Lectures and History is taking a short break this week. So instead, an episode of our

Q&A podcast with Heath Hardidge Lee, author of The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon. Former First Lady Pat

Nixon was named Most Admired Woman in the World in 1972. Yet despite her prominence, Ms. Lee

asserts in her book that Mrs. Nixon was often misrepresented by the press, portrayed as elusive and plastic.

We hope you enjoy this episode. Lectures in History will be back next week.

Hi and welcome to the Q&A podcast. I'm your host, Peter Slen. Thanks for listening.

This week, we'll reintroduce you to Pat Nixon. Our podcast begins in a moment.

Pat Nixon was an actress, a model, a school teacheracher, a graduate of the University of Southern California, and First and Second Lady of the United States.

She traveled the world on behalf of her husband and the Eisenhower administration, nearly losing her life in Venezuela.

She sat by her husband when he delivered his so-called Checker's speech,

saving his political career. She advocated for the ERA and a woman on the Supreme Court. She was on the most admired list for 10 years. Yet she remained shy and mysterious to many.

Author Heath Hardidge Lee, in her new book,

The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon, takes a fresh look at the wife of Richard Nixon, who lived a life

in many ways as her own person. Here's Heath Heartage Lee reintroducing us to Patricia Ryan Nixon.

So Heath Hartage Lee, did Pat Nixon enjoy being First Lady?

I think she did enjoy parts of it.

She was a very private person.

The spotlight was not what she loved, but she was very patriotic,

very committed to the role, and I think she did like what she loved, but she was very patriotic, very committed to the role.

And I think she did like what she really liked was meeting people one-on-one.

So sometimes, you know, the big state dinners, the real fancy stuff was not her thing.

But I think what she liked was meeting everyday people in her routines, in her outreach,

...