Clay Jenkinson may be the closest thing to Thomas Jefferson since Jefferson himself.
A Rhodes scholar and writer, he impersonates Jefferson on a weekly public radio show, and he’s played Jefferson to Supreme Court justices, the Clinton’s, fifth graders, convicted felons, and Nobel laureates.
Thomas Jefferson was a reluctant president, a lover of fine wine and literature, a meticulous architect and inventor, a prolific writer, and a conflicted slave owner – he encompassed in his vision, actions, and wide-ranging interests much of what makes America American.
This, Jenkinson says, is why Thomas Jefferson is the perfect lens for dissecting contemporary society. Jefferson once wrote: “I know my principles to be pure…they are the same…I am sure, with those of the great body of the American people.”
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Clay Jenkinson, Jefferson impersonater