first off, what is the national trust for historic preservation, and why does it create an annual list of endangered sites? the national trust is a privately funded, nonprofit mission isn whose to advocate for the protection of cultural resources in the united states. as part of our mission, we publish this list every year of most endangered places in the united states. we have been doing it now for 29 years. and we published the list to shine a spotlight on places that are facing a significant threat and where we hope the community will rally to put some sort of protections in place. >> what sites are on the list and what makes them endangered? ms. meeks: well, we have a variety of sites on this year's list that range from entire neighborhoods, like the el

secundo barrio neighborhoods in el paso, texas. we have the embarcadero in san francisco, which is a different type of resource. this is a fantastic place that has been the subject of a great deal of preservation work over the years, but it's threatened by rising sea levels. and the potential and adequacy of the sea wall that protects the pier. river, closer to our headquarters in washington, d.c. it is on the list for the second time. the threat there is a high power transmission line that will have 17 towers marring the landscape that looks very much like it did when captain john smith first sailed, first explored the james river. bears ears in southeast utah. a very important site for antiquities in the united states. and several other places as

well, all over the country. >> now, what is the criteria for actually getting on the list? ms. meeks: the criteria is that the place faces an imminent threat and that there is still an opportunity to protect it. if the wrecking ball has already started tearing it down, we are not sure the list would be affected in changing the outcome. looking every year for the places that are facing an eminent threat and where there is an opportunity for the local community to rally support for its protection. >> now, how many sites do you usually consider before cutting the list down to just 11? ms. meeks: we received dozens of nominations every year, well over 100. accept nominations from anyone, from community members, from preservation organizations, etc.

and we begin a process of evaluating them in terms of the level of the threats, and also, the level of significance of the resource itself. 11,hy is it a list of instead of 10 or 20? ms. meeks: it is a strange number. it goes all the way back to the very first year of the list. dhich predates me, but i'm tol that when our colleagues at the time sat down to create the list, they had intended to do a top 10 list. they just could not get the list down to 10. they went ahead and published a list with 11. and we have stuck with that number ever since. >> now, you have talked a little bit about the goal, but what is the ultimate goal in highlighting these places? ms. meeks: in addition to shining a bright spotlight on these places in particular, what we hope that the list will do every year is remind all of us who care about the built environment and our cultural

resources that there are places that still be protecting today. and, even though your community may not have a place that is on this year's 11 most endangered list, we hope that seeing the list will remind people of the resources they care about in their own community, and activate them to do whatever they can locally to make sure the preservation is alive and well. ofso, you make the list endangered places, and then what happens? who is responsible for protecting the sites? ms. meeks: the ownership of the sites varies. is ame places, it municipality, and some places it is a private owner, university. we have lincoln university on the list this year as an example. and in every case, the national trust working with an organizationis, somewhere in that community, who is advocating for the protection of that place. so, ultimately, it is the --

landowner's responsibility and within their purview to protect the buildings, but we are siding with members of the community who have raised their hands to say they need our help. >> have you ever come up against any resistance in terms of protecting the site? ms. meeks: well, we certainly do. not everyone enjoys having their building listed on the 11 most endangered list, i can tell you that. people take the list very seriously. property owners to let them know that their places going to be listed, it often begins a conversation even before the list is published about how greater preservation action could be taken and put into place.a n so, we think the list is very effective in that way. over the life of the program we have listed more than 270 places

and fewer than 5% of them have been lost. this has been a very effective tool for preservation nationally for three decades. >> have you seen any themes, either among the sites this year years, inover the terms of what types of sites you select for the list? ms. meeks: we do from time to time see themes. a couple of years ago, for example, there were a number of places that related to oil and gas exploration at the beginning m we havel and gas boo experienced recently. this year, there are a number of places on the list that relate to historic resources in the contribution they make to vibrant downtown cores. so, we are, it is an area of antic -- great interest to the national trust and we are seeing that increasingly across the country, as cities enjoy a resurgence of population in many places driven in large part by

younger millennials, once they graduate from college who are flocking back to our cities. and that is both a great opportunity for historic buildings, but it also puts our existing historic fabric under some threat, as cities struggle they have adequate housing for all of those people who are moving back to the urban cores. 11 mosthat the endangered places for 2016 have been named, what are the next steps? ms. meeks: the next steps are different in each one, because the threats that face these places are different, but in all instances, the community will be working to take advantage of the great publicity that is generated by the 11 most endangered list. and press for greater protections >> stephanie meeks is the president and ceo of the

national trust for historic preservation. ms. meeks: appreciate your interest. thank you very much. >> first ladies is the name of the book. presidential historians on the lives of 45 american women. mark farkas, executive producer at c-span, what is this? mark: it is a book that grew out of our series on television called "first ladies: influence and image." what we have done is taken every single program, we had some of the greatest historians on the presidency and biographers of first ladies and taken that and put them into narrative form and each chapter. every first later has a chapter in which you learn about their biography, which includes their time as first lady. some of them have great influence. some of them have less. >> was it hard to find records of the first ladies? ladies, it isst easy. abigail adams, you go up to the boston historical society and they have thousands of letters from her where she's lobbying john adams to remember the

laidedies and slavery. so, you go from one extreme to the other. and the farther along you make it in time, you see the adaptation of technology, and the role of first lady begins to emerge as well. now you have a very public role. in the past, they could get away if they wanted to be behind the scenes. >> first lady, former first ladies running for president? mark: the chapter on hillary clinton, for anyone who wants to know how she approaches campaigning, how she approaches politics, read that chapter. one, you know right away she is the most famous woman in the world, the most well-known woman in the world. eahy is with her when she is on the campaign trail in 1992 when things are getting sort of rough. it shows how hillary reacted.

i think she would rather not have happened but she goes on the attack with republicans. it shows a very savvy first lady and politician. >> what did you learn working on the book? favorite stories are the ones where i knew nothing about these first ladies whatsoever. lucy hayes, known as lemonade lucy for prohibiting alcohol in the white house is a lot deeper. she is in some ways ahead of her time. she is pushing causes. someone like grace coolidge. grace coolidge is almost a rock star in her time, the opposite of calvin coolidge. and you learn about lady bird johnson, someone that offers ladies -- you learn this in the book -- all first ladies go back to her as a role model because she is one of the first to really takes on causes. eleanor roosevelt does but then there is a break taking on a cause. d beautification, it

is really environmental. i learn they really to play a role -- do play a role in the public stage they have now they can get a lot done. >> what is the involvement of richard norton smith? for the series. he is a guest on the martha washington program and the guest during the betty ford program. he makes a good point. some first ladies when you think about it -- probably have as much if not more influence on the way we live our lives. look at betty ford. she comes out for era, ahead of the curve and the first lady. not saying some things that gerald ford wants to hear. than you think about her causes after the time in the white house. is had an effect on a lot of people's lives, maybe more than some of the president's have. >> here is the book. " first ladies, presidential historians on the lives of 45 iconic american women."

>> each week until the election, roads of the white house rewind brings you archival coverage of presidential races. the second debate of the 1988 campaign between incumbent vice president george h.w. bush and massachusetts governor michael dukakis. the candidates the questions on taxes and the budget deficit, defense spending and nuclear weapons stockpiles, as well as their choice of vice president told running mate. the republican ticket of george bush and dan quayle defeated democrats michael dukakis and lloyd bentsen in the general election, winning the popular vote 53-46. this debate from los angeles is about an hour and a half. bernard shaw: on behalf of the commission on presidential debates, i am pleased to welcome you to the second presidential debate. i am bernard shaw of cnn, cable