Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen

American Icons: Monticello

Monticello is home renovation run amok. Thomas Jefferson was as passionate about building his house as he was about founding the United States; he designed Monticello to the fraction of an inch and never stopped changing it. Yet Monticello was also a plantation worked by slaves, some of them Jefferson’s own children. Today his white and black descendants still battle over who can be buried at Monticello. It was trashed by college students, saved by a Jewish family and celebrated by FDR. With <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenAtHome" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stephen Colbert</a>, filmmaker James Ivory and artist <a href="http://www.mairakalman.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maira Kalman</a>.
(Originally aired October 22, 2010)
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The Peabody Award-winning Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, from PRX, is a smart and surprising guide to what's happening in pop culture and the arts. Each week, Kurt introduces the people who are creating and shaping our culture. Life is busy – so let Studio 360 steer you to the must-see movie this weekend, the next book for your nightstand, or the song that will change your life. Produced in association with Slate.