Rousseau were so important, where they basically came up

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<v Speaker 1>with a model saying that when we enter into society

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<v Speaker 1>through consent, we agree as a people to give up

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<v Speaker 1>our individual rights in the name of the collectivity. That

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<v Speaker 1>can only happen if we consent to do so. So

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<v Speaker 1>you can see in just one densely written paragraph of

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<v Speaker 1>the Declaration of Independence, you can see the swirling of

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<v Speaker 1>intellectual currents from major thinkers like John Locke and Jean Jacquesrousseau.

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<v Speaker 2>We're going to jump forward a little onto Abraham Lincoln. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>this is someone we all know of as a voracious reader,

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<v Speaker 2>and we know of him as completely self taught. What

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<v Speaker 2>we don't know a lot about is his thoughts about Shakespeare.

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<v Speaker 2>Can you discuss Abraham Lincoln's relationship to the Shakespearean tragedies

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<v Speaker 2>Hamlet and Macbeth.

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<v Speaker 1>To Lincoln loved Shakespeare, He carried in with Shakespeare with him.

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<v Speaker 1>He quoted from the plays He's on record for just

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<v Speaker 1>showing how passionate he was about Shakespeare. But you know,

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<v Speaker 1>there was a little bit of surprise in Lincoln's devotion

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<v Speaker 1>to Shakespeare. And I think it comes from what you

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<v Speaker 1>said earlier, Stephen, about Lincoln as the kind of prototypical

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<v Speaker 1>self made man. Lincoln is one of those figures becomes

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<v Speaker 1>a lawyer by studying for the bar, on his own.

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<v Speaker 1>He grew up on dirt floors the whole incredible rise

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<v Speaker 1>of Lincoln, and I think that that backstory shaped the

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<v Speaker 1>way he approached Shakespeare. For example, he said, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't care too much for the famous soliloquy of

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<v Speaker 1>Hamlet to be or not to be, because I think

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't have that much in common with Hamlet. Hamlet

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<v Speaker 1>was the prince of Denmark. He was to the manner

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<v Speaker 1>born as they say. Lincoln instead said he related to

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<v Speaker 1>He loved Macbeth, and he loved the speech in Hamlet

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<v Speaker 1>where Claudius as, oh my offense's rank, where he basically says,

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<v Speaker 1>I know I'm guilty, but I'm not going to give

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<v Speaker 1>up the crown. And it got me thinking about, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>what was it about Lincoln and Shakespeare? And I think

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<v Speaker 1>part of it had to do with Lincoln's moral brilliance,

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<v Speaker 1>his conscience, the fact that you know, he believed that

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<v Speaker 1>then evil of slavery had to end. America went to

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<v Speaker 1>war because of that. But he also felt the weight

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<v Speaker 1>of all those deaths of Americans on his conscience. But

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<v Speaker 1>where I think Shakespeare really drives Lincoln. Think of a

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<v Speaker 1>speech like the Second inaugural address. It's one of the

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<v Speaker 1>most extraordinary speeches in American history, where Lincoln basically says, look,

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<v Speaker 1>the North is basically going to win this war militarily,

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<v Speaker 1>but ultimately it's a war in which both sides have

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<v Speaker 1>lost because both sides fighting were American and so that

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<v Speaker 1>speech is just this remarkable work of rhetoric when he says,

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<v Speaker 1>all knew that the interest of slavery was the cause

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<v Speaker 1>of the war, and then he said, neither party expected

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<v Speaker 1>for the war the magnitude of the duration, which is

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<v Speaker 1>already attained, neither anticipated, and he goes, you notice the

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<v Speaker 1>repetition of neither. There each looked for an easier triumph.

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<v Speaker 1>Both read the same Bible. And then he says, and

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<v Speaker 1>crushing that rhetorical crescendo, the prayers of both could not

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<v Speaker 1>be answered. And then he says, but let us not

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<v Speaker 1>judge lest we be judged. It's an amazing the use

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<v Speaker 1>of the pronouns, the sort of all both neither, and

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<v Speaker 1>then this kind of deflating sentiment at the end that

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<v Speaker 1>this is a war that has taken so many lives.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not the time to criticize, but it's a time

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<v Speaker 1>to heal. And I think that that moral vision of

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<v Speaker 1>Lincoln was nourished by his understanding of a writer like Shakespeare.

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<v Speaker 1>Shakespeare was a brilliant student of human nature, and he

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<v Speaker 1>understood that often our virtues are bound up with our vices.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think for Lincoln to think with and through

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<v Speaker 1>Shakespeare's plays over his lifetime enabled him to cultivate his

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<v Speaker 1>own moral vision that led to astonishing speeches like the

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<v Speaker 1>Second Inaurgal Address, where literally the fate of the United

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<v Speaker 1>States and the Union was on the line. The stakes

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't have been higher.

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<v Speaker 2>After the break, an inspirational poem for FDR and a

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<v Speaker 2>spy thriller for JFK. We're going to go to FDR,

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<v Speaker 2>and you've explained in your talk how one work, in

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<v Speaker 2>particular Rudyard Kipling's poem if is something that FDR carried

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<v Speaker 2>with him his whole life. Actually, you want to give

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<v Speaker 2>us some detail on that.

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<v Speaker 1>As you know, I love tennis, and besides my fantasy

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<v Speaker 1>to play at Wimbledon Center Court, which will never happen,

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<v Speaker 1>every person who walks onto Center Court passes under a

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<v Speaker 1>plaque with the lines if you can meet victory and

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<v Speaker 1>defeat and treat those two impostors the same. You know

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<v Speaker 1>that basically it's not about winning and losing, it's how

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<v Speaker 1>you play the game. And that's a poem by Rudyard Kipling,

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<v Speaker 1>who's much better known as the author of the Jungle Books.

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<v Speaker 1>Now that home If became a kind of mantra for FDR.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's a poem basically about overcoming obstacles, overcoming challenges,

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<v Speaker 1>and holding your head high and not letting other people

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<v Speaker 1>see you suffer. If you can talk with crowds and

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<v Speaker 1>keep your virtue, or walk with kings, nor lose the

0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:25.120
<v Speaker 1>common touch, if you can fill the unforgiving minute with

0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:29.040
<v Speaker 1>sixty seconds worth of distance, run yours is the earth

0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:33.160
<v Speaker 1>and everything that's in it, and what is more, you'll

0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:35.720
<v Speaker 1>be a man, my son. So that's just a brief

0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:39.960
<v Speaker 1>citation from the poem. FDR was so drawn to this,

0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:44.520
<v Speaker 1>and I think we can kind of understand why personally,

0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:47.760
<v Speaker 1>as we all know or any of us who's spent

0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:51.800
<v Speaker 1>any time thinking about FDR, he suffered from polio and

0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:56.960
<v Speaker 1>he couldn't walk for most of his life. And Stephen,

0:15:56.960 --> 0:16:00.720
<v Speaker 1>the way I think it's so fascinating is that politically,

0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:03.840
<v Speaker 1>it's not like we can say, oh, he's citing IF here,

0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:07.520
<v Speaker 1>but I feel echoes of IF in some of his

0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:11.080
<v Speaker 1>greatest speeches. When in his first inaugural address, which I

0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:13.680
<v Speaker 1>think is his greatest speech, in nineteen thirty two, we

0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:15.840
<v Speaker 1>were in the midst of the depression. It was the

0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:19.400
<v Speaker 1>interwar period. Fascism was on the rise in Europe. This

0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:22.240
<v Speaker 1>was not a good time in the world. The world

0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:24.600
<v Speaker 1>was descending into darkness and it would end up in

0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:28.040
<v Speaker 1>World War Two, and Americans were starving. There were runs

0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:31.360
<v Speaker 1>on banks, Ninety percent of the stock market had gone

0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:34.360
<v Speaker 1>down at one point. He says in that first inaugural

0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:37.960
<v Speaker 1>a dress. He says, in such a spirit, on my

0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:44.400
<v Speaker 1>part and yours, we face common difficulties. They concern, thank God,

0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:50.040
<v Speaker 1>only material things. And I think that's the message that

0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:53.960
<v Speaker 1>so many Americans needed to hear then, because the sense

0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:58.840
<v Speaker 1>of despair and pessimism was so rampant, and here you

0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:01.840
<v Speaker 1>had a man saying saying, we'll get through this. These

0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:05.199
<v Speaker 1>are only material challenges. And I think a work like

0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:13.600
<v Speaker 1>IF that poem helped fuel Roosevelt's sense of resolve and ingenuity.

0:17:13.960 --> 0:17:16.760
<v Speaker 2>Jumping forward again. We're moving quickly now all the way

0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:20.199
<v Speaker 2>to JFK. Now this is the only president who won

0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:23.479
<v Speaker 2>a Poetzer Prize, although as you know, that's a somewhat

0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:28.040
<v Speaker 2>controversial issue, not necessarily going there. Even beyond that, though

0:17:28.680 --> 0:17:31.639
<v Speaker 2>one of his favorite books was about a British spy,

0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:35.000
<v Speaker 2>a name we all know. You want to tell us

0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:35.720
<v Speaker 2>about that job.

0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:40.320
<v Speaker 1>Kennedy's really interesting. Yes, you know, he does win a Pulitzer.

0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:43.439
<v Speaker 1>There's a lot of controversy around it because there's the

0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:45.680
<v Speaker 1>talk that he got help writing it, etc.

0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:46.040
<v Speaker 2>Etc.

0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:50.639
<v Speaker 1>Bracketing that. We can say one thing about John F.

0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:51.560
<v Speaker 2>Kennedy.

0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:55.080
<v Speaker 1>His love of literature was genuine. I mean he loved

0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:59.160
<v Speaker 1>to read. In fact, early in his career his dream

0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:02.520
<v Speaker 1>in some part was to be a writer, and he

0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:05.439
<v Speaker 1>was seriously committed to the world of books. And he

0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:08.600
<v Speaker 1>was a writer he did right throughout his life. So

0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:13.119
<v Speaker 1>there was a more playful aspect to his love of literature.

0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:17.199
<v Speaker 1>Being a president and having access to the corridors of

0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:21.520
<v Speaker 1>power proverbial and literal, he got to meet people like

0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:24.959
<v Speaker 1>spies and former spies, and one of them that he

0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:29.520
<v Speaker 1>met was you guessed it, Ian Fleming, the author of

0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:33.760
<v Speaker 1>the James Bond series. So Ian Fleming told Jeffkasey, and

0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:35.879
<v Speaker 1>I think you like my books in so many words,

0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:38.960
<v Speaker 1>and JFK did love them and told the nations you

0:18:39.000 --> 0:18:41.600
<v Speaker 1>should give these books a chance. So I always joke,

0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:45.920
<v Speaker 1>you know that Daniel Craig and his fellow actors portraying

0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:49.080
<v Speaker 1>James Bond should send the Kennedy Estate a thank you

0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:53.480
<v Speaker 1>note for having helped to make the Bond franchise into

0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:56.560
<v Speaker 1>the international behemoth that it is today.

0:18:56.960 --> 0:18:59.399
<v Speaker 2>Do you have a line or two to say about

0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:04.840
<v Speaker 2>any of the most modern presidents Nixon, both Bush's, Obama,

0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:07.000
<v Speaker 2>Trump or now Joe Biden.

0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:11.359
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean, look, some presidents are readers. The nation

0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:17.200
<v Speaker 1>would wait anxiously every year for Barack Obama to publish

0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:21.200
<v Speaker 1>his recommended readings, and it's very clear that Barack Obama

0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:27.480
<v Speaker 1>was very serious and thoughtful reader of literature. Then, of course,

0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:30.760
<v Speaker 1>on the other spectrum, you have Donald Trump, who openly

0:19:30.840 --> 0:19:34.800
<v Speaker 1>says that he's not a reader, and that's public records.

0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:39.960
<v Speaker 1>So you know, you get the whole gamut recently, as

0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:45.440
<v Speaker 1>you did historically for every FDR, for every Abraham Lincoln,

0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:49.040
<v Speaker 1>there was like the likes of Warren Harding, who was

0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:53.960
<v Speaker 1>rated as a terrible president historically and also considered one

0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:57.119
<v Speaker 1>who wasn't fond of books. So there's this sense of

0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:03.439
<v Speaker 1>huge discrepancies throughout the pre of those who are book

0:20:03.480 --> 0:20:06.359
<v Speaker 1>people and those who are not book people.

0:20:07.000 --> 0:20:11.520
<v Speaker 2>Here's the bottom line. Are great readers also great leaders?

0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:13.840
<v Speaker 2>Is that a fair conclusion to reach.

0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:16.919
<v Speaker 1>It's a very good question, Stephen. It's sort of the

0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:21.119
<v Speaker 1>proverbial eight hundred pound monster in the room. And I've

0:20:21.160 --> 0:20:23.640
<v Speaker 1>thought a lot about this because that's where I sort

0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:27.240
<v Speaker 1>of started my research, was is there a connection between

0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:32.760
<v Speaker 1>good reading and good leading? And I believe that there is.

0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:36.840
<v Speaker 1>I think Harry Truman, who is a very fine reader

0:20:37.440 --> 0:20:40.639
<v Speaker 1>and came to power a very difficult time after World

0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:47.200
<v Speaker 1>War Two. Truman said, look, not all readers are leaders,

0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:55.240
<v Speaker 1>but all leaders are readers. So I think the first

0:20:55.320 --> 0:20:58.879
<v Speaker 1>thing that reading does is it shows your curiosity and

0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:03.399
<v Speaker 1>your spirit of collaboration. The second thing I think reading

0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:07.840
<v Speaker 1>does it shows your humility as well. When you open

0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:11.159
<v Speaker 1>a book, you're basically admitting that the world has something

0:21:11.200 --> 0:21:15.080
<v Speaker 1>to teach you, that you are open to new ideas,

0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:18.880
<v Speaker 1>and I think that's sort of an allegory for being

0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:22.040
<v Speaker 1>open to the input of other people in your organization.

0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:26.400
<v Speaker 1>So it's a wonderful kind of sign. I think I've

0:21:26.400 --> 0:21:30.600
<v Speaker 1>talked about reading as an act of curiosity and collaboration,

0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:37.040
<v Speaker 1>an act of humility, But ultimately, I think its greatest

0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:41.239
<v Speaker 1>gift for leader is the perspective that it gives you.

0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:46.359
<v Speaker 1>It allows you to see the world through other people's eyes.

0:21:47.200 --> 0:21:49.520
<v Speaker 1>You know, I often speak with my students, you know.

0:21:49.600 --> 0:21:52.919
<v Speaker 1>Social media is more of a mirror. It reflects your

0:21:52.960 --> 0:21:57.160
<v Speaker 1>interest back at you. Literature is this prism in which

0:21:57.200 --> 0:22:01.320
<v Speaker 1>your ideas come into contact with those of others. It's

0:22:01.400 --> 0:22:04.600
<v Speaker 1>like seeing the world with an additional set of eyes,

0:22:05.560 --> 0:22:09.560
<v Speaker 1>and that I think is the most precious thing for

0:22:09.640 --> 0:22:14.919
<v Speaker 1>a leader, to have the perspective of the people that

0:22:15.080 --> 0:22:19.359
<v Speaker 1>he or she or they are meant to serve, and

0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:24.280
<v Speaker 1>to see the world through their eyes. I think literature

0:22:24.359 --> 0:22:27.200
<v Speaker 1>gives you that extra set of eyes.

0:22:27.920 --> 0:22:30.040
<v Speaker 2>Joe, I got to tell you, if there's one thing

0:22:30.080 --> 0:22:32.360
<v Speaker 2>you know how to do, it's end to talk. You're

0:22:32.359 --> 0:22:34.880
<v Speaker 2>the best at it. Thank you so much for doing this.

0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:36.160
<v Speaker 1>This has been a real pleasure.

0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:40.480
<v Speaker 2>Thank you. Thanks for joining us here at One Day University.

0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:44.560
<v Speaker 2>Sign up at our website one dayu dot com to

0:22:44.640 --> 0:22:48.040
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0:22:55.359 --> 0:22:59.520
<v Speaker 2>episode and watch Bard Professor Joseph Lucy's lecture on the

0:22:59.560 --> 0:23:02.679
<v Speaker 2>President Book Club, as well as his talks on celebrated

0:23:02.720 --> 0:23:06.960
<v Speaker 2>authors like Edgar Allan, Pope, Jane Austen, and many more.

0:23:07.640 --> 0:23:11.280
<v Speaker 2>Join us next time when we preview King Charles's coronation.

0:23:11.720 --> 0:23:14.800
<v Speaker 3>Whenever there's one of these events that criticism is made,

0:23:14.880 --> 0:23:17.920
<v Speaker 3>like money could be spent in a better way, and

0:23:18.040 --> 0:23:20.840
<v Speaker 3>Charles I think he heard some of that, but at

0:23:20.840 --> 0:23:23.240
<v Speaker 3>the same time, he wants his day in the sun.

0:23:23.760 --> 0:23:27.520
<v Speaker 2>One Day University is a production of iHeart Podcasts and

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<v Speaker 3>School of Humans