Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Meacham Featured at Daschle Dialogues

Presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham headlines this year’s Daschle Dialogues on April 7 on the South Dakota State University campus. 

This year’s event is being held in First Bank & Trust Arena.

Tickets will be made available online starting Feb. 25.

Meacham is considered one of America’s foremost public intellectuals. His body of work includes biographies of George H.W. Bush, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. His best-selling books include “And There Was Light” (a portrait of Abraham Lincoln), “The Soul of America” and “His Truth Is Marching On” (a biography of John Lewis). His latest book, “American Struggle,” covers a wide spectrum of history, from 1619 to the 21st century. 

Daschle Dialogues is the public component of the Thomas A. Daschle Congressional Research Study. Daschle, a 1969 SDSU graduate, served in Congress for 26 years. He was one of the longest-serving Senate democratic leaders in history and one of only two to serve twice as both majority and minority leader. Daschle’s official papers were donated to Hilton M. Briggs Library and maintained by University Archives and Special Collections, where they have become the basis for research by SDSU faculty, scholars and students. 

Daschle will join Meacham at the program.  

Past featured guests included former Republican Senate Leader Trent Lott, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin, longtime NBC anchor Tom Brokaw and political journalist and author Jonathan Karl. Sharon McMahon, bestselling author of “The Small and the Mighty,” was the featured guest last October. 

“I have long admired the work of Jon Meacham, and his extraordinary accomplishments as a presidential historian are so relevant to these times,” Sen. Daschle said. “He adds to the list of nationally respected and thought-provoking figures that this program has brought to South Dakota State.” 

Meacham is a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden in 2024. 

Meacham’s appearance will include remarks, followed by a moderated discussion with Chuck Raasch, an SDSU graduate who had a distinguished career as a national political reporter for USA Today, Gannett News Service and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

Private donations to the SDSU Alumni & Foundation for the Daschle endowment are used to underwrite the Daschle Dialogues program. 

For the first time, there will be a $15 charge for tickets (all reserved seating), with all ticket proceeds supporting scholarships for SDSU students. There will be no cost for students to attend. 

It follows a successful model of the Woodbine Production performance series, which has an anonymous donor underwriting all expenses and allows 100% of the ticket proceeds to support scholarships in music. Since the inception of Woodbine Productions, more than $1 million has been directed to scholarships from that program. 

Learn more about Daschle Dialogues and how to get tickets starting February 25 at www.sdstate.edu/community/daschle-dialogues.