Collection Summary

Prospects of Mankind with Eleanor Roosevelt was a monthly hour-long series of discussions produced by WGBH for National Educational Television (NET) and featuring former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her guests. The 29 episodes in the collection that make up the entirety of the series have all been digitized and made available on the American Archive of Public Broadcasting website. The brainchild of producer Henry Morgenthau III, the series was a forum for international political leaders, decision-makers, scholars, and journalists to discuss current world events and topics, with Roosevelt acting as host and moderator. Most episodes were filmed at Brandeis University’s Slosberg Music Center in front of a live audience. Guest panelists usually consisted of a key foreign figure or United Nations representative, a representative from American public life or academia, and a member of the press, in the hopes of fostering a well-rounded discussion. Produced in three seasons from September 1959 to June 1962, a period that began with hopes for peaceful coexistence between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, the series covered the final period of the Eisenhower administration and continued as Cold War conflicts around the world intensified during the first years of John F. Kennedy’s presidency. Episodes address a variety of subjects, including disarmament, the UN, Cuba and the threatened spread of communism in Latin America…

Read more at:

https://americanarchive.org/special_collections/prospectsofmankind

Watch clip at:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eleanor-prospects-mankind-eleanor-roosevelt/