The George Washington Presidential Library Launches New Podcast, "Inventing the Presidency." First Episode Explores Foundations of the American Presidency and First Election

The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon has launched a new podcast that will bring to life how George Washington shaped the U.S. presidency and how the world’s first presidency was often on the brink of falling apart. Inventing the Presidency was released on March 4 for Mount Vernon members and today to the public.

“The creation of the American presidency stands as one of the most innovative and successful experiments in modern world history,” said Patrick Spero, Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library. “There was no institution similar to the presidency, and it fell upon George Washington to figure out how the presidency would operate in the newly created United States. Our new podcast takes listeners on a behind-the-scenes journey to understand how George Washington established the office and examine how his decisions continue to shape America even today.”

Episode 1 explores the foundations of the American presidency and the first presidential election, and it includes renowned historians, scholars, and authors, including:

• Rick Atkinson, Multiple Pulitzer Prize winner and 2020 George Washington Prize winner of The British Are Coming.
• Lindsay Chervinsky, Presidential Historian and author of the award-winning book, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution
• Peter Kastor, Professor of History and American Culture Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.
• Bruce Ragsdale, renowned historian and winner of the 2022 George Washington Prize for his book, Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery.
• Patrick Spero, Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library.

Future episodes will include Dr. Colin Calloway, Dartmouth Professor of History, Ramin Ganeshram, Executive Director of the Westport Museum, and others.

Episodes will be released biweekly and are available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and other podcast apps. Learn more at https://www.georgewashingtonpodcast.com/show/inventing-the-presidency/. 

Explore the George Washington Podcast Network.

Mount Vernon members receive early access to podcast episodes. Information about Mount Vernon membership is available here.