with us now, john meacham who was with us at vanderbilt yesterday. >> they were clapping for you downhere. very excited. willie was much missed. >> seriously, everybody, everybody, asked about you. >> they love you, willie. it's a great place. >> it is a great place. wonderful people. wonderful city. >> they all invited us out to dinner. >> would you like to come over and have some dinner with us. they are just very polite. >> very polite. >> gracious people. >> mike barnacle is here. >> mike you have a prediction coming off last night. >> seattle is going the super bowl. >> they took apart new orleans. >> stopped them. >> what happened? when did they become such a great team? >> that's a good question. and i think if russell wilson and the seattle seahawks played on the east coast russell wilson would be the face of the national football league. but he plays in seattle. might as well be playing in beijing. you don't hear a whole lot about him. the kid is incredible. there would be no rg3. it would be russell wilson. >> i hate people who are so east coast centric. >> it's awful. >> is

here in the studio, john meacham and dr. zeke emmanuel. keep it right here on "morning joe.". ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] this is jim, a man who doesn't stand still. but jim has afib, atrial fibrillation -- an irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts jim at a greater risk of stroke. for years, jim's medicine tied him to a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but now, with once-a-day xarelto®, jim's on the move. jim's doctor recommended xarelto®. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce afib-related stroke risk. but xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. so jim's not tied to that monitoring routine. [ gps ] proceed to the designated route. not today. [ male announcer ] for patients currently well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® and warfarin compare in reducing the risk of stroke. xarelto® is just one pill a day taken with t

john meacham reading hansen's top pick. >> actually it was the jonas brothers. here's a snippet. >> don't wanna. that would be want to. second-guess. this is the bottom line. it's true. i gave my all for you. now my heart's in two. >> that was obviously the brain child idea of one ben mayer, producer. i know, very good job. natalie, what else? >> arthur says, big poppy thrk is our freaken city. >> this is our [ bleep ] city. stay strong. >> i was there for that. i was like did he really say that? it turned out, it turned around a lot in the city and the team. one from steve casen, bat kid. have a good one. "morning joe" starts right now. >>> morning, everybody. it's monday, december 30th. i'm just here on set w

and you know, whether john meacham thinks i'm doing okay. i'm serious.onathan, take a look at this. the president reflected on his job and how he's talking about he said it's important to remember who he's working for. let's listen. >> if you feel those folks in your gut every single day, that will get you through the setbacks and the difficulties. and the frustrations and the criticisms that are inherent in the office. and i think the interesting thing about having been president for five years is it makes you humbler as opposed to cockier about what you as an individual can do. you recognize that you're just part of a sweep of history. and your job really is to push the boulder up the hill a little bit before somebody else pushes it up a little further and the task never stops of perfecting our union. >> you know, jonathan, i was just thinking isn't he the guy that went like this when somebody criticized him? dust off my shoulder like it doesn't mean anything to me? somehow i remember that and now he's basically saying it hurts. the criticism has hurt

john meacham. and in washington, washington anchor for bbc world news america, katty kay.e'll go "around the table" in a moment. joining us new nbc news african reporter live outside of the home of mandela in johannesburg. set the scene for us. >> reporter: well take a look. it really is quite an incredible scene. when we got here late yesterday evening after we heard initial reports that nelson mandela might have passed away, there was an incredibly somber mood but that didn't last very long at all. it took just a few hours and overnight the crowd grew, and it turned into something of a party. why a party? because well in every sense this is a celebration, a celebration of nelson mandela's life. also a celebration of the lives that ordinary south africans have been able to live as a consequence that nelson mandela made. yes, people were sad. many people are somber. yes one or two people out of this huge crowd are spotted crying earlier today. but people have really gotten used to the fact that he was incredibly sick. he was taken to the hospital six months ago with a recu

and you know, whether john meacham thinks i'm going earthquake o. i'm serious.resident reflected on his job and how he's talking about who he's working for. let's listen. >> if you feel those folks in your gut every single day, that will get you through the setbacks and the difficulties. and the things inherent in the office. and i think the interesting thing about having been president for five years is it makes you humbler as opposed to cockier about what you as an individual can do. you recognize that you're just part of a sweep of history. and your job really is to push the boulder up the hill a little bit before somebody else pushes it up a little further and the task never stops of perfecting our union. >> you know, jonathan, i was just thinking isn't he the guy that went like this when somebody criticized him? dust off my shoulder like it doesn't mean anything to me? somehow i remember that and now he's basically saying it hurts. it's a burden to carry. >> yeah. i agree with everything that howard said in terms of his assessment of the president and what

as many of you know this year, vanderbilt welcomed john meacham with, i would say, wide arms and a very warm embrace as a distinguished visiting professor. [applause] and i think john has done well, and i hope we can take the visiting off pretty soon. [laughter] i would say that our political science students are just thrilled to have such a unique opportunity to learn from this accomplished historical scholar and celebrated to have. john's most recent book, "thomas jefferson: the art of power," rose to the coveted number one spot on "the new york times" bestseller list and was selected as one of the best books of the year by the times book review and the be washington post. and "the washington post." his best selling biography of andrew jackson, "american lion," earned him a pulitzer prize. as executive vice president of random house john, as you might expect, is involved in the creation and publication of fascinating books that top the most interesting and influential reading lists. his passion for learning, discovery, his exper or tease and his engagement in the literary world also b