What Abraham Lincoln Still Teaches Us About Leadership
The Not Old - Better Show
Paul Vogelzang
4.7 • 106 Ratings
🗓️ 18 December 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What Abraham Lincoln Still Teaches Us About Leadership
The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series
217 years after his birth, Abraham Lincoln remains the gold standard of American leadership — and he still has something to teach us.
In our latest episode of The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series, I sat down with Professor Louis P. Masur — Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of American Studies and History at Rutgers University — to explore the traits that made Lincoln more than just a president. He was a strategist, a master communicator, and perhaps most importantly, a leader who wasn't afraid to change his mind.
Dr. Masur will be appearing at Smithsonian Associates comng up, please check out our show notes for more details about Dr. Masur's Smithsonian Associates presentation titled, Leanring From Lincoln. But we have Smithsonian Associate Dr. Louis Masur today.
Masur's insight reveals how Lincoln's use of humor, storytelling, silence, and empathy helped him guide a broken nation through its darkest days. These aren't just historical details — they're leadership lessons for anyone seeking to grow, lead, and live with purpose, especially in their later chapters of life.
In today's episode, we dig into key moments from Masur's books — Lincoln's Last Speech, Lincoln's Hundred Days, and The Civil War: A Concise History — that highlight the character, wisdom, and personal evolution of Lincoln himself.
What does it mean to lead with humility? To be open to changing course? To use stories, not soundbites, to bring people together?
This episode will inspire anyone who believes it's never too late to lead with grace. 🎧 Listen at notold-better.com
Dr. Masur will be appearing at Smithsonian Associates comng up, please check out our show notes for more details about Dr. Masur's Smithsonian Associates presentation titled, Leanring From Lincoln. But we have Smithsonian Associate Dr. Louis Masur today.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The |
| 0:07.0 | The Welcome to the Not Old Better Show, |
| 0:30.0 | Smithsonian Associates Interview Series on radio and podcasts. |
| 0:34.1 | The show covering all things health, wellness, culture, and more. |
| 0:38.9 | The show for all of us who aren't old, were better. Each week we'll interview superstars, experts, and ordinary people, |
| 0:45.0 | doing extraordinary things, all related to this wonderful experience of getting better, not older. |
| 0:51.1 | Now here's your host, the award-winning Paul Vogelzang. |
| 0:57.7 | Thank you and welcome to the Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates interview series. |
| 1:04.2 | I'm your host, Paul Vogelzang. |
| 1:06.8 | Abraham Lincoln turns 217 this year. That's right, 217 years since a tall lanky kid from a log cabin in Kentucky was born and changed America forever. |
| 1:20.5 | But what if I told you that Lincoln is still offering us guidance? |
| 1:24.5 | Not just as a historical icon, but as a mentor in how to live, how to lead, |
| 1:30.3 | and maybe even how to age with more courage, humility, and grace. |
| 1:35.3 | Today we're joined by Professor Lou's Major, one of the nation's leading Lincoln Scholars, |
| 1:41.3 | Board of Giveners, distinguished professorished Professor of American Studies and History |
| 1:46.1 | at Rutgers, and author of Lincoln's Last Speech, Lincoln's Hundred Days, and The Civil |
| 1:52.3 | War, a concise history. Dr. Major will be appearing at Smithsonian Associates coming up. |
| 1:57.8 | Please check out our show notes for more details about Dr. Measures' Smithsonian Associates coming up, please check out our show notes for more details about Dr. |
| 2:01.3 | Measures' Smithsonian Associates presentation titled Learning from Lincoln. |
| 2:05.7 | But we have Smithsonian Associate Dr. Lewis Major today. |
| 2:10.6 | Professor Measure believes that Lincoln didn't just save the union. |
| 2:15.0 | He modeled a different kind of leadership, one that prized empathy over ego, |
... |
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