“A gothic tale of wealth and rebellion in East Hampton.” That’s how New York magazine described the plight of Jackie O’s aunt Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Little Edie Bouvier Beale in a 1972 cover story about their life together in a dilapidated mansion on Long Island. Four years later, Big Edie and Little Edie were immortalized on the big screen in the cult classic documentary Grey Gardens. Olivia Aylmer, senior editor at The Slowdown (slowdown.media), joins us to break down Big Edie and Little Edie’s enduring appeal — and to give us an on-the-ground report of this month’s 50th-anniversary screening of the film at New York’s Paris Theater featuring Julia Fox. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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RFK vs. Jimmy Hoffa
As a senator and later as JFK’s attorney general, one of Bobby Kennedy’s signature causes was taking on organized crime. And his Public Enemy No. 1 was always Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa. But the years-long feud between Kennedy and Hoffa was not just about politics — it was personal. And it haunted the Kennedys for decades. To help us unpack it all, we’re joined by Dan O’Sullivan, co-host of The Outfit, a podcast about the mafia’s surprising role in our society.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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RFK Jr.’s “Autism Announcement”
Since we started this podcast, one member of the Kennedy family has been in the news most consistently. Trump’s Secretary of Health & Human Services, RFK Jr., has been the elephant in the room during any conversation we’ve had about the Kennedy family. Today, we take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to chat with Julie Rovner, Chief Washington Correspondent for KFF Health News, about RFK and Trump’s much-covered “autism announcement” last week and RFK’s role in the anti-vax movement.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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William Kennedy Smith's criminal trial and the birth of CourtTV
In 1991, JFK’s 30-year-old nephew, William Kennedy Smith, was accused of raping a woman named Patricia Bowman at the Kennedy estate in Palm Beach. The ensuing trial coincided with the birth of CourtTV, and its “gavel-to-gavel” television coverage changed the media landscape forever. We’re joined by Dr. Paul Thaler, author of The Watchful Eye: American Justice in the Age of the Television Trial and The Spectacle: Media and the Making of the OJ Simpson Story, to talk about the ethics of cameras in the courtroom, the legacy of the William Kennedy Smith trial, and our current true crime landscape.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Film of the month: Chappaquiddick (2018)
In 1969, a young Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts, leading to the death of a young woman in the passenger seat named Mary Jo Kopechne. For this month’s Kennedy movie episode, we’re joined by Jason Concepcion, co-host of the X-Ray Vision podcast, to talk about the baffling 2018 film ‘Chappaquiddick,’ which attempts to depict the infamous incident and its aftermath — with mixed results.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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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