Southern secession as a response to Lincoln's election and anti-slavery politics

Complexities of Obama's approach to race as the first Black president

Writing Last Wish and decisions around helping mother die

Katharine Graham's decision to hire Bradlee as editor of The Washington Post

Origins of Al-Qaeda and the decline of militant Islam in the Arab world

McCain's POW experience and the choice to stay in captivity

Initial interactions with Obama and discussing Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy

Balancing political compromise with maintaining personal integrity and core values

Johnson's decision on the night of Kennedy's assassination to pursue civil rights legislation

McCain's view of courage and acts of penance for political compromises

Victory in Frontiero v. Richardson and the limits of the ruling

Unwavering commitment to the search for Jim Foley during captivity

The Vietnam War's contradiction of freedom ideals and its impact on the Great Society

Emmett Till's mother, Jet Magazine's photograph, and humanizing history through photography

Responding to smear campaign attacks in the 2000 South Carolina primary

Navigating relationships with victims' families in death penalty cases

Concealing pregnancy to secure a teaching contract renewal at Rutgers

Lincoln's response to secession and the preservation of the Union

Authorizing military action against Iraq and grasping the weight of presidential power

Jim's sense of loyalty and commitment to the people of Syria

Deep personal commitment to returning to Syria and covering the conflict

Comparing Israel's 40-year journey to the biblical wandering in the desert

Southern secession driven by fear of Lincoln and the Republican Party's anti-slavery majority

McCain's opposition to torture rooted in his POW experience

Lincoln's concerns about losing the 1864 election and the fall of Atlanta

King's evolving stance on Vietnam and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement