A Conversation About the American Revolution with Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and Rick Atkinson

Video Description

Acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns visited Concord Carlisle High School during his April 2025 tour through Massachusetts, marking the 250th anniversary of "the shot heard 'round the world" and the start of America's Revolutionary War. ~ NOTE: The American Revolution, a landmark documentary by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, premieres Nov. 16, 2025. More information here: www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution ~ In the high school theater, Burns introduced a film clip from his upcoming documentary, The American Revolution, highlighting the tense and pivotal battles of Lexington and Concord that ignited the war. Following the screening, GBH News Features Editor Jennifer Moore moderated a panel discussion with Ken Burns, co-director Sarah Botstein, and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson to explore the themes of courage, complexity, and the essential role of education in self-governance. The conversation connects past and present, attempts to settle an old Lexington-Concord score, and examines how the founding ideals of the Revolution still challenge and guide us today. Ken Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films known for his style of making use of archival footage and photographs. Among his most notable productions are *The Civil War* (1990), *Baseball* (1994), *Jazz* (2001) and *The War* (2007). Burns's documentaries have been nominated for two Academy Awards (*Brooklyn Bridge* in 1982 and *The Statue of Liberty* in 1986) and have won seven Emmy Awards. Sarah Botstein has produced some of the most popular and acclaimed documentaries on PBS. Her work with Ken Burns and Lynn Novick includes Jazz (2001), The War (2007), Prohibition (2011), The Vietnam War (2017), College Behind Bars (2019), and Hemingway (2020). Rick Atkinson is the best-selling author of The Long Gray Line, a narrative account about West Point's class of 1966; Crusade, a narrative history of the Persian Gulf War; and An Army at Dawn, the first volume in the Liberation Trilogy, a narrative history of the American army in North Africa, Italy, and Western Europe during the Second World War 00:00:00:00 00:00:07:04 Opening remarks and introduction of Ken Burns. 00:00:29:02 Overview of Ken Burns' achievements and contributions to documentary filmmaking. 00:01:23:08 Announcement of changes to the event schedule and humorous remarks. 00:02:12:02 Introduction to the upcoming documentary series on the American Revolution. 00:03:09:12 Discussion on the historical significance and challenges of making the documentary. 00:07:02:15 Introduction of the panelists and their contributions. 00:12:02:22 Panelists discuss themes of courage and nuance in the American Revolution. 00:24:01:15 Audience questions and panel responses. 00:35:00:24 Discussion on the importance of listening in storytelling. 00:40:00:16 Panelists share key lessons from the Revolutionary War relevant to today. 00:46:14:03Final thoughts and closing remarks. GBH Forum Network ~ Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas Like us: https://www.instagram.com/gbhforumnetwork/ https://www.facebook.com/gbhforumnetwork/ Tweet with us: https://twitter.com/GBHForumNetwork See our complete archive here: https://www.wgbh.org/forum-network