Jon Meacham

Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer and #1 New York Times bestselling author

Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham is returning to Tulsa. Though Tulsa Town Hall has invited him to the Chapman Music Hall stage once before, he was so fascinating, so popular, so impactful, they’ve decided to bring him back a second time.

In his first visit, Meacham discussed media bias. This time around, he will tackle the historical moment we now find ourselves in, its antecedents and what the past teaches us about overcoming a crisis of trust in our democratic institutions.

In his words, Meacham hopes everyone can “come to this, and all, discussions with both an open mind and an open heart. We have to be willing to engage the uncomfortable. And we do ourselves no favors if we glide over the difficult tasks that face the country. And so, I just ask people to come willing to hear and think about what I have to say.” Meacham goes on to add: “The task of American citizenship is to arrive at an informed conclusion that, I believe, is rooted in our best allegiance to this idea that we are created equal and thrive under a system of liberty under the law.”

“History is not a roadmap,” Meacham says. But he does hope his study of the past will help audiences make judgments about the present. His aim is that audiences come away from his talk with a sense of hope, but also, he adds, he hopes they walk away with a sense of duty as citizens. Our issues, he says, will only work out if “enough of us decide that we want it to.”

“The only way politics long endures is if it is a mediation of differences. If it is total war,” says Meacham, “every moment, every election, everything becomes a cataclysmic event. And human nature cannot go from cataclysm to cataclysm.” However, he is hopeful because it is up to us to either fix our own mess or make it worse.

“We have to be willing to engage the uncomfortable. And we do ourselves no favors if we glide over the difficult tasks that face the country.”

Programs like Tulsa Town Hall, Meacham believes are part of that fix. It is “a bit of light in the darkness,” he says. “Respectfully, thoughtfully, we can discuss important issues about which we may disagree.” If we make it through this difficult time, programs like Tulsa Town Hall will be part of the reason.

TULSA TOWN HALL PRESENTS