Spoken Gems » Classics

George Carlin: Seven dirty words

Michael — Fri, 13 May 2011 14:03:57 +0000

Perhaps the most famous part of George Carlin’s career.

Johnny Cash: Gettysburg address

Michael — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:02:10 +0000

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, delivered 19 November 1863, recited by Johnny Cash.

Unfortunately, the player doesn’t allow embedding.

Aldous Huxley: The ultimate revolution

Michael — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:56:07 +0000

This is a speech given by Aldous Huxley on March 20, 1962 at UC Berkeley.

Mary Schmich: Everybody’s free (to wear sunscreen)

Michael — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:28:17 +0000

This is the famous essay “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young” that is often mistaken as a commencement speech by Kurt Vonnegut.

Transcript

George Bernard Shaw: Tribute to Albert Einstein

Michael — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:09:02 +0000

George Bernard Shaw spoke in honor of Albert Einstein at the Savoy Hotel in London, England, 27 October 1930.

Another part of the speech (audio only) including the beginning of the speech by Einstein in German:

Mario Savio: Bodies upon the gears

Michael — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:48:09 +0000

On December 2nd, 1964, Mario Savio gave this speech on the steps of Sproul Hall, University of California, Berkeley at the beginning of the Free Speech Movement.

The following video is only an excerpt of the speech. Full Version and transcript are available at AmericanRhetoric.com.

Robert F. Kennedy: Remarks on the Assassination of MLK

Michael — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:11:21 +0000

Unforunately, I missed MLK day for this speech: Robert F. Kennedy’s remarks on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. are part of the Top 100 speeches in the 20th century.

Transcript and an audio version can be found at AmericanRhetoric.com

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: First Inaugural Address

Michael — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:24:48 +0000

On March 4th, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his first inaugural address, which is considered one of the most important speech of the 20th century (rank 3 in the Top 100 in the list compiled by Professors Stephen E. Lucas and Martin J. Medhurst).

You can find a better quality audio version as well as a transcript at AmericanRhetoric.com.

Ronald Reagan: 1964 Republican National Convention

Michael — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:37:27 +0000

Time for a classic again, one of the Top 100 speeches of the 20th century: Ronald Reagan at the Republican National Convention in 1964.

Malcolm X: The ballot or the bullet

Michael — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:29:53 +0000

Malcolm X’s speech delivered on April 3, 1964 in Cleveland, OH, was ranked 7 in the "Top 100 American speeches of the 20th century" published by University of Wisconsin-Madison and Texas A & M University in 1999.

Transcript at AmericanRhetoric