The Light Withdrawn: Christopher Cox On How Woodrow Wilson Shaped—And Undermined—American Democracy | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Podcast: Uncommon Knowledge (LS 62 · TOP 0.1% what is this?)Episode: The Light Withdrawn: Christopher Cox On How Woodrow Wilson Shaped—And Undermined—American Democracy | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover InstitutionPub date: 2025-08-01Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationWas Woodrow Wilson a visionary statesman—or a reactionary bigot? Peter Robinson sits down with historian and former SEC Chairman Christopher Cox to discuss his latest book, Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn, Cox’s meticulously researched biography of the 28th president of the United States. Together, they explore Wilson’s complicated legacy: his towering achievements as a reformer and wartime leader and his deeply troubling record on race, gender, and civil rights. From his opposition to women’s suffrage and his resegregation of the federal government to his embrace of the film, The Birth of a Nation, Cox reveals how Wilson’s Southern upbringing and elitist worldview shaped both his presidency and progressivism itself. This conversation offers a sobering reappraisal of one of America’s most consequential and controversial leaders—and asks what it means to judge historical figures by the standards of both their time and ours.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Hoover Institution, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.