899: How to Break Into the History Profession With Tim Naftali, NYU [Espresso Shots Episode]

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Tim Naftali is a CNN presidential historian and associate professor at New York University in a joint appointment at NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the history department. From 1998 to 2006, Tim was the founding director of the Presidential Recordings Program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs as well as a professor in the history department. In 2007, Tim was appointed as the founding director of the federal Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California. During his time as the library’s director, he helped create a nonpartisan Watergate exhibit and oversaw the release of over 1 million pages of presidential documents and hundreds of hours of the infamous Nixon tapes. Tim has served as a historical consultant to CNN’s original series Tricky Dick and Netflix’s Designated Survivor. With his expertise in national security, intelligence policy and presidential history, he has authored and co-authored numerous books, including: One Hell of a Gamble,  Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism, a biography of George H.W. Bush and Impeachment: An American History. Tim is now working on a book about President John F. Kennedy and his time in the White House.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why to keep an open mind and look for jobs outside of tenured professors, including archivists, government historians, museum curators and media researchers (3:26)
• What hard and soft skills Tim looks for in young professionals, specifically curiosity, a hard work ethic, good communication skills and empathy (5:14)
• Why being a historian is like being a detective, as explained in Robin Winks’ book The Historian as Detective, and why Tim approaches history like a giant puzzle (7:54)
• Why he believes history is the most “powerful” humanities major and why not majoring in history isn’t a dealbreaker to be a historian (8:52)
• Why a PhD is essential to become a professor and how a Masters degree can also open professional opportunities in education, museums and archives (11:00)
• Why becoming a tenured professor is harder now (12:41)
• Why you should learn as many skills as you can in your 20s and why you should apply yourself early to solve a historical “puzzle” (13:23)
• What Tim’s favorite part of being a historian is, including his experience writing One Hell of a Gamble, his latest findings for his new book about President Kennedy and his moments of “eureka!” (16:08)
• What Tim thinks sucks the most, both in teaching and as the CNN presidential historian (21:03)
• Why Tim’s best advice is to choose the professor over the course when picking college classes (26:14)
• Why Tim loves Robin William’s mischievous energy in Dead Poets Society and why you should watch movies/TV shows that depict pivotal historical moments, including Lincoln and Mrs. America (27:01)
• What Tim did as a technical advisor to Netflix’s season of Designated Survivor (29:07)
• What is surprising about being a historian, including the uncertainty of the profession (30:33)
• Why you should listen to Tim’s main T4C episode #529 to learn more about what he does in his current job and how he built his career
• If you want to learn more about what Tim does as CNN’s presidential historian and how he built his career check out his main T4C interview episode #529