Go behind the scenes of the 2012 State of the Union Address

Former White House speechwriters reflect on crafting the State of the Union

In this 2008 discussion, speechwriters from the Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton administrations discuss how the State of the Union is written, negotiated, and used to project presidential leadership.

See a visual history of the State of the Union

This gallery offers a visual archive of the State of the Union, featuring photographs from each president's address, beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Explore decades of presidential moments, settings, and historical context tied to the annual speech.

The evolution of the State of the Union speech

The US State of the Union speech is an annual event proposed by the country's Constitution and scheduled by its first president. President George Washington was the first to deliver such a speech, by nature of his office, limiting the inaugural "Annual Message" to 1,100 words and 10 minutes. Just 10 years later, the country's second president, John Adams, changed the nascent tradition, instead offering a written statement.

Reactions inside the House chamber during the State of the Union are highly choreographed

Applause, silence, and coordinated standing—or refusal to stand—are deliberate signals during the State of the Union, used by lawmakers to broadcast allegiance or dissent. At the same time, military leaders and Supreme Court justices largely avoid reacting to preserve institutional neutrality.

A look behind the scenes of the UN General Assembly

This behind-the-scenes look at the 2015 UN General Assembly offers a unique perspective on what it takes to run one of the world’s most complicated and important diplomatic events. Following four staffers—including a youth advocate and an interpreter—the video captures the energy, pressure, and coordination behind the scenes.

George W. Bush delivered the first State of the Union livestreamed online

In 2002, George W. Bush became the first president to livestream the State of the Union, using the address to label Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an "axis of evil," shaping US strategy during the War on Terror.

Go room by room in this deep look at the interior of the White House

Explore the White House's 132 rooms—from the Oval Office and East Room to the State Dining Room and Lincoln Bedroom—with this 3D video rendering that reveals the layout, design, and daily functions of the building before its 2025 renovations.

Lyndon Johnson moved the State of the Union into prime time

In January 1965, President Johnson moved the address to prime time to reach a larger TV audience, using it to promote his "Great Society" program—a push to reduce poverty, advance civil rights, and expand federal action in healthcare and economic opportunity.

President Donald Trump's 2025 address drew 36.6 million viewers

President Trump's audience was about 13% higher than President Biden's 2024 address, but it fell short of Donald Trump's first-term State of the Union viewership, which consistently topped 37 million and peaked near 48 million in 2017.

President Barack Obama responded to Republican cheers about his final term during the State of the Union

In the 2015 address, after Republicans cheered when President Obama said he had "no more elections to run," his quick reply drew laughter from the crowd: "I know, because I won both."

A 'designated survivor' stays away from the State of the Union to ensure continuity of government

During major events like the State of the Union, one Cabinet member is kept at a secure location. This "designated survivor" would assume the presidency if a catastrophe eliminated those higher in the line of succession.

An early version of the musical 'Hamilton' debuted at the White House

Years before the musical "Hamilton" reached Broadway, Lin-Manuel Miranda performed an early draft of the opening song at the White House during a 2009 poetry event attended by President Obama.

How to write a great speech

Before walking onto a stage or booting up a Zoom meeting to deliver a speech or presentation, you have to know what story you want to tell. This story acts as a keystone, providing an ideological foundation on which the rest of the speech balances. This story should be bigger than the moment it's delivered, giving listeners the ability to connect to expressed concepts across time.

Was the Gettysburg Address written on the back of an envelope?

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, wrote his famed Gettysburg Address on a train car. Actually, he had a version of it ready a few days before. Well, really, he came up with it on the spot. Rumors about the speech's creation abound. This 1909 article walks readers through evidence Lincoln's speech was carefully planned and written in Washington, DC (in pencil).

Read an analysis of Roosevelt’s famous Congressional address by a speech writer

Former White House speechwriter Bob Lehrman breaks down why Roosevelt’s 520-word “Infamy” speech endures—showing how FDR used structure, urgency, radio-era reach and careful omissions to rally the nation and win near-unanimous support for war.

See how the presidential motorcade protects the president on the move

This video breaks down how the motorcade—anchored by the armored limousine known as "the Beast"—operates as a mobile security network. An animated simulation shows how agents and vehicles respond to potential attacks to keep the president safe in transit.

How presidential candidates prepare for TV debates

One of the most significant performances of a politician's life is the televised debate, which requires the kind of preparation only an actor would be familiar with. This article dives into some of the recent history around debate prep norms, including how every campaign chooses someone to act like the opponent in mock debates—often to comical effect.

The federal budget process begins nearly a year before funds are spent

Creating the federal budget starts months in advance. This resource explains each stage, showing how the president proposes priorities, Congress reshapes and approves funding, and federal agencies implement the final budget.

See how the National Archives protects America's founding documents

This "60 Minutes" segment takes viewers behind the scenes at the National Archives, showcasing how experts use conservation science, security, and technology to preserve cornerstone records—such as the original Declaration of Independence—for future generations.

Watch video samples created by AI

Sora, OpenAI’s video generation tool, can create up to 60 seconds of photorealistic video footage featuring highly detailed scenes, complex camera motion, and multiple characters with vibrant emotions from a text prompt.

What happens if the US doesn't pay its debt?

A video created during the debt ceiling debates of 2021 outlining what would happen if the US failed to meet its debt obligations. Its lessons are applicable to today's debates.

Hear firsthand accounts from the 1963 March on Washington

This video features stories from people who attended the 1963 March on Washington—the largest demonstration in US history at the time—capturing what it felt like to witness a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement as it unfolded.

A primer on USAID under the Trump Administration

The Congressional Research Service is a nonpartisan group dedicated solely to responding to questions and providing deeply researched explanations to members of Congress and their staff. The overview lays out the establishment of the US Agency for International Development in 1961, legal restrictions on its elimination, and options to restructure or fold USAID into other departments.

‘SNL’ sketches often follow a uniform structure

Sketch comedy relies on pacing, with scripts that hit certain beats. "SNL" often greenlights sketches that lean into a particular formula that features two "turns," or unexpected events that disrupt the "base reality" of the story.

Who gets thanked the most in Oscar speeches?

This resource analyzes nearly 2,000 Oscar acceptance speeches. It shows the average number of words spoken, the themes discussed, and how these trends have changed over the years. Scroll through the results and see if Harvey Weinstein was thanked more often than God in past years.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Watch the cumbersome, but necessary, precautions healthcare workers must take to care for and protect themselves while caring for Ebola patients.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.