United States of Kennedy

United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.

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Recent Episodes

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George Magazine Monday, September 1, 2025

In 1995, JFK Jr. and PR executive Michael Berman started a new magazine focused on the intersection of politics and culture. Today we’re joined by Rolling Stone features editor Kate Storey to talk about her 2019 Esquire article about the history of George Magazine, from infamous covers to notable contributors including Al Franken and Kellyanne Conway. As Storey writes, George Magazine “covered politics like it was pop culture. Was it folly — or a glimpse of the Trumpian future?”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Taylor Swift and Conor Kennedy Monday, August 25, 2025

Taylor Swift’s fascination with the Kennedys is well documented, but it really reached a fever pitch in the summer of 2012 when she briefly dated RFK Jr’s son Conor Kennedy. Today, we’re joined by Vulture staff writer and Taylor Swift historian Fran Hoepfner to break down Taylor’s top Kennedy moments, from an infamous paparazzi scandal to a mysterious real estate purchase.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Film of the month: Jackie (2016) Monday, August 18, 2025

Pablo Larrain’s ‘Jackie’ stars Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy in the moments before, during, and after her husband’s assassination. The film landed Portman an Oscar nomination and jumpstarted Larrain’s trilogy of films about misunderstood 20th-century women. We’re joined by ‘Jackie’ superfan Hunter Harris to chat about the film’s depiction of grief, how Larrain subverts biopic tropes, and which actors’ Boston accents could have used a bit more work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Jack Schlossberg Monday, August 11, 2025

You may have seen JFK’s 32-year-old grandson Jack Schlossberg command a crowd at the DNC or present the JFK Profile in Courage Award. You may also have seen him on your feed dancing shirtless while singing “Ticket to Ride” or railing about his hatred of restaurants. We’re joined by William Cohan, co-founder of Puck and author of the Town & Country article “You Don’t Know Jack,” to explore the most famous millennial Kennedy’s unlikely path to social media stardom.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Jackie After JFK Monday, August 4, 2025

Jackie Kennedy was only 34 years old when JFK was assassinated. She was suddenly a single mother of two — and one of the most famous women in the world. We’re joined by J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of the bestselling biography ‘Jackie: Public, Private, Secret’ and the just-released ‘JFK: Public, Private, Secret’, to talk about the relationships that defined Jackie’s post-White House life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Rosemary Kennedy Monday, July 28, 2025

In 1918, Joe and Rose Kennedy had their first daughter, Rosemary. She experienced developmental difficulties as a child and had trouble keeping up in school. When she was 23, her father arranged for her to undergo a lobotomy, which left her profoundly handicapped for the rest of her life. The truth about Rosemary was kept hidden for decades. We’re joined by historian Kate Clifford Larson, author of the New York Times bestseller ‘Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter,’ to discuss Rosemary’s life and legacy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Film of the Month: JFK (1991) Monday, July 21, 2025

For our first edition of Kennedy Film of the Month, we dive into Oliver Stone’s 1991 political thriller opus ‘JFK’. While nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture, it was also roundly condemned in the press for popularizing the theory that there was a government conspiracy to assassinate JFK. Los Angeles Times film critic and co-host of the Unspooled podcast, Amy Nicholson, joins us to unpack the film’s legacy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy Monday, July 14, 2025

America’s prince JFK Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy were ubiquitous in ’90s New York until their tragic death in a plane crash in the summer of 1999. “In the pages of the city tabloids during those few short years, Bessette was a daily soap opera, forced into the multitude of unforgiving tropes for public women. The scheming girlfriend; the coked-up vixen; the miserable spouse,” writes journalist and author Glynnis MacNicol in Town & Country. But little is known about what Carolyn was actually like. We’re joined by MacNicol to separate fact from fiction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Chappaquiddick Monday, July 7, 2025

In 1969, a young Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. He managed to get out of the car and survive, but the 28-year-old woman in the passenger seat did not. Kennedy fled the scene and didn’t report the incident until the following morning. As with all Kennedy scandals, conflicting reports of what exactly happened led to enduring conspiracy theories. We’re joined by Liz McNeil, editor-at-large at PEOPLE, author of JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography, and host of the Chappaquiddick podcast COVER-UP, to discuss what we know about that night — and what we don’t.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The Family Tree Monday, June 30, 2025

Joe Kennedy, the patriarch of the Kennedy family, lived out the American dream. He amassed a fortune and gave his children a launching pad to political and cultural dominance. Lyra and George introduce themselves, the show, and the cast of characters who will be featured throughout.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Introducing: United States of Kennedy Monday, June 23, 2025

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