Walter Cronkite On The Assassination Of John F. Kennedy

The story of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy has been told many times by many people. Among those who told it first was the late Walter Cronkite. He anchored the CBS News coverage during the first hours after bullets hit the president in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, 50 years ago Friday.

Oliver Stone on 50th Anniversary of JFK Assassination & the Untold History of the United States

Three-time Academy Award-winning director, producer and screenwriter Oliver Stone joins us for the hour to discuss the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, which was chronicled in his blockbuster film, "JFK." A Vietnam War veteran, Stone has made around two dozen acclaimed Hollywood films, including "Platoon," "Salvador," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Nixon," "South of the Border" and "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." A commemorative edition of "JFK" comes out next week. Most recently, Stone has co-written the 10-part Showtime series, "Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States," and companion book with the same name, co-written by Peter Kuznick, professor of history and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University.

TRANSCRIPT

Inconsistencies Haunt Official Record Of Kennedy's Death

The first thing T. Jeremy Gunn says when you ask him about President John F. Kennedy's assassination is, "I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I don't have a theory about what happened."

But he knows a lot about it from his work for the Assassination Records Review Board, established by Congress in 1992, about a year after the Oliver Stone film J.F.K. reignited questions about the assassination. The film rejected the official 1964 conclusion of the Warren Commission, which placed guilt on Lee Harvey Oswald alone. Instead, Stone proposed a vast government conspiracy linked to the C.I.A.

Botched Investigation Fuels Kennedy Conspiracy Theories

It's been 50 years since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, and polls show that a majority of Americans still believe Kennedy was the victim of a conspiracy, not a lone assassin. Though an official investigation concluded that Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone, conspiracy theories about the assassination were spawned almost immediately, and they keep coming to this day: Republican consultant Roger Stone has a new book — The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ — arguing Lyndon Johnson was behind the crime.

Veteran investigative reporter Philip Shenon looks for the root of five decades of speculation in A Cruel and Shocking Act. The new book recounts the work of the Warren Commission appointed by President Johnson to investigate the assassination.

Witnessing History In A Dallas Emergency Room

On Nov. 22, 1963, ambulance driver Aubrey Rike and his assistant, Dennis "Peanuts" McGuire, just happened to be on a call at Parkland Memorial Hospital when President John F. Kennedy was brought in.

Moved By Kennedy's Death, The Boston Symphony Played On

A visit to the symphony: It's often a solitary experience that can, in truly important moments, become communal — as it did in Boston on Nov. 22, 1963.

At 2 p.m., the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Friday afternoon concert began like any other. The orchestra stuck to the program until 2:35 p.m., when it took a brief break. When conductor Erich Leinsdorf returned to the stage, he did not lift his baton to the orchestra. Instead, he gazed out into the audience, forced to share some terrible news.

50 Years After Assassination, Kennedy Books Offer New Analysis

In the 50 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the public has never tired of books about the charismatic young president and his tragic death.

This year, the market has been particularly flooded with Kennedy books — from glossy photograph collections to serious biographies and histories to a new round of books devoted to conspiracy theories.

How JFK Fathered The Modern Presidential Campaign

Recognizing The Power Of TV

When John F. Kennedy began his run for the White House more than 50 years ago, there was plenty of excitement and anticipation. He was energetic, handsome and from a famous Boston political family.

But his candidacy was far from a sure bet. At the time, few would have predicted the lasting impact his campaign would have on every election to follow.

Kennedy made the most of his youth and novelty, says historian Robert Dallek, author of several books about JFK.

JFK's Lasting Economic Legacy: Lower Tax Rates

As the young U.S. senator takes the oath to become president, he sets out to fix an economy struggling with rising unemployment, slumping profits and depressed stock prices.

He knows the deep recession could prevent him from advancing his broader domestic and diplomatic agenda. Yes — all true for President Obama.

But that's what John F. Kennedy faced as well. On his frosty Inauguration Day in January 1961, Kennedy had to start fulfilling his campaign pledge to "get America moving again." Like Obama, he would need to win over a deeply skeptical business community.

The similarities mostly end right there.

Since taking office, Obama has struggled with the aftermath of a global financial crisis and a home foreclosure meltdown. Even after nearly five years in office, he presides over an economy stuck with a 7.3 percent unemployment rate and a disappointing growth rate well below 3 percent.