Weekend Listen: Ken Burns Says Gratitude Is the Missing Ingredient in Our Politics

Ken Burns has been telling stories about America for almost 50 years. The lauded documentary filmmaker has a new series on PBS, The American Revolution, which charts the period before and after 1776. It will air internationally ahead of the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.

Mishal Husain asked Burns to join the show to mark Thanksgiving, looking at today’s America through the lens of its past and the characters who made history.

02:15 - The complexity of the American Revolution

04:00 - The underdog story

07:15 - The global significance of the American Revolution

13:43 - Mishal Husain’s connection to Lexington Green

16:15 - Why Ken Burns became a filmmaker

17:55 - “My mother’s gift in a funny way was dying”

19:20 - The Ken Burns Effect

20:15 - Hollywood actors as first person narrators

21:25 - Directing Josh Brolin as George Washington

22:00 - Why Tom Hanks didn’t want to be the voice of George Washington

23:00 - Filming reenactments

24:50 - The American Revolution is not over

29:10 Working for PBS, American Public Broadcasting

32:20 What is Ken Burns grateful for on Thanksgiving?

Watch this podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYS

You can find the written version of this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

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