[Abridged] Presidential Histories

Oct 07 2024 117 ep. 50 mins 256
[Abridged] Presidential Histories Podcast artwork

From Yorktown to the Civil War, Pearl Harbor to 9/11, discover the pivotal moments that defined each president's life and legacy and the lessons we can draw from them. New episodes available the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month.

  History  Government
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41.) George H.W. Bush

Oct 07 2024 56 mins  
“The Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I’ll say no, and they’ll push, and I’ll say no, and they’ll push again. And I’ll say to them: ‘Read my lips, no new taxes.’” — George Bush's GOP Nomination Acceptance speech, Aug. 18, 1988."Poor George [Bush], he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth." - Texas Governor Ann Richards at the 1988 D

40.A) Reaganomics and the anti-tax movement, an interview with Michael Graetz

Sep 16 2024 55 mins  
Americans have long had a complicated relationship with taxes. We don't like paying them, but we love the things they pay for. In the decades after World War II, both political parties agreed - taxes are worth it.Then came Ronald Reagan and the anti-tax movement.Michael Graetz, a Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale University and Columbia University and author of The Power to Destroy

38.B) The History of the Pardon, an interview with Kimberly Wehle

Sep 02 2024 35 mins  
On September 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned recently-resigned president Richard Nixon of any crimes he may have committed in the presidency, and the pardon has never been the same since. Law Professor Kimberly Wehle, author of the new book Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works - and Why, discusses the origin and history of the presidential pardon and the danger its pot

2.A) John Adams and the modern presidency, an interview with Lindsay Chervinsky

Aug 20 2024 47 mins  
Pandemics, political violence, partisans recognizable by the color of their hat - it may sound novel, but it's been with us practically since the beginning of the republic. Historian Lindsay Chervinsky, author of the new book Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic, discusses the wildly volatile John Adams administration (1797-1801) and the les

40.) Ronald Reagan 1981-1989

Aug 05 2024 62 mins  
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem," - Ronald Reagan's inaugural address, January 20, 1981.For the first 50 years after the onset of the Great Depression and the election of Franklin Roosevelt, the United States had been led by politicians who believed government held the power to make life better for the American people. Then came Ronald Reag

39.B) Jimmy Carter, Stagflation, & Paul Volcker, an interview with Jennifer Burns

Jul 15 2024 50 mins  
When unemployment and inflation began to rise side by side in the 1970s, nobody knew what to do. Economic theory suggested it should have been impossible, and yet the numbers couldn't be denied. Stanford Historian Jennifer Burns, author of Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative, discusses how American presidents of the 70's tried and failed to curb stagflation, what led Carter to P

BONUS! The Hail Mary Effect in Presidential Politics, an interview with William Silber

Jul 01 2024 48 mins  
It's commonly accepted wisdom that presidents are less effective in their second terms, when the term limits of the 22nd amendment turn them into Lame Ducks who cannot be elected to office a third time. But what if that common wisdom is wrong?Former NYU economics professor William Silber, author of The Power of Nothing to Lose: The Hail Mary Effect in Politics, War and Business, ar

39.A) Jimmy Carter, the outsider, an interview with Jonathan Alter

Jun 17 2024 54 mins  
When Jimmy Carter won the presidency, his Democratic party held a 61-37 majority in the Senate and a 292-143 majority in the House. Why then, with such a clear governing majority, were his relations with Congress so poor, and his agenda so challenged?Jonathan Alter, a long-time journalist and author of numerous books on the presidency, including His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life,

39.) Jimmy Carter 1977-1981

Jun 03 2024 61 mins  
"The erosion of confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and political fabric of the nation," - Jimmy Carter, July 15, 1979~~~Jimmy Carter may have been the luckiest presidential candidate and unluckiest president in American history. Chasing the presidency after Watergate and the pardon of Nixon had crushed American faith in its leaders, Carter's outsider mess

37.C) Nixon v The Supreme Court, an interview with Michael Bobelian

May 20 2024 60 mins  
From 1953 to 1969, the Supreme Court was a vanguard of progressive change for the United States. But then came Tricky Dick.Michael Bobelian, author of Battle For The Marble Palace: Abe Fortas, Lyndon Johnson, Earl Warren, Richard Nixon and the Forging of the Modern Supreme Court, discusses how presidential candidate Richard Nixon and senate conservatives blocked LBJ's efforts to ce