Television moves fast. Shows disappear before the ink on the contract even dries, usually buried under a mountain of algorithm-driven content. But for forty-two years, one man sat in a chair in Nashville and did something radical: he talked to people about books. A Word on Words with John Seigenthaler wasn't just another public access filler. It was an institution.
John Seigenthaler didn't just host a show. He lived the stories he talked about. Most folks know him as the founding editor of USA Today or the guy who was Robert F. Kennedy’s right-hand man during the Freedom Rides. Honestly, you’ve probably seen the grainy footage of him getting attacked by a mob in Alabama while trying to protect civil rights activists. He was a titan of journalism. Yet, every week, he’d walk into the Nashville Public Television (NPT) studios—often as a volunteer—to grill authors.
Why A Word on Words with John Seigenthaler Still Matters
In a world of thirty-second TikTok reviews, Seigenthaler was doing something different. He actually read the books.
That sounds like a low bar, doesn't it? But authors who went on the show were frequently stunned. They’d walk in expecting the usual canned questions. Instead, they’d find a man whose copy of their book was bristling with sticky notes and scribbles in the margins. He wasn’t looking for a soundbite; he was looking for the soul of the prose.
The guest list for A Word on Words with John Seigenthaler reads like a who’s who of 20th-century intellectual life. We're talking about:
- Ann Patchett, the Nashville legend who practically became a regular.
- Rep. John Lewis, discussing the heavy weight of the Civil Rights Movement.
- David Halberstam, the Pulitzer winner who shared Seigenthaler’s obsession with the truth.
- Alan Shepard, because apparently, even astronauts have stories that need telling on a book show.
It wasn't just the "important" people, though. Seigenthaler had this knack for treating a first-time novelist with the same gravitas he gave a former president. He understood that writing a book is an act of bravery.
The Nashville Connection
The show was born in 1972. Nashville wasn't the "It City" back then. It was a town of songwriters and storytellers, and Seigenthaler was its heartbeat. He used the platform to turn the city into a literary hub long before Parnassus Books was a household name.
The format was simple. Strip away the fancy graphics. Keep the lighting warm. Two people, two chairs, and a stack of paper. It was intimate. It felt like you were eavesdropping on a conversation in a library after hours. That’s probably why it lasted until his death in 2014.
The Reboot: A New Generation
When Seigenthaler passed away, there was a massive hole in the schedule. How do you replace a guy who was literally friends with the Kennedys? You don’t. You pivot.
In 2015, NPT rebooted the series. They kept the name—A Word on Words—but changed the vibe. Instead of the long-form, sit-down interrogation, they went for "three-minute literary snapshots." It was a gutsy move. They brought in co-hosts like New York Times bestseller J.T. Ellison and essayist Mary Laura Philpott. Later, investigative reporter Jeremy Finley joined the mix.
They take the cameras out of the studio now. They film in breweries, parks, and bookstores around Middle Tennessee. It’s faster. It’s punchier. But the core mission—"Keep Reading"—remains the same.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Show
A lot of people think the show was just about high-brow literature. Kinda wasn't. Seigenthaler was a police beat reporter at heart. He loved a good thriller. He loved political memoirs that spilled the tea. He wasn't a snob. He just hated lazy writing.
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There's this famous story about him during the Southern Festival of Books. He’d tape a dozen interviews in a single weekend. Most hosts would be half-dead by Sunday afternoon. Seigenthaler? He’d be leaning in, eyes bright, asking a historian about a specific footnote on page 402. He was a machine fueled by ink and curiosity.
The First Amendment Legacy
You can’t talk about A Word on Words with John Seigenthaler without mentioning his obsession with the First Amendment. He founded the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. For him, the show wasn't just entertainment; it was an exercise in free expression.
He believed that books were the ultimate defense against tyranny. If you can read, you can think. If you can think, you can't be easily ruled. That's why he ended every single episode with that iconic sign-off: "Keep reading."
It wasn't a suggestion. It was a command.
How to Watch it Today
If you’re looking for the classic episodes, you’ve got to dig a little. The American Archive of Public Broadcasting has a massive collection of his old interviews. It’s a goldmine. You can watch a young John Lewis or listen to Doris Kearns Goodwin talk about the inner lives of presidents.
The new version is still kicking, too. You can find it on Nashville PBS or at their dedicated website, awordonwords.org. They’ve adapted to the digital age, but they still carry that torch Seigenthaler lit back in the seventies.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to experience the real magic of this show, don't just take my word for it. Start with the archives.
- Find the John Lewis interview. It’s perhaps the most moving piece of television you’ll see. The chemistry between two men who lived through the fire of the 1960s is palpable.
- Check out the reboot. If you’ve only got a few minutes, the modern three-minute interviews are perfect for finding your next weekend read.
- Support your local PBS station. Shows like this don't exist in the commercial world because they don't sell soap; they sell ideas.
John Seigenthaler’s life was a testament to the power of the written word. Whether you're watching the old tapes or the new shorts, the message is clear. The conversation never really ends as long as people are still turning pages.