His forthcoming book, "Make Your Mark: Lessons in Character from Seven Presidents" will be released by HarperCollins in early 2025.

As director of the LBJ Library, in 2014, Updegrove hosted the Civil Rights Summit, an historic three-day conference around the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act,[8] which included a keynote address by then President Barack Obama and programs with former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, as well as programs with many civil rights activists including Julian Bond, John Lewis, and Andrew Young.

The summit garnered international news coverage, including the New York Times profile on Updegrove titled, "Chronicler of Presidents Brings Four Together.

"[9] In April 2016, Updegrove hosted the Vietnam War Summit, a three-day conference, featuring a keynote address by then Secretary of State John Kerry.

[10] Among the additional participants were Henry Kissinger, Ken Burns, Tom Hayden and Bob Kerrey.

In July 2024, Updegrove hosted the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act Commemoration, during which President Biden offered keynote remarks.

He has also interviewed First Ladies Laura Bush,[17] Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush,[17] Nancy Reagan, and Rosalynn Carter;[18] Vice Presidents Dick Cheney, and Walter Mondale; Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,[19] and Neil Gorsuch;[20] Cabinet secretaries Henry Kissinger,[21] James Baker, Madeleine Albright,[22] Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates,[23] Eric Holder,[24] and John Kerry; and others including: Mikhail Gorbachev,[25] Nancy Pelosi,[26] John Lewis, John Glenn,[27] Dr. Anthony Fauci,[28] Andrew Young,[29] Julian Bond,[30] Doris Kearns Goodwin,[31] Dan Rather,[32] Hank Aaron,[33] Ken Burns,[34] Bryan Cranston,[35] Woody Harrelson,[36] Rob Reiner, Willie Nelson, Robert Redford, and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

Updegrove is the author of five books: Updegrove has written for The Daily Beast,[43] The Hill,[44] The Nation,[45] National Geographic, The New York Times,[46] Parade,[47] Politico,[48] Texas Monthly,[49] Time,[50] and USA Today, and his books have been excerpted in American Heritage, Parade, Politico,and Texas Monthly.

Additionally, Updegrove has also appeared in numerous documentaries and original series including PBS' The White House: The Inside Story; CNN's The Bush Years, and Race for the White House; MSNBC's Betrayal: The Plot that Won the White House; NFL Films' Sigma Chi and the Mayflower Move / the Baltimore Colts; and History TV's Presidents at War, The Ultimate Guide to the Presidents, and What the Hell's the Presidency For?

Along with Mark Lawrence, Updegrove co-taught "The Johnson Years", a course for Liberal Arts Honors students at UT Austin.