Interview with Gore Vidal for "The Great Depression" 

"Huey Long would come over..." said like it's an everyday thing. What a man!

Jeez - Learn more history in 1 hr of listening to Vidal than in a whole semester at school. ....These interviews are a real treasure.

Vidal was once described as a national treasure...I can't do better than that. The world is an emptier place without him. What a brilliant man!

I love people who can look at their own class/religion/race and see the most glaring faults.

I'm filled with glee, having listened to Vidal describe our one "corporate political party with two wings." Republican and Democrat:)

We don't have anyone of this man's caliber anymore. His patrician class is long out of the picture and nobody with a solid grasp of history is commenting or at least getting the platform to do it on a national level. Now it's just IT billionaires with no historical context or broad education impacting every aspect. It's a bit scary.

I love this man. I know that he is gone and I miss him terribly. Thank God for youtube . I have 12 of his novels , with three of them being first editions.

“we were a serious country”. best quote of the interview. summarize everything that has happened in America in the last 80 years.

What can I say? I really miss this man, his work and his wonderful stories, essays and caustic words of wisdom.

Just look at the date of this video, and see how spot-on ACCURATE he was... what a loss to America.

one of our great minds no longer with us. such a loss.

He enlightens us all with his Delphic Indifference. All our petty, partisan strutting and fretting is for nothing. It has always been theatre, and Gore Vidal will show us to our seats. Enjoy the show.

Thank you so much for posting this. I hated Gore Vidal . Now, I get him. He was an erudite and good man, ruined by experience. I could listen to him all day.

I so appreciate the archives sharing this. Deep bows.

He came; He saw: He Recontoired. We receive the gift of oral testimony. Lucky us.

They do not make them like that anymore yes what a incredible conversationalist, brilliant man, love listening to the way he articulates his words.

Thanks so much for this upload. Vidal is sorely missed, he was a great raconteur. It's a pity that so many interviewers who were able to get Vidal's time always asked him the same tiresome star struck questions about Jack and Jackie...

"US have a one-party state with two Right Wings " Brilliant indeed !

I found this and thoroughly enjoyed his presentation - terribly interesting...I couldn't stop watching. Where did all our great speakers go...That generation had Gore Vidal, we have various comedians and talk show hosts - pretty pathetic.

Gore Vidal was such a brilliant person.

A voice of logic and reason who questioned those who would enslave us...sorely missed.

I love him! How wise he was!

What a man, what a great man !

I like this unedited version, thanks. It adds a kind of authenticity to the script.

He said his greatest attribute was that he had never killed anyone.

Thanks to Washington University in St Louis for this.

Utterly brilliant man

All that was needed was to turn on the camera. He was a pro.

What tremendous intellect-- superb critical thinking, great literary contributions, wishing Gore Vidal could have played a greater role in our nation's political arena.

I love the people working on this show. They are intelligent, and fastidious, and are only stopping Gore when necessary. Not wasting his time. They are getting the best from Gore, and optimizing his stories. Thank you for posting!

This is priceless...

Wow! + Gore is only the second person I've ever heard say the economy is backed by confidence. That's exactly right. The other person who said that was E. Michael Jones who explains Crony Capitalism as Usury. Which of course in why the term financial enslavement is used to describe debt.

Wow, he has so many insights and factoids that you NEVER... EVER hear from others. This is fascinating.

Love when he talks about his grandfather and childhood

The Great Gore Vidal, America's Greatest Writer.

Wonderful to listen to this man.

CLASSIC ... FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR NATIONS YOUNG ... AND HUMANITY. GENIUS!

The very best of Americans, the world misses you Mr. Vidal.

geez i like listening to Gore Vidal...what a wealth of information...

Amazing! I miss him SO MUCH!! I can't believe he's simply talking off the cuff! AMAZING mind/man/family... RIP

7:34 "Politicians lie in the same way that birds sing, so in the long run you have to watch what they do." Accurate.

Julian the Apostate. Another great book by Mr Vidal.

Gore Vidal , Thank You. I just skimmed my dictionary before your interview. Came across this word, Subject- study topic- discourse/ Objective- person- thing- or oppose/ Odds- difference. You have it all , as I expected. How, we have lost good , analitical discourse discourse over the years. What a pity! Most everything media is prompts, and if all else fail, unrecognizable uncouth language. I so miss, years past East, good conversations, where one walked away enriched. You just made my evening. Thank you again. And perhaps, believe it or not, in the end off this tunnel off redirecting off Cultures,( off course with a heavy price), there is hope for us all.,..🇩🇰🇱🇷 sorry, this system does not allow proper edits, so Usually move on, not to loose train off thought.

I enjoyed listening. Interesting per usual. But, something shone through, for me, in this interview, that I hadn't noticed as much before. I began to realize just how much he was formed in the bubble of elitism and that his character and policy deconstruction was limited because of it. To contrast, and I'm not trying to pass judgment with righteous indignation as much as to ask if this personal story does point out any flaws from the scope of his judgment, I'd like to quickly share my grandfather's story. My grandfather was the superintendent of schools in Pennington County, South Dakota. In 1929, he refused orders, from the KKK-INFESTED school board, to fire all the Catholic teachers. The board fired him because of it. The family, with 12 kids, lost their house, owing $500, and literally lived outside and in places with dirt floors. They struggled and everyone who could worked whenever possible. My grandfather finally got some regular work, building infrastructure with a shovel, because of the WPA. Some of the older boys did as well. Eventually, the superintendent position became elected, instead of appointed, and my grandfather got the position again. As my uncles and father went off to Europe, the Pacific, and our East coast, during WWII. I can say that "churches and communities" do not help, when times are tough for everyone. We are better off with a public safety net. (Now, you can go to S. Korea and still see what it looks like when there is none for senior citizens. It's pretty heartless. ) I can also say that we need more attention to our crumbling infrastructure. I was on the bridge in Mpls 24 hours exactly, before it collapsed into the Mississippi. What seems to be omitted from this insular view of human traits is real sacrifice. Instead, real political savvy was praised as the high watermark for character, in this interview. I know that Mr. Vidal was informed by what I'm talking about, from my family history, which has continued, in its character and ethics down to my children. But, I'm not sure that he is able to really "get it", if he's never had the heat turned off in Winter. I stood in line as a child in the 70's for a box of food staples. My mother and brothers worked full time. There are very hard working, ethical poor people in this country, who might have a visceral understanding of the new deal's effects, which is outside of the speaker's range of experience. I'm very sure he's read about it. I'm in agreement with what he said about the Uniparty and the Empire and respect his knowledge and experience. I just wanted to express something that I noticed in this particular interview. I'll finish by saying that, personally, I think the false dichotomy between Collectivism and Individualism is the most powerful divide-and-conquer psyop I've known to exist, and I have zero room left for incompetence theories. Thanks for publishing this and hearing me out.

My political education started when I watched the debates between Vidal and Buckley, sadly once they departed you were left to your own devices.

Thanks for putting this up! :)

Just love his take (c. 37 mins in) on the effects of the advent of air conditioning on the nation.

One of the most important things FDR ever said , perhaps his speech writer wrote it , we need "a more equitable [ fairer ] distribution of wealth " . That applies now more than ever .

Gore Vidal was something of a political child that saw the powerplay from the inside ! Absolutly brilliant brain and with a very independent mind ! He really understood his history and people aiming for power . The quest of power is always a quest for total power . The US was early on aiming toward Empire ! He understood the Roosewelt presidencys path toward fascism . And Gore Vidal was a brilliant man on the stager and his analysis was always very claryfing . To understand US history you have to get to know this brilliant figure .

What a memory! Amazing!

Mr. Vidal we miss you!

What a fascinating man .

The more you hate government, the more you love Mr. Vidal.

Thank you for this fascinating take on history by one who experienced it. We miss you, Gore! R.I.P..

Always a joy to listen to this most articulate, witty and honest man

The Great Depression was Henry Hampton's magnum opus for PBS. His Boston production company, Blackside, had previously, among other things, created episodes of The American Experience for PBS. I originally met him through an unusual venue. We played wheelchair basketball together. He'd had polio as a child and marched in Selma on two leg braces. Many of us playing that sport could walk but not run. Brilliant man. Died far too young, alas.

The only difference between the dems and republicans is one is in the other out. Both wings of the same corporate entity. Great insight into real American politics.

A national treasure :)

Wonderful, there is no other that comes even close.

Wonderful. This explains a lot.

This is not only a great lesson on us history but overall a fantastic interview!!!! What a brilliant man.

An under appreciated man and raconteur. 25:00 37:20 30:07 44:00. 5:54 his Roosevelt impersonation is hilarious

Grate footage, thanks for sharing!

This mus be mandatory watching so people can learn about the history of this country, especially now, because things have not changed. I feel so ignorant. Thank you for having the great Gore Vidal!

“Politicians lie in the same way that birds sing” 😂 Almost as good as: “Never lose an opportunity to have sex or be on television”

If you enjoy listening to Vidal, you'll enjoy reading his memoirs and essays even more. I've never read any of his novels. My fave lit professor said they weren't worth the time.

Even though this is raw footage, it was wonderful to hear Gore Vidal's thoughts on the great moments of history, from the perspective of a first-hand account. His patrician manner seems to give him a sort of impartiality, or perhaps indifference? - if that is at all possible? His insights are probably worth more than a dozen other documentaries on The Great Depression. His accounts of Roosevelt were most enlightening - the good and bad sides of the man.

Oh, the days when one could sit and listen to great men and women talk about the realities of our "republic."

We miss him.

Mr. Vidal is a national treasure! Wow

I agree. He his my favorite AMERICAN author. I loved E.A. Poe too , but with Vidal , his books would just suck you in to them .

This man would have made a fine president.

17:30 to 18:00 That is a priceless revelation.

the cat knew his shit!!

Things were more interesting and slightly more hopeful 15-20 years ago when characters like Gore Vidal, and Christopher Hitchens were alive. Public intellectuals who were well versed in history and actually gave a damn about society. They spoke their minds and didn't give a damn what anyone thought of them. They are sorely missed and the country is much bleaker without their presence and voices of integrity.

Thank You.

SILENCE, from extreme right or left , the middle is driving the bus high on righteousness.. .

That was an excellent documentary. Too bad there wasn't a cameraman available.

top of th line interview --- vidal nails it

Regardless of his political views, I miss individuals like Vidal who are filled with so many interesting stories about their personal history. There are so many shallow conversationalist appearing on interview shows we seem to forget there was a time when writers and artists - in short, a variety of individuals who had substance of thought-could often be seen on television and radio. Lillian Hellman, Truman Capote, W. H. Auden -the list is long but they were interesting people who had "thoughts" about the culture. Today we're stuck with vapid celebrities who talk about very little except themselves. They are semi-literate and seem to not know anyone but themselves. Also, I read Vidal's history novels, enjoyed Burr and Lincoln, was bored with his Washington DC and loved Julian. However, note the different topics he wrote about. Who is there today that explores so many different topics? The Clinton(s)? Bush(es)? Rock stars? Harry Potter's mother? Who?????

Hot damn Roosevelt built the beautiful downtown post office in my town, San Jose California.

He completely switched from his Grandfather's views and look where the country is now because of it

I can listen to this man anytime. He was brilliant and if we did not have such a foolish, uninformed and stupid voting populace, this man should have been president and a great one he would have made...one of the greatest Americans for sure and that at least makes me proud he was ours. With all his publicity and the many who loved this fine writer...on history and America's problems he was genius but he was too honest, he was a good man and to my knowledge loved life, loved people and all that notoriety he was not egotistical as so many, far, far less than he, was.

THANKS----Worth every minute. You come out of this hour with more than from a half-year in graduate school. Too bad imperial America became so resolved to assassinate anybody like Vidal by any means possible: here for ex. he concludes that the Pentagon (symbol of empire) "should be torn down." Amen. A born observer and listener---one of the last flowers in the American desert. But, 48:00---"There's a lot to be said for outliving your enemies." Gore Vidal will.

The Robert Moses story is interesting, there's a great biography The Power Broker.

so bright and witty--miss his commentary and analysis of politics and our leaders

@01:10 - “He was the blind senator. He was blind from the age of 10; a very colorful figure.”

Wow ! humble fella that Gore Vidal .

"I'm giving you endings."

haha he said "politicians lie in that same way that birds sing"

WOW !!!!!

Viva Vidal ! I believe he tells the truth!

He’s speaking of bernie sanders the new fdr of our time. Quite the prediction

I am old enough to remember Vidal when he was in top form and was able to get air time on network television. I did not particularly like him but I respected his intelligence. Sadly there are no longer any people like him in the public forum any more. I am glad that this film exists but... It would have been so much better if they had used two cameras and not burdened him with some distant woman's voice trying to guide him or whatever. I believe these interruptions threw him off balance a bit.

what a great loss

I'm a big GV fan.... He was a pretty good writer, and an excellent essayist. He also possessed an acerbic wit he often used to deadly effect. He was also an insufferable snob Lol! Anyone who hasn't seen the exchanges between him & William Buckley during the 1968 Democratic Convention should use the search engine above to find it and then watch it - it is a scream!

This wonderful man

brilliant man who didn't let his position and privilege go to waste...couple quotes stuck out (paraphrase): on political campaigns: "Senators know you don't live up to your campaign promises, its when you do that they begin to be worried" on the Irish famine: "you don't stick with strict capitalism when people are starving" on FDR: "not a great character, rather flawed, but was a superb President" but wow: "Lincoln was a total dictator"

Around 2000,I remember visiting Washington, asking this rather ordinary looking woman for directions.She said 'i don't know but my hotel will!'.She then took us into the Willard intercontinental with oak panelling,someone playing a grand piano and a receptionist who served us instantly.

Hichens hero/mentor, very influenced by vidal ,2 giants,unfortunately doesn't seem anyone around to fullfill those big shoes.💪