New ‘American FLOTUS’ Episode Spotlights Scholars’ Book on First Ladies

The podcast examines first ladies as political assets, trendsetters, advocates and how they are portrayed in the media.

American FLOTUS, a podcast produced in partnership with the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) with host Alan Lowe, presented its latest episode this week featuring scholars Lisa Burns and Teri Finneman discussing their book, The Cambridge Companion to US First Ladies.

The podcast entitled “The Many Roles of a First Lady from the White House to the Big Screen,” is a wide-ranging discussion about the Burns’ and Finneman’s recently released book that focuses on America’s first ladies with a thematic approach and includes chapters written by various scholars examining the role and the women in areas including wartime, international diplomacy, women’s rights, media and their legacies.

“You really get a chance to look at the institution as well as the individual, political, social, and cultural contributions that these women, at least so far, have made,” said Burns, a professor of media studies at Quinnipiac University in the episode. Burns’ research is focused on po…