Ken Burns
@kenlburns.bsky.social
Making films about history for nearly 50 years.
As we think about President Lincoln on what would have been his 217th birthday, let’s listen to, and be inspired by, his words. Each generation is asked to preserve and extend the ideas of freedom and democracy.
Abraham Lincoln was born today in 1809.
Here is a clip from our film, THE CIVIL WAR, featuring Lincoln’s 1862 annual message to Congress.
Here is a clip from our film, THE CIVIL WAR, featuring Lincoln’s 1862 annual message to Congress.
February 12, 2026 at 2:04 PM
As we think about President Lincoln on what would have been his 217th birthday, let’s listen to, and be inspired by, his words. Each generation is asked to preserve and extend the ideas of freedom and democracy.
Reposted by Ken Burns
We are officially less than one week away from the launch of In Pursuit, a landmark initiative celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.
Our Substack will serve as a digital home for a year-long exploration of leadership, character, and the American Experiment.
Our Substack will serve as a digital home for a year-long exploration of leadership, character, and the American Experiment.
February 10, 2026 at 2:24 PM
We are officially less than one week away from the launch of In Pursuit, a landmark initiative celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.
Our Substack will serve as a digital home for a year-long exploration of leadership, character, and the American Experiment.
Our Substack will serve as a digital home for a year-long exploration of leadership, character, and the American Experiment.
Some thoughts arranged in a poem that @theatlantic.com very graciously published.
“We went around—in every season, / For five years, / The yellow fading, the outrage permanent, / The scar invading each day’s promise.”
Read a new poem by Ken Burns:
Read a new poem by Ken Burns:
North Road, Fall 2020
A poem
bit.ly
December 29, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Some thoughts arranged in a poem that @theatlantic.com very graciously published.
Reposted by Ken Burns
Colleen Shogan writes in The Free Press about where American democracy still works: in the everyday cooperation happening in schools, taverns, libraries, and neighborhoods across the country.
December 4, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Colleen Shogan writes in The Free Press about where American democracy still works: in the everyday cooperation happening in schools, taverns, libraries, and neighborhoods across the country.
We're sharing materials with Colleges/Universities to have screenings on campuses and discussions about our country's founding. Then join us for a live virtual Campus Conversation about The American Revolution on 11/19. @historians.org @aacu.org @pbs.org Materials are here: shorturl.at/1qlka
October 16, 2025 at 1:28 PM
We're sharing materials with Colleges/Universities to have screenings on campuses and discussions about our country's founding. Then join us for a live virtual Campus Conversation about The American Revolution on 11/19. @historians.org @aacu.org @pbs.org Materials are here: shorturl.at/1qlka
And now a word from the Oval Office....
July 29, 2025 at 1:25 PM
And now a word from the Oval Office....
Had a good time at the Reagan Library discussing the American Revolution with Fred Ryan.
“The rights of the individual are greater than the rights of the monarch.” Ken Burns and Fred Ryan discuss Ronald Reagan’s relationship to the American Revolution.
#AmericanRevolutionPBS, a film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, premieres this November.
#AmericanRevolutionPBS, a film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, premieres this November.
July 23, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Had a good time at the Reagan Library discussing the American Revolution with Fred Ryan.
Excited to be speaking at The Atlantic Festival this September! Join The Atlantic for three days of conversations, screenings, book talks, and more. Passes and more info available at theatlanticfestival.com. #TheAtlanticFestival
The Atlantic Festival 2025
theatlanticfestival.com
June 16, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Excited to be speaking at The Atlantic Festival this September! Join The Atlantic for three days of conversations, screenings, book talks, and more. Passes and more info available at theatlanticfestival.com. #TheAtlanticFestival
Support public media.
Public media is at risk.
Congress is considering deep funding cuts to PBS, threatening the shows, local coverage, and educational programming that have shaped generations.
Visit ProtectMyPublicMedia.org for more.
#SavePBS
Congress is considering deep funding cuts to PBS, threatening the shows, local coverage, and educational programming that have shaped generations.
Visit ProtectMyPublicMedia.org for more.
#SavePBS
June 7, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Support public media.
I’ll be in Dallas on June 3 for a special screening of clips from our new film, The American Revolution, at the Winspear Opera House with KERA. Join me, Sarah Botstein, and Jane Kamensky for a conversation after the film. Tickets and info here: attpac.org/event/the-am...
The American Revolution - A Film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein & David Schmidt - AT&T Performing Arts Center
attpac.org
May 20, 2025 at 8:20 PM
I’ll be in Dallas on June 3 for a special screening of clips from our new film, The American Revolution, at the Winspear Opera House with KERA. Join me, Sarah Botstein, and Jane Kamensky for a conversation after the film. Tickets and info here: attpac.org/event/the-am...
Very proud of PBS Paula Kerger and the entire system - the public broadcasting service www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/b...
Can She Keep PBS on the Air?
www.nytimes.com
May 16, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Very proud of PBS Paula Kerger and the entire system - the public broadcasting service www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/b...
Reposted by Ken Burns
80 years ago today, Nazi Germany surrendered.
Across Europe, the war ended, but across the world, it didn’t.
Hear from @kenlburns.bsky.social and explore our new playlists, now on KenBurnsUNUM.com
Across Europe, the war ended, but across the world, it didn’t.
Hear from @kenlburns.bsky.social and explore our new playlists, now on KenBurnsUNUM.com
May 8, 2025 at 5:38 PM
80 years ago today, Nazi Germany surrendered.
Across Europe, the war ended, but across the world, it didn’t.
Hear from @kenlburns.bsky.social and explore our new playlists, now on KenBurnsUNUM.com
Across Europe, the war ended, but across the world, it didn’t.
Hear from @kenlburns.bsky.social and explore our new playlists, now on KenBurnsUNUM.com
Defying the Nazis, a 2016 film I made with Artemis Joukowsky, tells the story of an American couple that risked their lives to rescue imperiled Jews and refugees fleeing Nazi Europe. It's streaming now on PBS. Check it out: www.pbs.org/kenburns/def...
Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War | Ken Burns | PBS | Watch Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War | Ken Burns | PBS
Join an American couple's courageous mission in 1939 to help refugees escape Nazi-occupied Europe. Over the course of two years, the pair will risk their lives so that hundreds can live in freedom. A ...
www.pbs.org
May 8, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Defying the Nazis, a 2016 film I made with Artemis Joukowsky, tells the story of an American couple that risked their lives to rescue imperiled Jews and refugees fleeing Nazi Europe. It's streaming now on PBS. Check it out: www.pbs.org/kenburns/def...
Some thoughts about public media and America at 250 that Paula Kerger and I shared with @thehill.com #publicmedia @pbs.org thehill.com/opinion/cong...
thehill.com
May 7, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Some thoughts about public media and America at 250 that Paula Kerger and I shared with @thehill.com #publicmedia @pbs.org thehill.com/opinion/cong...
@NH4Ukraine has been delivering critical, wholesale humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s hardest-hit regions since 2022. 100% volunteer-run, minimal overhead, maximum impact. Learn more & support at www.NH4Ukraine.org<http://www.nh4ukraine.org/> #Ukraine #HumanitarianAid
May 7, 2025 at 10:39 AM
@NH4Ukraine has been delivering critical, wholesale humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s hardest-hit regions since 2022. 100% volunteer-run, minimal overhead, maximum impact. Learn more & support at www.NH4Ukraine.org<http://www.nh4ukraine.org/> #Ukraine #HumanitarianAid
Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the start of the war this week, we're sharing the first clip from our upcoming film, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, which premieres in Nov on @pbs.org. I can't wait to share this film with the world. #AmericanRevolutionPBS
April 16, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the start of the war this week, we're sharing the first clip from our upcoming film, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, which premieres in Nov on @pbs.org. I can't wait to share this film with the world. #AmericanRevolutionPBS
We are kicking off #UnumOntheRoad. Check out our first stop at West Point.
UNUM is hitting the road with @kenlburns.bsky.social and co-directors Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt ahead of their upcoming film, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
First stop: West Point.
George Washington called it “the most important post in America.”
First stop: West Point.
George Washington called it “the most important post in America.”
March 14, 2025 at 6:41 PM
We are kicking off #UnumOntheRoad. Check out our first stop at West Point.
Join @historians.org and @icivics.bsky.social tonight for a conversation about teaching American history and the 250th anniversary of US. Info here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: America 250 and the Landscape of History Education. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
In this Civic Learning Week event, Sarah Weicksel (Director of Research and Publications, and incoming Executive Director, American Historical Association) will moderate a conversation with iCivics Ch...
us02web.zoom.us
March 11, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Join @historians.org and @icivics.bsky.social tonight for a conversation about teaching American history and the 250th anniversary of US. Info here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Our next film, The American Revolution, will air on
@pbs.org starting 11/16. Leading up to the broadcast, we'll have a national conversation about this important event and how it helped define us as a people - and changed the world. More info is here: www.pbs.org/kenburns/the...
@pbs.org starting 11/16. Leading up to the broadcast, we'll have a national conversation about this important event and how it helped define us as a people - and changed the world. More info is here: www.pbs.org/kenburns/the...
The American Revolution | Coming Fall 2025 | PBS
The American Revolution, a landmark documentary by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, is coming Fall 2025.
www.pbs.org
January 9, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Our next film, The American Revolution, will air on
@pbs.org starting 11/16. Leading up to the broadcast, we'll have a national conversation about this important event and how it helped define us as a people - and changed the world. More info is here: www.pbs.org/kenburns/the...
@pbs.org starting 11/16. Leading up to the broadcast, we'll have a national conversation about this important event and how it helped define us as a people - and changed the world. More info is here: www.pbs.org/kenburns/the...
If you’re at the AHA meeting in NYC tonight hope you can join our session on the American Revolution. #AHA25 aha.confex.com/aha/2025/web...
138th Annual Meeting (January 3-6, 2025): Plenary: <em>The American Revolution</em>—A New Film Directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, Written by Geoffrey Ward
aha.confex.com
January 5, 2025 at 5:13 PM
If you’re at the AHA meeting in NYC tonight hope you can join our session on the American Revolution. #AHA25 aha.confex.com/aha/2025/web...
Happy 10th anniversary to Christopher Nolan’s #Interstellar!
To celebrate its re-release into theaters this weekend, we’re traveling back in time to remember the unexpected role of @kenlburns.bsky.social THE DUST BOWL through this piece by Alyssa Rosenberg: www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-fou...
To celebrate its re-release into theaters this weekend, we’re traveling back in time to remember the unexpected role of @kenlburns.bsky.social THE DUST BOWL through this piece by Alyssa Rosenberg: www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-fou...
Opinion | How Ken Burns’ surprise role in ‘Interstellar’ explains the movie
Christopher Nolan's space odyssey has a quiet but determined environmentalist streak, provided by documentary filmmakers Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 7, 2024 at 1:06 AM
It's one thing to read a story about yourself, and then you get to listen to it too. I hope you have a chance to listen. Link below in the story.
Place has been an important theme in all of @kenlburns.bsky.social films. It’s also important for him personally, as Rukmini Callimachi of @nytimes.com has captured in this moving portrait of Ken’s family and home.
December 3, 2024 at 3:47 PM
It's one thing to read a story about yourself, and then you get to listen to it too. I hope you have a chance to listen. Link below in the story.
Reposted by Ken Burns
The award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns has slept in the same bedroom for over four decades. He credits his home with allowing him to make the films everyone said he couldn’t.
The Land That Allowed Ken Burns to ‘Raise the Dead’
The award-winning filmmaker has slept in the same bedroom for over four decades. He credits his home with allowing him to make the films everyone said he couldn’t.
www.nytimes.com
November 28, 2024 at 6:03 AM
The award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns has slept in the same bedroom for over four decades. He credits his home with allowing him to make the films everyone said he couldn’t.
Happy Thanksgiving.
On this day of thanks, we applaud all who work to protect and sustain the land and nature. Here’s a short clip from THE AMERICAN BUFFALO that celebrates the land we inhabit.
Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving.
Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving.
November 28, 2024 at 5:55 PM
Happy Thanksgiving.
Place is important to who I am as a person and filmmaker. It's foundational to how we function, the very idea of home. Rukmini Callimachi has shared a piece about mine timed to Leonardo da Vinci, streaming on PBS. Wishing everyone the best for Thanksgiving: www.nytimes.com/2024/11/27/r...
The Land That Allowed Ken Burns to ‘Raise the Dead’
The award-winning filmmaker has slept in the same bedroom for over four decades. He credits his home with allowing him to make the films everyone said he couldn’t.
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2024 at 1:37 PM
Place is important to who I am as a person and filmmaker. It's foundational to how we function, the very idea of home. Rukmini Callimachi has shared a piece about mine timed to Leonardo da Vinci, streaming on PBS. Wishing everyone the best for Thanksgiving: www.nytimes.com/2024/11/27/r...