First virtual Kalb Report features documentarian Ken Burns on turbulent 2020, livestream July 27

Ken Burns, the award-winning documentary filmmaker, will join moderator Marvin Kalb for the 101st edition of The Kalb Report streaming online on Monday, July 27, at 1 p.m.

Titled “One for the History Books -- A Conversation with Ken Burns on a Turbulent 2020,” Kalb and Burns will explore how this year – still only six months old – is shaping up to be an historic year for the country and the world.

Click here to view the livestream at 1 p.m. on Monday, July 27.

Burns, the Emmy-Award winning documentarian, is known for illuminating American life through renowned films including “The Civil War,” “Jazz,” “The Statue of Liberty,” “The Vietnam War,” and “Baseball.” By chronicling seminal moments in our country’s past, he has provided context and perspective on many of the unprecedented cultural, political and racial challenges we face today.

"Who better than Ken Burns to explain this difficult, dangerous moment in American history,” Kalb said.  “For forty years, he has examined every aspect of American life—from racial crises to baseball, from war to country music.  I'm looking forward to talking with this exceptional historian, as eloquent with words as he is with pictures.”

With Kalb joining from his home in Maryland and Burns from his home in New Hampshire, this will be the first virtual program in The Kalb Report’s 26-year history.

After being livestreamed, the program will be broadcast on Maryland Public Television and distributed nationally by American Public Television. It also will air on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio and Federal News Radio in Washington, D.C.

“In the midst of our 24/7, lightning fast, crisis news cycle, this conversation provides a welcome opportunity to step back and consider our path forward—with history as our guide,” said National Press Club President Michael Freedman, who serves as executive producer of the series.

The Kalb Report is produced jointly by The National Press Club Journalism Institute, University of Maryland Global Campus, the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center, the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland and the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma. For the 17th consecutive year, the series is underwritten by a grant from Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.