Library of Congress: talks and concerts

241–288 of 8,304 films, free to watch, from the world's open archives.

Where these films come from, and who sees what

Every film here plays from the archive that keeps it: the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons, the NASA Image and Video Library, the Library of Congress and Open Images (the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision). Nothing is copied to this site. Each film's page names its archive, links to its page there, and states its licence or status as the archive does.

Archive films carry no age ratings, so each is placed from the collections it sits in and the subjects the archive gives it, cautiously. Sexual content and nudity are left out altogether.

Little OnesFilms for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool.
KidsCartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature.
TweensDocumentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures.
TeensEverything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower.
AdultSexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage.
Library of Congress Peter Brown: Wild Robot 2024 · Talk · 29 min Animal life and artificial life create a found family in Peter Brown’s “Wild Robot” series. In the third book, “Wild Robot Protects,” Roz the robot prepares… Library of Congress Barbara Dee, Susan Haas and Lexi Haas: Unleashing the Words Within 2024 · Talk · 24 min Communication is everything, but what about when words don’t flow freely? Mother-daughter duo Susan and Lexi Haas (“The Year of the Buttered Cat”), discussed… Library of Congress Terry Benton-Walker, Desiree Evans and Saraciea Fennell: Who Dies First? 2024 · Talk · 56 min Terry J. Benton-Walker (“The White Guy Dies First”) and Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell (“The Black Girl Survives in This One”) discuss their… Library of Congress Ernest Cline: Becoming Best Friends with a Bat Colony 2024 · Talk · 32 min In this mostly-true story, Ernest Cline introduces us to Opal, a girl who befriends a colony of bats. When their habitat is destroyed, what will she do to… Library of Congress Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham: How to Break a Love Curse 2024 · Talk · 58 min Explore the complexities of families, love, friendship, and lion dancing in the new graphic novel “Lunar New Year Love Story” by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyan… Library of Congress Adam Rubin and Liniers: The Truth About the Couch 2024 · Talk · 31 min Did you know that couches grow on couch farms? Or that some couches are aliens? Let us tell you the whole tru — oh no! Get away! The furniture police are… Library of Congress Steve Asbell and Stephanie Seales: Where Can We Find Kindness? 2024 · Talk · 28 min How do we learn how to be kind to ourselves and to people around us? Steve Asbell demonstrated the way stimming can help every kid with their emotions in… Library of Congress J.C. Cervantes and Zetta Elliott: Questing for Peace in Fantasy Worlds 2024 · Talk · 31 min Battles of wits (and witches), vanishing magic, the strength of family ties, a search for peace, and the power that can be found within every kid: it’s all… Library of Congress Pablo Cartaya and Hena Khan: Sports and Why We Love Them 2024 · Talk · 29 min The hijabi basketball team in Hena Khan’s “We Are Big Time” and Elena, the one girl on the baseball team in Pablo Cartaya’s “Curveball,” learn how they can… Library of Congress Anna Lapera and Sherri Winston: A Kid vs. the World 2024 · Talk · 31 min Sharkita may be 12, but she takes care of her younger siblings, their mother often absent. Mani doesn’t want to go to Guatemala until she starts discovering… Library of Congress James Patterson: The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians 2024 · Talk · 45 min James Patterson is known for his addictive thrillers, but his nonfiction book “The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians” profiles Americans who get good… Library of Congress James McBride: Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction 2024 · Talk · 49 min Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden presented author James McBride with the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction at the 2024 Library of Congress… Library of Congress Doris Kearns Goodwin: An Unfinished Love Story 2024 · Talk · 45 min “An Unfinished Love Story” by Doris Kearns Goodwin is about the author’s marriage to Dick Goodwin, who seemed to be everywhere of any political importance… Library of Congress Stuart Eizenstat: Diplomacy or Talking When We Don’t Agree 2024 · Talk · 48 min Former diplomat and negotiator Stuart E. Eizenstat spoke with historian Douglas Brinkley about his account of the greatest diplomatic negotiations of the past… Library of Congress Arash Azizi and Celeste Marcus: Who Needs Cultural Critics Anyway? 2024 · Talk · 59 min What do young cultural critics think about their role in the world, where people have been encouraged to think that critics aren’t necessary? Arash Azizi,… Library of Congress Max Greenfield: Good Night Thoughts 2024 · Talk · 42 min What do we do when our thoughts are racing? And they’re made worse by knowing it’s bedtime and you have to get to sleep right away? Actor and author Max… Library of Congress Edan Lepucki and Peng Shepherd: Time Travel — What Could Possibly Go Wrong? 2024 · Talk · 1 h 1 min In fiction we can glide through time, which can be both fun and terrifying. In Edan Lepucki’s “Time’s Mouth,” a time traveler forms a cult for pregnant women… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: Library Collections for Everyone 2024 · Talk · 21 min Since 2021, the Library of Congress, through its Of the People: Widening the Path (OTP) program, has provided support to individuals and organizations to… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: Laci Jordan, Festival Poster Designer 2024 · Talk · 18 min Discover the inspiration and creative process behind this year’s National Book Festival poster in an exclusive interview with Laci Jordan. Learn more about… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: Brown v. Board of Education 2024 · Talk · 14 min Join librarians from the Law Library of Congress for an exploration of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Discover Library of… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: ¡La Biblioteca del Congreso es para todos! 2024 · Talk · 23 min Súmense a nuestra única presentación en español para tener una visión general de la Biblioteca, sus colecciones, programas y servicios. Entérense de los… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: Exposing Alexander Hamilton’s Redacted Letter to His ‘Betsey’ 2024 · Talk · 15 min Discover historical secrets with the Library of Congress Preservation Research and Testing division as they unveil the original text of a heavily redacted… Library of Congress David Rubenstein on the American Presidency 2024 · Talk · 41 min In his research in writing “The Highest Calling,” David M. Rubenstein spoke with living American presidents and revered historians about the American… Library of Congress Vera Brosgol and Kazu Kibuishi: We Built These Worlds, Come Visit 2024 · Talk · 30 min Great characters, immersive moods, and expansive worlds make great fantasy, and graphic novels are a great showcase for the genre. Vera Brosgol (“Plane Jane… Library of Congress Safia Elhillo and Tony Keith Jr.: Poetry Unlocks Us 2024 · Talk · 56 min What can poetry unlock within yourself? Samira in Safia Elhillo’s “Bright Red Fruit” encounters a threat to her reputation, but her discovery of slam poetry… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: Finding Female Ancestors 2024 · Talk · 15 min Maggie Thompson was born in Pennsylvania, prior to the Civil War. When a Library genealogist came upon her personal photo album, clues led to Library… Library of Congress Elizabeth Gonzalez James and Alexander Sammartino: Fathers, Sons and Guns 2024 · Talk · 59 min How do novelists interpret America’s history with guns? In “The Bullet Swallower” by Elizabeth Gonzalez James, the legacy of two brothers and their botched… Library of Congress Annabelle Tometich and Crystal Wilkinson: Food, Family, Community 2024 · Talk · 1 h 2 min Annabelle Tometich shares the ways and struggles of her Filipino mother in “The Mango Tree” and Crystal Wilkinson’s “Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts”… Library of Congress Renée Fleming and Daniel Levitin: Music Is Medicine 2024 · Talk · 1 h Research shows that music does more than enliven our inner worlds. Music is also an effective tool in combating ailments from neurodegenerative diseases like… Library of Congress Ayana Mathis and Viet Thanh Nguyen: James Baldwin’s Centennial 2024 · Talk · 1 h 13 min James Baldwin (1924-1987) wrote some of the most influential American books of the 20th Century, including “Another Country,” “Giovanni’s Room” and “Notes of… Library of Congress Alexis Pauline Gumbs and Tiya Miles: Icons Harriet Tubman and Audre Lorde 2024 · Talk · 58 min Alexis Pauline Gumbs (“Survival Is a Promise”) and Tiya Miles (“Night Flyer”) discuss their books on two Black women who are icons of social justice and… Library of Congress Ned Blackhawk and Kathleen DuVal: American History Is Native History 2024 · Talk · 1 h 1 min Books by Ned Blackhawk (“The Rediscovery of America”) and Kathleen DuVal (“Native Nations”) address and rectify the erroneous history that neglects American… Library of Congress Erik Larson: Hubris at the Dawn of the Civil War 2024 · Talk · 43 min The American Civil War still fascinates us yet the full, human motivations that dragged us into war are a puzzle that remains incomplete. Erik Larson, author… Library of Congress Annalee Newitz and Peter Pomerantsev: Words at War and Misinformation 2024 · Talk · 1 h 3 min Annalee Newitz (“Stories Are Weapons”) and Peter Pomerantsev (“How to Win an Information War”) share how psychological operations and coercive storytelling… Library of Congress Donna Hemans and Rachel Khong: Family Secrets 2024 · Talk · 59 min “The House of Plain Truth” by Donna Hemans follows Pearline, who is attempting to find family missing for 50 years. Rachel Khong’s “Real Americans” introduces… Library of Congress Literature to Life: ‘I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter’ 2024 · Talk · 46 min The literary nonprofit Literature to Life performed an adaptation of Erika L. Sánchez’s novel “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.” The group performs… Library of Congress James Bird and Jonathan Todd: Almost-True Stories 2024 · Talk · 27 min Have you been a fish out of water? Jonathan Todd has, as he tells in his graphic novel “Timid,” about a shy Black kid trying to make friends in a new school.… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: There’s a Map for That 2024 · Talk · 19 min The Library of Congress geography and map collection, with nearly 6 million cartographic items, is the world’s largest and most comprehensive map library.… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: If It’s Not Science Fiction, What Does Science Have to Do with Books? 2024 · Talk · 14 min Books build us up through the words on their pages, but what about the pages themselves? Learn about the Library of Congress Preservation Research and Testing… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: Hispanic American Business Icons 2024 · Talk · 19 min Embark on a journey into captivating tales of trailblazing Hispanic American entrepreneurs from the Library collections. Explore sources that document the… Library of Congress Max Boot on Ronald Reagan 2024 · Talk · 48 min For the past decade, Washington Post columnist and biographer Max Boot sought to understand the contradictions of President Ronald Reagan’s personality and… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: What Do Stevie Wonder and Arnold Schoenberg Have in Common? 2024 · Talk · 22 min Celebrate the 100th birthday of the historic concert series at the Library of Congress by learning about the artists, composers, dancers and supporters who… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: Ensuring That All May Read 2024 · Talk · 16 min How does the Library of Congress help readers with disabilities access reading materials? Learn more about the National Library Service for the Blind and… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: Copyright, the Engine of Free Expression 2024 · Talk · 16 min Copyright serves us all, incentivizing creation and enriching our culture. Learn how to engage with copyright when you write a story, create a work of art,… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: 19th and 20th Century U.S. Community Cookbooks 2024 · Talk · 16 min Fundraising cookbooks, affectionately referred to as community cookbooks, serve as a rich source beyond mere recipes. They capture a glimpse into culture,… Library of Congress Amanda Bellows and Hampton Sides: Rethinking Exploration 2024 · Talk · 1 h At the 2024 Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., Amanda Bellows and Hampton Sides discussed with Frederick F. Wherry the details of… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: Volunteer Close-Up with History 2024 · Talk · 16 min Our “By the People” initiative invites the public to help transcribe digitized Library of Congress collections online at crowd.loc.gov. Since 2018, virtual… Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival: Chronicling America, Your Guide to Discovering Digitized Historic Newspapers 2024 · Talk · 16 min Dive into the past with our captivating session on exploring digitized historic newspapers via Chronicling America. Perfect for educators, students,…