Today, Monday April 1 2013, acclaimed director Martin Scorsese delivers this year’s National Endowment for the Humanities 2013 Jefferson Lecture. And the event will be streamed live and free of charge at 7:30pm, US East Coast time. Viewers can also join the conversation about film and the humanities via Twitter at #JeffLec2013.

The Jefferson Lecture is the most prestigious honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.

Scorsese is the first figure from film making and preservation to be named to the lectureship. One factor in his selection was his advocacy and involvement in film preservation.

Past Jefferson Lecturers include Wendell Berry, Drew Gilpin Faust, John Updike, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Bernard Bailyn, Toni Morrison, Arthur Miller, James McPherson, Barbara Tuchman, and Robert Penn Warren.

After April 1, video of the lecture will be archived on the NEH site for future viewing.