Hey everybody, it's Jeff Bennett, and this is the PBS News Podcast, Settle In.

In observance of President's Day, we're asking a simple question. What would Abraham Lincoln do if he were still alive today?

Author and historian Matthew Pinsker tackles this question every week online.

We sat down to understand how Lincoln kept the nation from being torn apart and the takeaways for this moment of political division.

And while Lincoln is now widely considered to be one of our best presidents,

is it fair to ask would he still be successful today?

So settle in and find out.

Hope you enjoy our conversation with Matthew Pinsker.

Matthew Pinsker, thanks for speaking with us. We appreciate it.

Thank you.

You've spent decades immersed in Abraham Lincoln, countless lectures, three books,

now this weekly substack.

Why does Lincoln still feel like unfinished business to you as a historian? It's amazing. I think people don't realize, but we find new evidence almost every year.

There's always some document stashed away in somebody's attic, and it just brings him to life

in a fresh way.

And why do you think he's worthy of close study?

Well, of course, he's the apostle of democracy.

He's our greatest president.

I'll fight anybody who says otherwise.

And, you know, he's so relevant.

Unfortunately, he seems too relevant right now.

But he is always relevant and worth studying and drawing inspiration from.

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