The Reagan Foundation Podcast: Recent Episodes
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40 years ago, in the spring of 1984, President Reagan spent six days in the People’s Republic of China, visiting Beijing and Shanghai. To ease into the schedule, he was a week getting there and he spent another day and a half in Alaska afterward, meeting once more with Pope John Paul II. It was Ronald Reagan’s first trip to a Communist country and was somewhat strained because of his campaign as Taiwan’s leading political champion in the US. When he was elected, he still believed that the government that had fled to Taiwan in 1949 was the legitimate government of China. It’s believed that Richard Nixon was quite influential with Reagan regarding China, emphasizing its importance as a counterweight to the Soviet Union.
Now that we’re into the month of February when lovers celebrate their devotion to one another, we’ll dedicate this podcast to the Reagans – first, we’ll hear a brief word from the President and then we’ll let Mrs. Reagan explain how she met this fella, in her own words, recorded years ago from her autobiography My Turn. But first, let’s start with the President who spoke about their relationship at a luncheon honoring Nancy at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans in 1988.
Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, reflects on his journey through Washington, beginning with his work on President Reagan's re-election campaign in 1984. Stewart shares personal anecdotes from his time on the inaugural committee and his role in planning the Reagan Centennial Celebration, emphasizing the profound impact President Reagan had on his life and career. Through Stewart's stories, witness the enduring influence of Reagan's leadership, vision, and character, as well as the president's unique ability to inspire future generations.
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Join Sherry Wallace Patton as she shares her humbling experience attending President Reagan's funeral in 2004, surrounded by world dignitaries, and reflects on a memorable moment assisting Henry Kissinger.
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In this week’s podcast, we present Ronald Reagan’s famous October 27, 1964 “A Time For Choosing” speech.
Watch as Kim O'Brien shares her incredible experience flying on Marine One with President Reagan and General Colin Powell. Through her story, you'll get a firsthand look at what it was like to help plan and organize trips for the President. Kim's journey offers a warm and memorable glimpse into the dedication and teamwork behind the scenes, capturing moments of leadership and personal connections that made her role so special.
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Peter Robinson, President Reagan's speechwriter and special assistant, recounts the story of Frances Greene, a kind elderly woman from South San Francisco who found herself in an unexpected situation. After giving a small donation to the Republican Party in 1984, she received what she believed was an invitation to attend Reagan's inauguration. Excited by the thought, she traveled to Washington, eager to be part of the occasion.
When Frances arrived at the White House, the staff was initially surprised but treated her with kindness. President Reagan, upon hearing about her journey, decided to meet her himself. During their meeting in the Oval Office, he spent twenty minutes speaking with her, showing genuine warmth and hospitality.
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The complexity of dealing with problems in the Middle East was pervasive during the Reagan years but the 40th President continued to pursue a path to peace. In February 1984, he invited President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan to Washington to discuss the war in Lebanon and other issues. Things were hot in the Middle East. By early 1984, US forces were directly fighting in the Persian Gulf. In late February, a US Navy destroyer launched anti-aircraft missiles against Iranian patrol aircraft. At the end of May, a USAF KC-10 tanker helped Saudi Air Force jets maintain patrols over the Gulf to head off Iranian retaliation for Iraqi attacks on oil tankers. In early June, the USAF tankers and AWACS assisted the Saudis in shooting down one or two Iranian F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers. So, US military forces played a frequent and direct combat role in regional conflicts during 1984. Therefore, in constant pursuit of communication at least, President Mubarak of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan visited. First, let’s talk about Jordan and Hussein.
Step into the shoes of Jim Dahlem as he shares his unforgettable experiences with President Reagan. Through these personal stories, you'll get a glimpse of Reagan's unmatched charisma and good nature. Jim brings to life the humor and warmth that made President Reagan not just a respected leader, but a beloved figure.
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In 1984, forty years ago, the Reagan-Bush campaign launched a highly praised television ad blitz proclaiming, "It's Morning Again in America." The ads underscored a theme at the center of Reagan's campaign: that America was "Prouder, Stronger, and Better" under President Reagan's leadership. And while those great “Morning in America” campaign ads were running, the President was riding the campaign trail. In today’s podcast, we’ll feature excerpts from a quintessential campaign speech where the candidate tells you what he did, then tells you again, and then, of course, tells us again.
This Reagan Forum podcast that you are listening to is only one of the eight different podcasts that the Reagan Foundation and Institute produces. In fact, this is only one of two that are audio only – the rest each come with video. One of our favorite podcasts is called the Reagan Retrospective. These podcasts are stories shared by people who knew President and Mrs. Reagan best – people who worked with them, were friends with them, and knew them throughout their life. Each podcast brings you new behind-the-scenes stories from the Reagan years. They’re funny, poignant, and rich in history. Over the past 3 months we have recorded over a dozen of these podcasts and they’re now being released a few per month. So today we are going to share four of our most recent Reagan Retrospective podcasts. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
In September 1984, the day after the President addressed the UN, he addressed a meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The World Bank was established along with the International Monetary Fund in 1944, at the Bretton Woods Conference. The Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low and middle income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. During the 1980s, the bank emphasized lending to service Third World debt and making structural adjustment policies that were designed to streamline the economies of developing nations. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) oversees the stability of the world's monetary system, while the World Bank aims to reduce poverty by offering assistance to middle-income and low-income countries. You’ll hear in these remarks, that while the President lauds the work of the World Bank and IMF, he does clarify where American support needs to be because as he said: "While we would not impose our ideas, our policies, on anyone, we felt obliged to point out that no nation can have prosperity and successful development without economic freedom."
Have you watched our Reaganism podcast yet? Reaganism is dedicated to exploring where the Reagan Movement lives today, hosted by the Director of the Ronald Reagan Institute, Roger Zakheim. The show has two goals: to understand the foundations of the political philosophy that powered the Reagan Revolution; and to host discussions about contemporary issues through the lens of President Reagan. Episodes come out weekly. In a recent episode from August 5, 2024, Roger sat down with Matthew Continetti who serves as the Director of Domestic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. They discuss the historic 2024 presidential campaign and how the election might unfold in November. They also talk about national conservatism, the energy around Kamala Harris, the democratic convention, and more.
So 40 years ago at this time, our then 40th president was running for a second term. And just what did the polls say? Well, by the end of October 1984, the latest national opinion polls strongly favored President Reagan. Newsweek’s poll showed the president ahead by 17 points: a USA Today poll showed his lead at 23 points and US News and World Report said that its state-by-state survey showed Mr. Reagan way ahead in 45 out of the 50 states and the President “on his way to a smashing victory on November 6.” In addition to traditional campaign stops, the President used his bully pulpit to pursue his agenda; specifically, those radio addresses. So in today’s podcast, we’ll tune into one he sent in September 1984.
On August 14, 2024, the Reagan Foundation hosted an in-person event with former Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross for a discussion on his latest book, Risks and Returns: Creating Success in Business and Life. The book is a candid reflection of a life lived at the pinnacle of Wall Street, New York, and Palm Beach society, as well as within the Trump administration in his role as Commerce Secretary. During the program, Secretary Ross sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio to discuss his career in business and politics.
Most people don’t associate Ronald Reagan with country music, but in today’s podcast, we’ll hear another side! The President actually journeyed to Nashville, Tennessee to celebrate the birthday of one of country music’s all-time greats, Roy Acuff. He met with Mr. Acuff and his family early in the day, then journeyed to the Grand Ole Opry Theater at Opryland, USA to deliver these remarks. You’ll hear the President mention Barbara Mandrell early on because as you might recall, she had been in a terrible automobile accident.
On August 7, 2024, the Reagan Foundation hosted a virtual event with award winning historian, biographer and curator Heath Hardage Lee for a discussion on her latest book, The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady. In The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon, Heath Hardage Lee presents readers with the essential nature of Mrs. Nixon, an empathetic, adventurous, self-made woman who wanted no power or influence but connected warmly with ordinary Americans and people from different cultures she encountered world-wide.
The Press. In this podcast, we’ll cover some interesting, short, informal exchanges between the President and the Press in September 1984 – Yes, the president was in the intense throes of a political campaign and at the same time, it was the height of tensions with the Soviet Union when an impromptu meeting with Andre Gromyko, the Soviet foreign minister, was arranged. Above all, we have to remember that the story of the White House cannot be told without discussing interactions between presidents and the press. Sometimes cordial, sometimes confrontational, this relationship is fueled by the public’s desire for news about the leader of the nation and the administration’s work. Yes, all American presidents have a love-hate relationship but the harsh reality is they have to deal with them.
Tomorrow, August 30, 2024, the movie REAGAN will be released in theaters nationwide. REAGAN is a cinematic journey of overcoming the odds. The movie is told through the voice of Viktor Petrovich, a former KGB agent whose life becomes inextricably linked with Ronald Reagan's when Ronald Reagan first caught the Soviets’ attention as an actor in Hollywood and stars Dennis Quaid, Jon Voight, Penelope Ann Miller, Mena Suvari, Lesley-Anne Down, David Henrie and Kevin Dilon. A month earlier, on July 25, 2024, a handful of the Reagan movie cast joined us at the Reagan Library for an in-person moderated discussion about the film and their roles. During the program, cast members Dennis Quaid, who plays Ronald Reagan, Elya Baskin who plays a soviet defector, Amanda Righetti who plays Nelle Reagan, and Will Wallace who plays Ed Meese, sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio to share these stories and more.
Ok a little quiz…when I say August 1984 and Ronald Reagan, what comes to mind? His acceptance of the presidential nomination, of course. It’s important to remember that the President regarded the 1984 election as pivotal. Why? Because he believed the gains he had made during his first four years were in jeopardy. He wanted to preserve what he had accomplished and there were still things he wanted to do. What were those two things? Cutting the deficit and balancing the budget. Although an economic expansion was underway, he thought he could do more to stimulate the economy by making our tax system fairer and simpler. Our optimistic 40th president believed he could persuade Congress to cut more waste out of the budget and continue making our government smaller and less intrusive. So for this week’s podcast, we’ll walk down memory lane with the President to hear his remarks when accepting the nomination in 1984 in Dallas, Texas, what his objectives were, and his thoughts on his opponent, Walter Mondale. You’ll hear the President refer to San Francisco because that’s where the Democrats held their convention in July of 1984.
In today’s Reagan Forum podcast, we bring you our August 8, 2024, in-person event with Justice Neil Gorsuch; his second visit with us. During the program, he discusses his book, “Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law,” which highlights increasingly complex laws that take away Americans’ freedoms and undermine respect for the law. Centered around the lives of real people who feel the tolls of excessive regulation, “Over Ruled” provides readers with key insights into preserving liberties for future generations. During the program, Justice Gorsuch sat down with Reagan Foundation and Institute Board Chairman Fred Ryan.
The Warsaw Uprising, which officially began on August 1, 1944, and lasted until October 2, 1944, was a major military endeavor of the Polish resistance movement during World War II. From the beginning, civilians were embroiled in the 63-day conflict enduring relentless airstrikes and the resulting fires that forced them from their homes. They were also working to procure arms, provide supplies for insurgents, erect defensive barriers, extinguish fires, and carry messages underground. Yet, as the Soviets halted their offensive—which to this point had been a remarkable success—Nazi units had time to regroup and organize a counteroffensive, forcing the armed insurrection to hold out much longer than originally planned. Civilians were initially in favor of the uprising since they believed that the fighting would last only a few days. As the unrest raged on and Warsaw received little help from the Soviets, however, civilian support diminished, leading to tensions between the AK or the Polish army and the population of Warsaw. Remember, in 1984, the Polish people were again fighting for their freedom from the Soviets, a struggle that the President addresses in this speech.
On March 23, 1983, in a televised address to the nation, President Reagan announced his intention to embark upon groundbreaking research into a national defense system that could make nuclear weapons obsolete. At the heart of the Strategic Defense Initiative was the development of a space-based missile defense program that could protect America from a large-scale nuclear attack. Flash forward to today, and now our country has the Missile Defense Agency to develop and deploy a system to defend the United States and its allies - exactly what President Reagan envisioned 40 years ago. On August 1, 2024, the Reagan Foundation was honored to host an in-person event with Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, the Director of the Missile Defense Agency, whose job it is to advise the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering on Missile Defense programmatic policy, requirements, priorities, systems, resources, and programs. During the program, Lt. Gen. Collins sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio to discuss the Missile Defense Agency - its responsibilities, its challenges and opportunities, and the importance of what the Agency does every day for our nation's security.
We know our current Congress ranks as one of the most inactive in history. Here are the stats: the 118th Congress, at the end of 2023, hit a historical mark for inactivity, the lowest tally since the Great Depression. Now let’s go back 40 years ago, when President Reagan became so frustrated with Congress, that he drafted a radio address to alert the American people to his massive frustration.
In his first inaugural address, as he looked out over the National Mall, President Reagan declared, “Above all, we must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have.” They are words that defined his foreign policy. They are words that defined his presidency. They are words shaped by Ken Khachigian, Ronald Reagan’s chief speechwriter. Less than two weeks ago, on July 30, 2024, the Reagan Foundation hosted an in-person event with Ken to discuss his latest book, Behind Closed Doors: In The Room with Reagan & Nixon. It’s a book that Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow calls, “essential reading for anyone wanting to know how Ronald Reagan shaped his crusading message of economic growth through tax cuts and limited government.” Behind Closed Doors is a compelling insider’s account by the trusted adviser and confidant to America’s presidential giants and political legends. During the program, Ken sat down with Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio to share these stories and more.
From the end of July through August 11th, the world has been and will be focused on the city of light, Paris, as that beautiful historic city hosts the 33rd Olympiad. Do you know why Paris was called the City of Light? Because at the beginning of the 19th century, it became the first city in Europe to use gas lighting to illuminate its streets. And yes, the summer Olympics will be the subject of today’s podcast.
On July 24, 2024, the Reagan Foundation hosted a virtual event with President George HW Bush’s former chief-of-staff Jean Becker to discuss her latest book, Character Matters: And Other Life Lessons from George H.W. Bush. During the program, Jean sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller to discuss President Bush’s character, humility, love of country, and love for his family.
In 1984, the economy was in an upswing. Oil prices were low, interest rates were high, and the lurking problem of the mounting federal deficit caused little public concern. Our popular President Reagan was earning the label "the Teflon president" for his ability to escape unscathed from setbacks. So, the challenging task of running against Ronald Reagan fell to former Vice President Walter Mondale who made two bold choices in his campaign, both of which backfired. First, he selected a woman, New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro, as his running mate. Media scrutiny of her husband’s finances put Ferraro on the defensive. Second, Mondale announced in his acceptance speech that he would raise taxes to fight the deficit. Seizing on such a position, President Reagan succeeded in tagging Mondale as a typical free-spending Democrat and won the most lopsided electoral victory since 1936: 49 out of 50 states.
President Reagan strongly believed in the importance of educating our youth about the Founding Fathers and the nation's foundational documents, such as the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. In 1981, he eloquently articulated this conviction by referring to these documents as the "Charters of Freedom," underscoring their role as the bedrock of American law and guardians of inalienable rights and privileges. It is for these reasons that the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute recently worked with Foundation Forward to install a permanent Charters of Freedom Monument on the Reagan Library campus. The monument includes life-sized replicas of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence, as well as a panel on Civil Rights. This monument was dedicated and unveiled during a ceremony on the Reagan Library campus on the 4th of July.
Fifteen years after the Apollo 11 lunar landing, the President invited the crew members to the White House for a celebration. You’ll be intrigued by the President’s remarks – he gives a little history and in the second half of the podcast, we’ll hear him explain all the inventions that have emerged from the space program. After his speech, you’ll hear Neil Armstrong speak and present the President with a gift, a small American flag that the crew had taken to the moon in 1969. Today, it’s been 55 years since that historic landing. Recall that at 1:18 pm, Pacific Daylight Time on July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin brought down the lunar lander Eagle on the moon's surface. Collins remained in the command module Columbia, which orbited 69 miles above. Five more missions sent ten more men to the moon’s cratered surface and 843 pounds of precious lunar rocks and soil were returned for analysis.
President Reagan hated war. He wanted to prevent war. And in the event he ever had to use force, it would be to advance freedom – and not to conquer. President Reagan sought peace, and he understood that peace requires strength. It is strength that tyrants respect. It is strength that enemies understand. It is strength that keeps the peace. As a guiding philosophy, “Peace Through Strength” is as relevant today as it was 40 years ago. In this Reagan Forum podcast we look back at our 80th anniversary of D-Day commemoration event held on June 6, 2024. The specific panel in this podcast focuses on where we need our leaders to rediscover and recommit to President Reagan’s philosophy. The Wall Street Journal’s Kate Bachelder Odell moderated a conversation with Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Burt, who was with Ronald Reagan in Normandy, Frank Lavin, who served as Ronald Reagan’s White House Director of Political Affairs—and later served as ambassador to Singapore under President George W. Bush, and Matt Kroenig, who is Vice President and Senior Director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a Georgetown professor.
This year, it’s been estimated that about 350 million people will visit our national parks. Now if you’re wondering why I’m speaking about national parks, perhaps it’s important to remember that Ronald Reagan was a serious outdoorsman. In April 1977, he wrote a radio address about the environment, four years before becoming president. And in 1984, he addressed the National Campers and Hikers Association in Bowling Green, Kentucky. As governor of California, Ronald Reagan had an admirable record of safeguarding the environment, to the surprise of some of his critics. Governor Reagan’s administration added 145,000 acres of parkland, more than any other modern California governor. He enforced new, tougher measures on air and water quality. He stopped plans for dams on two rivers, the Feather and the Eel, despite intense pressure from commercial interests and signed into law a bill to protect California’s wild and scenic rivers.
It was June 6, 1984. President Reagan delivered two speeches that day to honor the 40th anniversary of D-Day. People forget that there were two speeches. Of course, there’s the “Pointe du Hoc” speech, and then his other remarks at Omaha Beach. There, he honored those who fought, those who died and those who returned. Lisa Zanatta Henn was there that day in 1984, keeping a promise she made to her father, and she joined us at the Reagan Library on June 6, 1984 to honor the 80th anniversary of D-Day. She sat on a panel alongside Jim Kuhn, Assistant to the President in the Reagan White House, who was in Normandy in June of ‘84. They were also joined by Cameron Toor, a recent veteran of the U.S. Army’s elite 75th Ranger Regiment. They were joined on stage in conversation with presidential historian, bestselling author and Rice University Professor Douglas Brinkley.
Today, we’ll listen to a radio address delivered 40 years ago on law enforcement and crime - certainly a hot topic in our major cities where cutbacks in law enforcement and weak sentencing are suspected causes of an increased crime rate. So, take a guess: what state has the lowest violent crime rate? That would be New Hampshire. And the highest? In the United States, New Mexico is the most dangerous state, with a higher rate of violent crimes per capita than any other location. Arkansas is a close second with California coming in as the 5th most dangerous state in the union. So let’s hear from Ronald Reagan on crime, beginning with his thoughts in 1984 and then closing, in the second half of the podcast, with a very direct radio broadcast he delivered 8 years before.
Last month we shared with you our two panels and our one Keynote Fireside Chat as part of our June 5, 2024 event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of President Ronald Reagan. This month we turn to our panels and Keynote Fireside Chat that were held at the Reagan Library on June 6, 2024, on the day the country and the world commemorated the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. This occasion was marked brilliantly by President Reagan 40 years ago on that day in 1984 when he delivered two memorable and moving speeches, one of which highlighted the selfless and heroic actions of the “boys of Pointe du Hoc.” During our programs, we heard from people who were with President Reagan in France that day, as well as discussion around President Reagan’s steadfast support of our allies and the “Peace Through Strength” policy he championed. Our day ended with a lively and fascinating conversation with Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State and now Director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. It is this conversation with Dr. Rice we will cover in today’s Reagan Forum podcast. During this hour-long discussion, Dr. Rice sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Board Chairman Fred Ryan. The two discussed the importance of looking back at D-Day, our nation’s military today, the political environment of today, including the wars in Ukraine and Israel and the threat Taiwan faces from China, the importance of bi-partisanship and working with Allied Nations, and so much more.
Ok here’s a trivia question for you….There was a famous car racing competition that took place in Daytona Beach, Florida on the 4th of July - do you know the name? Yes, it was called the Firecracker 400 and 40 years ago….our 40th President attended! In 1989, the "Firecracker" moniker was dropped, and the race was known simply as the Pepsi 400 through 2007. In the early years, the race was always scheduled for July 4, regardless of the day of the week. Beginning in 1988, the race was moved to the first Saturday of July…and today….well, it’s called Coke Zero Sugar 400 and held in August at the Daytona Raceway in Florida…and so it goes… But let’s go back to 1984! The "Start your engines" command was given by President Ronald Reagan but not in person…from the phone on Air Force One! He then later landed at Daytona Beach International Airport and was escorted to one of the main press boxes at the speedway where he was met by a number of reporters, one of them being Ned Jarrett, who asked him to do some play-by-play commentary on MRN - the Motor Racing Network. And here’s how it started…
As we have been sharing with you all month, we gathered at the Reagan Library on June 5, 2024, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of President Reagan. The day was a meaningful opportunity to reflect on our 40th President’s legacy and its enduring impact to this day and beyond. We began with a special ceremony to honor this 20-year milestone. From there, we heard from many who served in the Reagan Administration, discussing both his domestic and foreign policies, and how they continue to shape the world. We concluded the day with a special after dinner conversation with Peggy Noonan and the children of two of President Reagan’s closest friends and allies on the world stage, Margaret Thatcher and Brian Mulroney. In today’s Reagan Forum Podcast we focus on our keynote fireside chat. When talking about President Reagan’s legacy, it is impossible to not intertwine it with his allies and his friends. Including former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Three greats who are now gone. Gone—and missed more than ever, as the world longs for their unique brand of decisive, principled leadership. In our final reflection on the life, death and legacy of President Ronald Reagan, we were so deeply honored that two children of these leaders agreed to be a part of our program. In our keynote fireside chat, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Peggy Noonan sat down in conversation with Carol Thatcher and Ben Mulroney. No one else could possibly offer a perspective like theirs on two of President Reagan’s greatest allies.
Today, we hear comments regarding the policy of DEI - Diversity, equity, and inclusion which are organizational frameworks. And the intent is to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination based on identity or disability. As the United States reckoned with racial inequality during and after the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, many saw Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs as a way to address the issues in higher education. As part of the trend, many schools began requiring candidates for teaching positions to submit DEI statements. In these statements, potential hires explain how they would advance diversity, equity and inclusion in their teaching and research activities. One 2021 study found that about one-third of job postings at elite universities required them.
As we shared with you last week, we gathered at the Reagan Library on June 5, 2024, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of President Reagan. The day was a meaningful opportunity to reflect on our 40th President’s legacy and its enduring impact to this day and beyond. In a CBS piece that aired the night of President Reagan’s death, Leslie Stahl concluded, quote, “Ending the Cold War will certainly be how he is remembered most in history.” If that was President Reagan’s crowning foreign policy achievement, then Peace Through Strength was his most important guiding philosophy. As such, in today’s Reagan Forum Podcast we focus on the second panel from our June 5th event – Leadership Abroad: Peace Through Strength. The panel was moderated by Fox News’s Guy Benson. He sat down in discussion with Former UN Ambassador and President Reagan’s Arms Control Director Ken Adelman, who is also the author of Reagan at Reykjavik, Paula Dobriansky, who served as director of European and Soviet Affairs on the Reagan National Security Council, Professor William Inboden, now of the University of Florida, the author of The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink, and KT McFarland, former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor in the Reagan White House. During the hour-long panel, they discussed President Reagan’s legacy, if we are still heeding his example, and how his Peace Through Strength Initiatives still impact us today.
In Walter Cronkite’s last, official interview for CBS before being replaced by Dan Rather, he chose to interview one man: The President of the United States. Not in the Oval Office, but in Normandy, France, and just moments after the President delivered his historic addresses on Omaha Beach and at Pointe du Hoc. Today, we evaluate how a President will be interviewed based on the interviewer. From a certain news agency, we know there will be softballs. From other news agencies, there are curves, sliders, and fastballs coming from left field. But Walter Cronkite represented the best of what journalism does. He sought genuine answers, longed for enlightenment, and never revealed his personal political preferences. The chronicler and historian, David Halberstam, called Walter Cronkite “the most significant journalist of the second half of the twentieth century” in the way one might say, “George Washington was the most significant politician of the second half of the 18th Century.”
We gathered at the Reagan Library on June 5, 2024, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of President Reagan. The day was a meaningful opportunity to reflect on our 40th President’s legacy and its enduring impact to this day and beyond. In today’s Reagan Forum Podcast, we focus on the first panel from our June 5th event – Leadership at Home: Morning in America. The panel was moderated by veteran journalist Ann Compton – who covered President Reagan at the White House. She sat down in discussion with Andy Card who served as Special Assistant to President Reagan and, of course, later as Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush, Influential economist Dr. Art Laffer who served as a member of President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board, and Stephen Moore, the widely read economic advisor and commentator, who served in the Reagan administration Office of Management and Budget. During the hour-long panel, they discussed President Reagan and his economic policies, how they impacted America in the 1980s, and how they’re still relevant today.
After the recent uprisings at many of America’s collegiate institutions, we thought we’d look back on how Governor Reagan handled the situation, 50 years ago in the late 60’s and early 70’s. In his 1966 campaign for California governor, Republican Ronald Reagan promised to "clean up the mess at Berkeley." At the time, he was referring to the unrest prevalent not just at the University of California, Berkeley, but on college campuses throughout the state. Students and faculty alike were engaged in protests, demonstrations, and strikes related to issues such as the draft, civil rights, discrimination, and women’s liberation. In one 1966 campaign speech, Reagan declared that many leftist campus movements had transcended legitimate protest, with the actions of "beatniks, radicals and filthy speech advocates" having become more to do "with rioting, with anarchy" than "academic freedom." His core message was, "Anarchy in the name of academic freedom on the campus or on our streets, will not be tolerated...."
On May 29, 2024, the Reagan Foundation hosted a virtual event with Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Carlos Lozada for a discussion of his latest book, The Washington Book, which explores how people in power reveal themselves through their books and writings and, in so doing, illuminates the personal, political, and cultural conflicts driving Washington and the nation. It explores the construction of personal identity, the delusions of leadership, and that mix of subservience and ambition that can define a life in politics. During the program, Carlos sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller.
On June 6, 1984, President Reagan delivered remarks in honor of the 40th anniversary of the D-day invasion. Earlier in the day, he delivered a riveting speech at Pointe du Hoc which will be the subject of today’s podcast. So today, we are remembering the D-day invasion of 1944, 80 years ago. Of the many tributes given by President Reagan in honor of American veterans, perhaps the most memorable was the one delivered on June 6, 1984, at Pointe du Hoc. Its critical importance was not underestimated by those tasked with preparing a draft, to be delivered on the 40th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. Ben Eliot, head of the White House Speechwriters Office, knew just the person he wanted to compose the address. He gave the assignment to Peggy Noonan and commented that “They’d like it to be like the Gettysburg Address."
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present our Memorial Day Commemoration held at the Reagan Library just three days ago. Each year the Reagan Library holds a special program that honors the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. This year, we were honored to have as our keynote Michael Blassie’s sister, United States Air Force Colonel Patricia Blassie (retired). Our program also included a flyover, a Color Guard, live music, and remarks by Gold Star Family Member Tony Cordero.
On June 5th this year – 2024, it’s hard to believe that 20 years have passed since we laid President Ronald Wilson Reagan to rest. In this podcast, we’ll reflect on the ceremonies and speeches celebrating his life and legacy. In his honor, President George W. Bush declared June 11, 2004, a national day of mourning. A ceremony at the Capitol began with tributes from Senator Ted Stevens, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, and Vice President Richard Cheney. Let’s listen to a few excerpts, starting with Senator Ted Stevens.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present Ed O’Keefe, the CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, for his latest book, The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President. During this virtual event, Ed sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Education and Program Officer Richard Schroeder to discuss his book.
On Friday, April 26, the Olympic flame for the 2024 Paris games was officially handed over to a delegation from the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee during a ceremony in Athens Greece. The ceremony took place at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens where the modern Olympics were first opened in 1896. At that time, the Olympic flame was passed to the delegation representing the country that will next host the games. And that is, of course, France. But to reach France from Greece, the torch will cross the Mediterranean on board the Belem, the majestic 3-masted ship owned by the Belem Foundation. It will cross the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans as part of the Oceans Relay to reach six French overseas territories: Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Reunion Island. Once in France, the flame will travel to the Lascaux caves, the Alésia archaeological site, the medieval city of Carcassonne, the Palace of Versailles, and many other sites. It will light up many of France's architectural masterpieces, beginning with the world-renowned site of Mont Saint-Michel. It will also visit places of remembrance, such as the Verdun Memorial and the D-Day Landing Beaches. 40 years ago in 1984, the Olympic torch crossed America to reach the West Coast, Los Angeles, for the official games. One of its first stops was Washington, DC where it stopped at the White House. In this podcast, we’ll listen to the President’s wonderful remarks delivered on the South Lawn.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present three co-authors – Anita McBride, Diana Carlin, and Nancy Kegan Smith – who joined us at the Reagan Library on May 8, 2024, to discuss their new book, Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women. The discussion surrounded their groundbreaking book, showcasing the evolutionary role of the First Lady and its historical importance in the American presidency. They shine a light on the influential women who broke barriers and made a mark on our country and, at times, our world, during their tenures in the White House. Anita McBride's White House service spans two decades and three presidential administrations. She served as director of White House Personnel under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and as director of the U.S. Speaker's Bureau at the United States Information Agency. She then served as assistant to President George W. Bush and chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush. Diana Carlin co-founded the First Ladies Association for Research and Education. Nancy Kegan Smith is the retired Director of the Presidential Materials Division at the National Archives and Records Administration. She is vice president of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education. During their visit, the three co-authors sat down with the Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO Dave Trulio to discuss their book.
Why should we care about Central America? Today, almost half of the 2.5 million migrants who crossed our southern border in 2023 were from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, or Nicaragua. In this podcast, we’ll talk about those neighbors to the South, and hear what the president said in 1983 and 1984.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present our Reaganism Podcast on GOP Foreign Policy. During the podcast, Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim sat down with Dr. Matthew Kroenig who serves as the Vice President and Senior Director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council, and with Dan Negrea who serves as the Senior Director of the Freedom and Prosperity Center at the Atlantic Council. They discuss Dr. Kroenig and Mr. Nagrea’s new book, “We Win, They Lose: Republican Foreign Policy and the New Cold War.” This book provides a blueprint for Republican policymakers to engage with and win the great power competition with Communist China.
On May 8, 1984, the White House honored Harry Truman’s 100th birthday. Sadly, Harry died in 1972 at the age of 88, but Ronald Reagan who had admired, respected, and campaigned for Harry Truman, was staunchly in favor of celebrating this honorable man. His remarks, delivered at the White House with Truman’s daughter Margaret as a special guest, were simply captivating.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present our Reaganism Podcast on AI, Autonomy, and Defense. During the podcast, Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim sat down with Doug Cameron, a reporter who covers the global aerospace and defense industry and the airline sector in The Wall Street Journal’s Chicago bureau. During their conversation, they discussed Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the National Defense Industrial Strategy, emerging technologies, and the future of warfare.
President Reagan’s disappointment in and distrust of international organizations is vividly apparent in his radio commentaries from 1975-1980. Today, when we look at the situation in Ukraine, and the tragedies unfolding in Gaza, we can’t help but wonder what, if anything, the organization has accomplished in bringing peace to the world. On March 25, just a month ago, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, in addition to the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and "the urgent need to expand the flow" of aid into Gaza. There were 14 votes in favor with the United States abstaining. As of this writing, despite their demands, the parties involved - Israel and Hamas - have not heeded. It was Dag Hammarskjöld, the tragic second UN secretary general, who said it best. The United Nations, he said, “was created not to lead mankind to heaven but to save humanity from hell”. So in this podcast, we’ll listen to two of Ronald Reagan’s speeches - an excerpt from a 1983 address where his aggressive rhetoric was criticized and a radio address from 1978, both clarify why he believed that the UN, despite its lofty goals, is impotent.
For today’s Reagan Forum podcast, we are going behind the scenes to share some of the inside stories of what we do here at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. The Reagan Library opened on November 4, 1991, but the groundbreaking was held three years earlier, in November 1988. November 21, 2023, marked the 35th anniversary of the groundbreaking of the Reagan Library and Museum. To commemorate the day, the Foundation put together a video of how the Library was built and why Simi Valley was chosen.
40 years ago, the Russians were still on the march, just like today. Then, of course, it was known as the Soviet Union, and the threat they posed to the United States and Europe was unrelenting and terrifying. European leaders were begging President Reagan to do something, complaining that the presence of SS-20s armed with nuclear warheads felt like the Russians had a gun to their heads. But European leaders were afraid to speak out against the Soviets, publicly, because they were afraid the Russians would cut off their energy as Europe relied on them for natural gas. And the Soviets knew that their power over Western Europe was based on energy. So, President Reagan was determined to define a new path for the American people: one to eliminate the threat of nuclear war for the entire human race. In this podcast, we’ll talk about a dynamic new exhibit at the Reagan Library that combines artifacts and information on President Reagan’s plan to protect America - known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, and actual artifacts from George Lucas’ film series, Star Wars. The exhibit is open now, entitled: Defending America and the Galaxy: SDI and Star Wars. In addition to SDI artifacts, there are Star Wars treasures like a land speeder, a Dykstraflex camera, Princess Leia’s dress, and more fascinating items.
On March 20, 2024, the Reagan Institute held its second annual National Security Innovation Base Summit in Washington, D.C. The event convened prominent thought leaders, current and former public officials, investors, and representatives of the most innovative industry and technology companies to discuss the important issues facing our annual National Security Innovation Base ecosystem. The program also unveiled the second iteration of its groundbreaking National Security Innovation Base Report Card which measures the health, effectiveness, and resilience of this ecosystem and provides recommendations for improvement. The program’s keynote was the Honorable Kathleen Hicks, the 35th Deputy Secretary of Defense. Following her remarks, she sat down in conversation with Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim.
Today, the turmoil and civil war in the country of Haiti dominate the headlines. As of this writing, for three weeks, Haiti’s capital has been trapped in a gory cycle that far exceeds the kidnapping and gang violence for which it was already known. An insurgent league of heavily armed gangs is waging war on the city itself, seeking new territory and targeting police and state institutions. The Dominican Republic has stationed 10,000 soldiers on its border with Haiti. Officials there are worried that chaos in Haiti will send migrants streaming into their country. As a democratic ally, the Dominican Republic was an important and recognized partner in the fight against communism and corruption in the Caribbean. So in April of 1984, President Reagan welcomed President Jorge Blanco to the United States.
During his farewell address to the nation on January 11, 1989, President Reagan said, “An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world?” Today, the Reagan Institute’s Center for Civics, Education, and Opportunity stands at the nexus of civics and education policy answering President Reagan’s call for an “informed patriotism” to ensure for a prosperous future for America. Educators and organizations committed to civic learning and engagement often feel hesitant, fearing they'll be labeled political. Meanwhile, parents may wonder about the distinction between active participation and advocacy, and whether their child's teacher is equipped to navigate these waters. To discuss these topics, the Reagan Institute held an online forum on March 13, 2024, specifically to discuss how to foster informed and engaged citizens in today's polarized climate. The panel took a deep dive into the nuances of "active citizenship" versus "activist citizenship," exploring how these concepts intersect and sometimes clash in educational settings.
At Eureka College, our 40th President participated in almost every sport. No, he wasn’t a candidate for the Olympic team. Ronald Reagan’s football coach Ralph McKinzie said, “Dutch was not an outstanding player but he was a good plugger with a lot of spirit and desire.” Besides football, he went out for the swimming team and became captain. He tried out for track and won his letter in that sport as well. As for basketball, well that was only a high school pursuit, but as President, he was thrilled to invite the basketball teams who excelled during March Madness.
Just a few days ago, the nation celebrated April Fool’s Day. Although the day has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582 when France switched from the Julian calendar (which begins its new year around April 1 each year) to the Gregorian calendar (which begins its new year on January 1 each year). People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.” Today it’s become a day for pranks, hoaxes, and jokes. And no one loved a good joke more than President Reagan. So we thought we’d spend today’s Reagan Forum podcast celebrating the best of President Reagan and his humor.
40 years ago, in the spring of 1984, President Reagan spent six days in the People’s Republic of China, visiting Beijing and Shanghai. To ease into the schedule, he was a week getting there and he spent another day and a half in Alaska afterward, meeting once more with Pope John Paul II. It was Ronald Reagan’s first trip to a Communist country and was somewhat strained because of his campaign as Taiwan’s leading political champion in the US. When he was elected, he still believed that the government that had fled to Taiwan in 1949 was the legitimate government of China. It’s believed that Richard Nixon was quite influential with Reagan regarding China, emphasizing its importance as a counterweight to the Soviet Union.
We know that Israel had no better partner/defender/protector than Ronald Reagan. And our 40th president never missed an opportunity to denounce anti-semitism, bigotry, or prejudice. In this era of strident anti-semitism, bigotry, and prejudice occurring in our nation today, we thought we should focus briefly on President Reagan’s campaign against hatred. In 1984, he clarified his beliefs when he was invited to deliver an address at the Young Leadership Conference of the United Jewish Appeal in March 1984.
On March 8, 2024, the Reagan Foundation hosted a virtual event with bestselling author Craig Shirley. Craig Shirley is the author of four critically praised bestselling books on President Reagan, Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All, Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign that Changed America, Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan, and Reagan Rising: The Decisive Years, 1976-1980. He joined us on March 8 to discuss his latest book on Ronald Reagan, The Search for Reagan: The Appealing Intellectual Conservatism of Ronald Reagan. The new book chronicles what Craig Shirley believes is the untold secret of Reagan's success: strong moral compassion and the vast but underrated intellect of a philosopher-president. "A true leader has a moral, physical, and intellectual presence," Craig said. He continued, “I was in the room with Reagan many, many times. He was always the one person in the room who was the moral, physical, and intellectual leader." During the program, Craig Shirley sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller.
Well, this podcast might be airing a few days after St. Patrick’s Day but bear with me. We’ve got an interesting radio address for you combining the President’s two favorite topics - briefly about St. Patrick’s Day and how America’s economic recovery was well underway. The President was at Camp David - it was a cold wintry March day, where he was tucked away safely in his compound with his trusty yellow pad in his hand, drafting a new radio address. He even talks about diversity! Yes, back in 1984.
At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, our education programs are dedicated to cultivating the next generation of citizen leaders. Each year, we work with thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of students from across the country to help foster the engaged, informed citizens that President Reagan knew were so vital to a healthy America. In keeping with our vision of promoting civic engagement, on February 26, 2024 we were honored to once again partner with the Simi Valley Youth Council to present the annual Youth Town Hall. At the Youth Town Hall, Ventura County middle and high school students have the opportunity to hear public officials discuss local and statewide civic matters ranging from education to policy-making. To maximize participation, student attendees can pose their questions in person or share their concerns anonymously via social media.
For thirty-five years -- through seven presidencies -- the United States and its allies labored unceasingly to contain Communism around the world. They used a broad range of diplomatic, military, and economic initiatives costing tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars. They used economic programs like the Marshall Plan, military alliances like NATO and SEATO, direct conflicts like the Korean War and the Vietnam War, indirect engagements like the Bay of Pigs, weapons treaties like SALT I, and covert operations like the attempted assassination of Cuba's Fidel Castro. And yet, by 1980, Communism was not only alive and seemingly well in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, mainland China, Cuba, and North Korea, but had spread to sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan, and Nicaragua. Containment was not working. In this podcast, we’ll talk about the President’s Strategic Defense Initiative which became the cornerstone of his plan to protect America. This month at the Reagan Presidential Library, an exhibit opens called Defending America and the Galaxy: SDI and Star Wars featuring genuine artifacts from SDI along with authentic articles from the Star Wars movies.
The Medal of Honor is the United States' highest award for military valor in action. At the time of this recording, only 3,536 military personnel have received this award since it was established during the Civil War, and there are fewer than 100 recipients living today. And while over 150 years have passed since its inception, the meaning behind the Medal has never tarnished. Etched within are the very values that each Recipient displayed in the moments that mattered—bravery, courage, sacrifice, integrity, a deep love of country, and a desire to always do what is right. Every year, the Reagan Foundation hosts an event, in partnership with the Medal of Honor Foundation, to bring together Medal of Honor recipients with high school students. The Medal of Honor recipients share their stories of courage and sacrifice, exploring such themes as patriotism, citizenship, and integrity. Following their remarks they engage in an open audience question and answer session with the students. This year’s program was held on February 8, 2024, and was with Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2019 for his brave actions in Iraq during Operation Phantom Fury.
CPAC. Just those four letters bring to mind the crazy, dynamic conference it has become in recent years. Ronald Reagan first spoke as Governor Reagan in 1974 and ten years later in 1984, he relied on the same theme: unity coupled with America’s Divine charge. So in today’s podcast, we’ll listen to our 40th president at CPAC, speaking with four years of experience as our nation’s leader, retelling his audience what exactly is the ideological foundation for America.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back just over a week to our February 20, 2024, in-person program with Senator Rand Paul for a discussion on his latest book, Deception: The Great COVID Cover-up. A physician himself, Senator Rand Paul was one of the few leaders who dared to challenge what America was being told about COVID. In Deception, Senator Paul presents evidence that COVID was likely started by research at the Wuhan lab in China – research funded in part by the US Government without regulatory review. Senator Paul makes the case of why we shouldn’t fund dangerous bioengineering in a totalitarian country and how if we don’t heed this warning, the next pandemic could be worse. While at the Reagan Library, Senator Paul was joined in conversation by the Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio.
Well, we are in another Olympic year, with the summer Olympics taking place this July and August in Paris, France. 40 years ago, the President was excited to welcome athletes from the Winter Olympics, held in Sarajevo, then Yugoslavia, to the White House. It was the first Winter Olympic Games held in a Slavic language-speaking country, as well as the only Winter Olympics held in a communist country before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. It was the second consecutive Olympic Games held in a communist country, after the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. What athlete won the most medals? These 1984 Olympic Games opened the door to a new class of athletes: professionals. Six months later, when the Summer Olympic Games were held in Los Angeles, the Soviet Union boycotted the games, in retaliation for our boycott of Moscow’s Summer Games in 1984. So let’s go to the White House and listen to our 40th President welcome these fine young people He begins by saluting the American who won our first gold medal in Sarajevo: a woman, Debbie Armstrong in the Giant Slalom skiing competition.
In this week’s Reagan Forum, we go back just three days to Presidents Day when we held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Reagan Library’s new Charters of Freedom Monument, the first in California to install the Monument. In addition to the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution, the Charters of Freedom Monument now also has a case on Civil Rights which includes the following 5 Constitutional Amendments: 13, 14, 15, 19, and 24.
The complexity of dealing with problems in the Middle East was pervasive during the Reagan years but the 40th President continued to pursue a path to peace. In February 1984, he invited President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan to Washington to discuss the war in Lebanon and other issues. Things were hot in the Middle East. By early 1984, US forces were directly fighting in the Persian Gulf. In late February, a US Navy destroyer launched anti-aircraft missiles against Iranian patrol aircraft. At the end of May, a USAF KC-10 tanker helped Saudi Air Force jets maintain patrols over the Gulf to head off Iranian retaliation for Iraqi attacks on oil tankers. In early June, the USAF tankers and AWACS assisted the Saudis in shooting down one or two Iranian F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers. So, US military forces played a frequent and direct combat role in regional conflicts during 1984. Therefore, in constant pursuit of communication at least, President Mubarak of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan visited. First, let’s talk about Jordan and Hussein.
Last week we brought to you our February 6, 2024, 113th birthday celebration for President Reagan with keynote remarks by Lech Walesa, the former President of Poland. In this week’s Reagan Forum, we are doing something a little different. We’re bringing you a playback of our live video from February 7th where we looked at past birthday celebrations and listened to excerpts of various keynote speakers since 2010.
Now that we’re into the month of February when lovers celebrate their devotion to one another, we’ll dedicate this podcast to the Reagans – first, we’ll hear a brief word from the President and then we’ll let Mrs. Reagan explain how she met this fella, in her own words, recorded years ago from her autobiography My Turn. But first, let’s start with the President who spoke about their relationship at a luncheon honoring Nancy at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans in 1988.
February 6, 2024, marked the 113th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Wilson Reagan. He used to love to joke that each birthday was the anniversary of his 39th birthday, so 2024 would have marked the 74th anniversary of his 39th birthday! Since President Reagan’s passing on June 5, 2004, the Reagan Foundation has worked with the United States Marine Corps Camp Pendleton to hold a birthday celebration on February 6 of each year to honor the life and legacy of our nation’s 40th president. Each year the program includes live musical entertainment from the 1st Marine Division Band, an honor guard, a rifle guard, and the official laying of the White House Presidential Wreath on President Reagan’s gravesite. Keynote speakers in prior years have included Ed Meese, Elizabeth Dole, James Baker, and Henry Kissinger. In this week’s A Reagan Forum podcast, we listen in to the ceremony held on February 6, 2024, with special keynote speaker Lech Walesa, who shared President Reagan’s commitment to securing and preserving human rights, democracy, and freedom around the world. As the leader of the Solidarity movement, Lech Walesa’s role in the Cold War helped defeat the Soviet Union.
40 years ago, Ronald Reagan traveled to his hometown in Dixon, Illinois for his 73rd birthday celebration on February 6th, 1984. True to form, the jokes were flying, as were the warm memories. He was there with his older brother, Neil, his sister-in-law, and of course, Nancy. They toured one of the homes the Reagan family had lived in during childhood which had just been renovated by the Ronald Reagan Home Restoration Foundation. Then, they viewed a homecoming parade from the Nachusa House Hostel. Finally, the president delivered remarks at the Dixon High School Gymnasium.
In 1984, while speaking at Memorial Day ceremonies honoring an unknown serviceman of the Vietnam Conflict, President Reagan said, “We know why he died. He saw the horrors of war but bravely faced them, certain his own cause and his country's cause was a noble one; that he was fighting for human dignity, for free men everywhere. Today we pause to embrace him and all who served us so well.” To honor the values and ideals for which our country’s sons and daughters sacrificed, to honor their commitment to duty and country, to thank them for their service and our freedom, and to make sure that they are never, ever, forgotten, the Reagan Library was honored to install a new Gold Star Families Memorial Monument honoring the families of servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives while serving in the military. In this week’s A Reagan Forum podcast, we go back to November 12, 2018, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Memorial’s unveiling. Program participants included Medal of Honor Recipient Hershel Woody Williams, actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise, singer John Ondrasik from the band Five for Fighting, and local Gold Star Family members.
By the end of January every year, except for Inaugural years, the President fulfills his or her constitutional duty to "give to the Congress information on the State of the Union" (Article II, section 3 of the Constitution). So yes, today’s podcast will focus on the infamous State of the Union address which generally includes reports on the nation's budget, economy, news, agenda, progress, achievements, and the President's priorities and legislative proposals. Because of those many diverse topics necessary, several people work on this address. Of course, the economists and budget experts handle their portion, the diplomatic and national security staff meet with the President to create their portion, etc. Let's listen to some of President Ronald Reagan's State of the Union highlights.
As part of our Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. exhibit, the Reagan Foundation has been hosting authors whose books cover the atrocities of the holocaust, mainly told through survivor’s eyes. In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back to our in-person event with Audrey Birnbaum, who shares with us the story of her grandfather and his time growing up amidst the rubble and antisemitism of war-torn Nazi Berlin in her latest book, American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy. During this program, Audrey sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller to discuss American Wolf which is an electrifying true account brimming with last-minute rescues and life-and-death struggles that defy the impossible. They discuss how the book is not just a tale of survival, but a profound coming-of-age story, delving into the complexities of family dynamics and the search for national identity.
Well, now that we’re into football playoff season, we have the perfect opportunity to focus on Ronald Reagan’s love for football. His experience in high school on the gridiron helped him audition for radio. Let's let him tell the story.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Speaker Gingrich is well known as the architect of the “Contract with America” that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994, creating the first conservative majority in the House in 40 years. He is also recognized internationally as an expert on world history, military issues, and international affairs, as he is the longest-serving teacher of the Joint Warfighting course for Major Generals. Speaker Gingrich is the author of over 40 books. He specifically came to the Reagan Library a week ago to discuss his latest book, March to the Majority: The Real Story of the Republican Revolution, which takes readers behind the scenes of the Republican Revolution in 1994 and the rise of the modern GOP to show how we can lead America toward a more conservative, prosperous future. The book shares never-before-told stories about Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Tip O’Neill, George H.W. Bush and other political figures.
Forty years ago in January 1984, our 40th President delivered an address to the nation and other countries on the status of US-Soviet relations. Things weren’t too rosy then – recall that Andropov was still in power, unapologetic about the massacre of KAL 007, or anything else. Until Gorbachev came into office in March 1985, that’s early in his second term as president, working with the Soviets was no day at the beach.
Over the last month we have shared with you two of our keynotes at last month’s Reagan National Defense Forum. We shared with you the Forum’s keynote address with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, as well as the fireside chat with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we are going to share the Forum’s final panel, which celebrated the Forum’s 10th anniversary. The panel, entitled “a discussion on peace through strength with former national security leaders” featured former US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, former US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, and former US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. The panel was moderated by Fox News Channel’s Bill Hemmer. During the conversation, panelists discussed Ukraine and if the U.S. and other allies should continue to provide weapons, the U.S. take on Tehran, how far the U.S. should or shouldn’t go in assisting Israel, rising tensions between China and Taiwan, and more.
Today’s subject? The President’s diplomatic efforts with China in 1984. Yes, in those years, there were positive diplomatic efforts. In fact, the administration developed a relationship with Ziyang who was a reformer, in office from 1980 to 1987. Shortly after George Shultz became Secretary of State, he completed an initiative with Ziyang in August 1982, that arranged for acceptance of a joint US-China communique that limited US arms sales to Taiwan in exchange for a vague pledge by the Chinese government to strive for “peaceful unification of the Motherland.” While many criticized Reagan for supporting this, knowing of his staunch support for Taiwan, it was a sign of reciprocity. Ultimately, Ziyang lost power because he criticized the government’s handling of the Tiananmen Square protests and empathized with the students. He believed China should become a liberal democracy and was placed on house arrest until his death in 2005. So let’s get started by listening to an excerpt from the President’s welcoming remarks.
For the last nine months, we have been bringing you programming as part of our Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. exhibit. Now that the exhibit is almost over, we wanted to share some of the most memorable interviews we’ve held with survivors and their family members over the past year. Each one is unique in its own way – told by survivors of many different camps in Europe and Indonesia, survivors who lived because they were hid, a survivor who lived because she was on Schindler’s List, and more. The first story we are going to share is our most recent. On Tuesday, November 28, 2023, we hosted two remarkable men. The first – a 95-year-old survivor of Auschwitz whose story of perseverance and optimism got him through his horrific time in the camps. The second, a 26-year-old Israeli who survived the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. We brought the two men together to tour our Auschwitz exhibit and to talk with media about how “Never Again” has tragically become “Now.”
Throughout Ronald Reagan's presidency, the subject of Cuba was frequently raised. In frustration, on one occasion, the president asked, “When’s the last time you heard someone swimming TO Cuba?” But long before he sat in the Oval Office, President Reagan commented on a documentary that had been crafted on Cuba, in order to bring attention to the idea of false reporting and an effort to cover the truth.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we back to our in-person event with Nechama Birnbaum, who shares with us the story of her grandmother and her time in Auschwitz in Nechama’s latest book, The Redhead of Auschwitz: A True Story. During this program, Nechama sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller to discuss The Redhead of Auschwitz which is a book as full of life as it is of death. It is about the intricacies of Jewish culture that still exist today and the tender experiences that are universal to all humanity: family, coming of age, and first love. It is a story that celebrates believing in yourself no matter the odds. This is a story about the little redheaded girl who thought she could, and so she did.
So just imagine. You’re the president, it’s late in December 1983. You’ve delivered your evil empire speech in March putting the Soviets on notice… you’ve learned by detailed intelligence reports that the communists and Fidel Castro are expanding their efforts in the Caribbean along with infiltrating the island of Grenada….you’ve announced your Strategic Defense Initiative in March which was renamed Star Wars by the press, you’ve sent forces into Lebanon as part of a multinational peacekeeping force which became a target of terrorists killing 270 marines in their barracks as they slept, you’ve watched the war in the middle east escalate exponentially with bad actors getting involved from every angle, you’ve watched Soviet leader Andropov continue to advance the Brezhnev doctrine and …you’ve learned how the Soviets shot down Korean airliner 007 killing all passengers aboard…now those are just the high notes.
Two weeks ago we came to you with our Reagan National Defense Forum keynote address with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Today we will share our fireside chat with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. This was the Defense Forum’s first time hosting the Secretary of Commerce and we were honored to host her. Under Secretary Raimondo’s leadership, the Department of Commerce has intensified its emphasis on enhancing the global competitiveness of U.S. businesses, improving the security of America’s supply chains, and decreasing reliance on China for products and technologies essential to our national security. Secretary Raimondo has been instrumental in the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act, which lays out a long-term vision for building America’s technological leadership to pace the threat from China by funding programs across all U.S. manufacturing sectors. The fireside chat focused on the nexus of America’s economic and technological competitiveness with national security.
Do you remember Spacelab? Or perhaps the question should be, what do you recall about Spacelab? In case you’re a little foggy on this one, here’s a little history: during the development of the Space Shuttle in the 1970’s, NASA recognized the need for a facility to allow scientists to conduct experiments on the Shuttle while in orbit. So under a cooperative agreement with NASA, the European Space Agency built a modular research laboratory that would fit inside the Shuttle’s cargo bay. And what is so unique is not only our collaboration with the European Space Agency, but how Spacelab was built by a consortium of 10 European companies. And on December 5th, both President Ronald Reagan and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl had a fascinating conversation with the crewmembers of the Space Shuttle Columbia from space and from the President’s Oval Office. In the second half of this podcast, we’ll hear the crewmembers explain in detail their objectives. It’s a little out of this world, I know, but a refreshing reminder of space exploration in the 70’s.
As part of our Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. exhibit, the Reagan Foundation has been hosting authors whose books cover the atrocities of the holocaust, mainly told through survivor’s eyes. In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we back to our in-person event with Richard Hurowitz for a different look at the Holocaust – this time to focus on heroics rather than despair – for Richard’s latest book, In the Garden of the Righteous: The Heroes Who Risked Their Lives to Save Jews During the Holocaust. “It is an understatement to say this book is timely,” said Kirkus Review.
During this program, Richard sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio to discuss In the Garden of the Righteous, which chronicles extraordinary acts at a time when the moral choices were stark, the threat immense, and the passive apathy of millions predominated. Deeply researched and astonishingly moving, it focuses on ten remarkable stories of those who provided hiding places, participated in underground networks, refused to betray their neighbors, and secured safe passage. They repeatedly defied authorities and risked their lives, their livelihoods, and their families to save the helpless and the persecuted.
Today, we are witnessing the emergence of hatred targeted at numerous religious groups. It defies logic, since the basis of all religion is love, isn’t it? Ronald Reagan, a man of private yet devout faith, respected all religions and this time of the year, honored the celebration of Hanukkah. He deeply revered the lighting of the Menorah. And he empathized with Soviet Refusniks who were prohibited and punished for practicing their Jewish traditions. So in December 1983, 40 years ago, Ronald Reagan travelled to the Jewish Community Center in Rockville, Maryland to attend a Menorah lighting. And he delivered touching, inspiring remarks. But in our opinion, these words should echo throughout the land today, throughout America and across the globe.
On December 1 and 2, 2023, the Reagan Foundation and Institute held its annual Reagan National Defense Forum, one of our nation’s premier gatherings for defense and national security experts. In an era where the threats to our national security are increasing in number and complexity, the Reagan National Defense Forum allows senior leaders from the defense community to come together with viewpoints on how best to deal with these challenges. As this was our 10th annual forum, this year’s theme was 10 years of promoting Peace Through Strength. This annual convening of the top minds within the defense space provides for unique perspectives via high-level conversations with people who are ‘in the room’ where decisions are made. The Reagan National Defense Forum’s primary objective is to review and assess policies that strengthen America’s national defense in the context of a global threat environment. Just like the past two years, this year’s Defense Forum’s keynote address was delivered by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Lloyd Austin.
Family – well, it’s the center of all our activities this time of year, the reason for the season, so to speak. And to Ronald Reagan, incredibly important. So following in the tradition established in 1972 by President Richard Nixon, he proclaimed National Family Week which occurs near Thanksgiving. In 1981, Ronald Reagan wrote as he proclaimed National Family Week:
The family is the basic unit of our society, the heart of our free democracy. It provides love, acceptance, guidance, support, and instruction to the individual. Community values and goals that give America strength also take root in the home. In times of change and challenge, families keep safe our cultural heritage and reinforce our spiritual foundation.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our in-person event with Oren Schneider, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, for his recent book The Apprentice of Buchenwald: The True Story of the Teenage Boy who Sabotaged Hitler’s War Machine, a true story of inner strength, resourcefulness and optimism. Of his grandfather’s life in the concentration camps, Elie Wiesel’s son once said, “Being an inmate of a Nazi concentration camp did not stop Alexander Rosenberg. It did not stop him from doing whatever he could to keep his father alive. And it did not stop him from sabotaging the Nazi war effort by subtly tampering with the weaponry he assembled.” In today’s program, Oren discussed his book with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller.
Because of the war in the Middle East, we thought it would be a good idea to devote today’s podcast to Israel, focusing on the radio addresses written by Ronald Reagan before entering the Oval Office. So remember, he wrote these, on a yellow pad, without the oversight of a foreign policy advisor, without a secretary of defense or secretary of state or national security advisor hanging over his shoulder. These, from the late 70’s, came from his own pen. One entitled Palestine and the other Brezhnev. Overall, the politics of the Middle East was not the subject of many radio broadcasts in the late 70’s. Of course, as soon as he became President, Ronald Reagan met with Prime Minister Menachem Begin early in his administration and clearly defined America’s role and his objective focusing on peace.
It’s November and, of course, the month to celebrate Thanksgiving. From all of us at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, we wish you and your family the happiest and healthiest of Thanksgivings. In this week’s A Reagan Forum Podcast, we’re going to go back to 2018’s “Words to Live By” podcast featuring President Reagan’s thoughts and messages to the American people on thanksgiving.
Now this might seem an odd pairing…Israel and Thanksgiving. But, as of this writing, the war in the Middle East rages. While in America, we are focused on Thanksgiving celebrations, we cannot overlook the terrible pain, suffering, and yes, terror the residents of the Middle East are enduring. Therefore, in this podcast, we’ll cover the President’s position on Israel briefly, and then we’ll close in the second half with his heartfelt Thanksgiving remarks.
Last week was Veterans Day – a day to honor our nation’s military veterans. Commemorating this day on November 11th each year not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but also helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we go back one week to the Reagan Library’s Veterans Day Program, which included an honor guard, live music, and keynote remarks by LtCol Scott Mann (retired). LtCol Mann is a former U.S. Army Green Beret with tours all over the world, including Columbia, Iraq, and multiple tours in Afghanistan. He is also the bestselling author of Operation Pineapple Express, which is an edge-of-your-seat true story thriller about a group of retired Green Berets who come together to save a former comrade—and 500 other Afghans—being targeted by the Taliban in the chaos of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Forty years ago, President and Mrs. Reagan made an historic trip to Japan and South Korea. The President’s last stop was to Camp Liberty Bell, which was less than a mile from North Korean guns. Yes, they were quite near the DMZ. They attended an open air church service and the president wrote in his diary, that they were entertained by a choir of little Korean orphan girls. You might be surprised to know that our GI’s support and maintain that orphanage. Following the service, they went up onto a 500 foot promontory to Post Guard Collier where they met a patrol just going out. As you probably know, the zone is patrolled night and day. Still, they were so close, that they could hear the North Korean loudspeakers spewing their propaganda. He then toured the bunker and returned to Camp Liberty Bell where he addressed the troops. But to fit in, he chose to forget about the business suit…rather he wore his military, army assigned, POTUS khaki garb. He spoke in the mortar bunker area of the camp, which is located near the DMZ (demilitarized zone) dividing the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Let’s begin listening.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present Bret Baier - a number one bestselling author and award-winning anchor of Fox News Channel’s Special Report with Bret Baier. Bret had previously spoken at the Reagan Library four times, the last time in 2019 for his book, Three Days at the Brink: FDR’s Daring Gamble to Win WWII which was part of his Three Days series. This time Bret came to discuss his latest book, To Rescue the Constitution: George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment, which showcases how George Washington rescued the nation and the Constitution three times: first by winning the Revolutionary War, second by presiding over the Constitutional Convention and ushering the Constitution through a fractious ratification process, and third by leading the nation as president in its first years. While at the Reagan Library, he sat down in conversation with Janet Tran, the Reagan Foundation and Institute’s Director of the Institute’s Center for Civics, Education, and Opportunity.
In today’s podcast we honor our veterans and in the president’s messages to veterans, we’ll cover peace through strength. Going through our archives, both Citizen, Governor and President Reagan delivered many addresses saluting those who serve our country. Today we’ve chosen two – the first he delivered in August 1980 to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The theme was Peace because, in candidate Ronald Reagan’s view, Peace was the first purpose of American foreign policy. So in saluting the sacrifices made by veterans, President Reagan is stressing that in order to protect these men, and find a path toward peace, we must focus on peace through strength. He covers why he thinks American foreign policy has been working against peace and how that trend could be reversed. In the second half of the podcast, we’ll hear when he addressed the American people in honor of Veterans Day 40 years ago in 1983. Of course, this address was focused on the veterans of both the Grenada and Beirut operations.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back just over a week to our October 21, 2023 in-person program with top rated Talk radio host and bestselling author Mark Levin for a conversation on his latest book, The Democrat Party Hates America. While at the Reagan Library, Mark was joined in conversation by Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio to discuss what Mark calls the radically dangerous Democrat agenda that is upending American life. During the conversation, Mark Levin discusses the destruction he believes this country is facing, and rallies Americans to defeat the threat he sees in front of us.
After the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, the President said in his autobiography that the “price we had to pay was so great, the tragedy at the barracks so enormous, and the virulent problems of Lebanon were so intractable, that it wasn’t possible to continue with the policy that had put our marines in without taking a second look at it. As President, he had very few choices and none of them easy. He didn’t want to turn tail and leave. He believed if we did that, it would say to the terrorists of the world that all it took to change American foreign policy was to murder some Americans. And, the President was a man of his word. He didn’t want to give up on the moral commitment to Israel that had originally sent our marines to Lebanon. And if we left, after more than a year of fighting and mounting chaos in Beirut, the biggest winner would be Syria, a Soviet client. The president wrote that “the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics forced us to rethink our policy there." By early 1984, the President gave an order to evacuate all the marines to ships anchored off Lebanon. So in this podcast we’ll hear the President’s beautiful eulogy when the bodies of the slain marines were returned home…along with those Americans who were lost in the Grenada maneuver. And then, in the second half, we’ll cover how the president chose to review the Terms of Engagement after the Beirut tragedy.
In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we go back just one week to October 17th when we hosted former second lady Karen Pence for a program and book signing on her latest book, When it’s your turn to serve: Experiencing God’s grace in his calling for your life. As she has said about this book, “This is not a memoir, not a book about Karen Pence, but rather a story about how God used me in a mighty way and how he gently and patiently showed me how to wear the mantle he was placing on my shoulders.” During this program, she sat down in conversation with Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller to discuss her book, her life, and her connection with God.
In 1982, the Israeli army leveled a siege on the capital of an Arab land – Beirut. They were poised on the southern edge of Beirut. And Palestinian fighters ran raids against their front lines and lobbed mortars in their rear areas; the Israel Defense Forces pounded back at the city with artillery, tank forays, and air strikes. The United States was caught in the middle. The Arab world blamed us, as Israel’s great ally and financial supporter, for all of Israel’s deeds and looked to us to end the fighting in a responsible way. The Lebanese government particularly relied on us to save them from outside predators and to help them restore Lebanese central authority over their country. In effect, every side wanted to squeeze the system for its own purposes, regardless of the cost to the Lebanese. Jordan wanted an Israeli settlements freeze; Israel wanted the US assistance stepped up. Lebanon grew fearful of renewed Syrian dominance as massive Soviet military resupply flowed to Syria, and warring militias battled each other beyond the control of the weak Lebanese central authority. In August 1982, America participated in sending a multinational peacekeeping force to Beirut. As hostilities increased considerably, additional help was required. So, in September 1983, Congress authorized the deployment of Marines for an additional 18 months. And one month later, tragedy struck.
In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we are replaying a favorite from 8 years ago this week, when football legend Terry Bradshaw shared stories with our sold-out audience. He spoke at the Library as part of our special exhibition which featured football and he didn’t disappoint.
Everything from eggs and car rentals to a night out at a restaurant is significantly more expensive than before the pandemic. The average family is spending about $700 more per month on the same goods and services relative to two years ago, according to Moody’s Analytics. So what does that have to do with Ronald Reagan you ask? Well, he was devoted to the idea that with government out of the way, the quality of life for Americans can improve. So 40 years ago, he delivered a radio address on the quality of life in America, which you’ll agree, is significantly different from today. And in the second part of this podcast, we’ll listen to a gem of a radio address, entitled “Looking out a Window” when he ponders a bit about life.
In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we go back to an event our Reagan Institute offices held on September 7th to bring attention to the plight of Jimmy Lai. Jimmy Lai is a Hong Kong businessman. A prominent critic of the Chinese Communist Party, he was arrested in 2020 by Hong Kong police where he currently is serving in prison for organizing illegal protests. During our program, which was co-sponsored by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the audience watched the documentary, “The Fight for Freedom: Jimmy Lai and Democracy in Hong Kong.” Following the screening, a panel discussed his case and the state of freedom in Hong Kong today.
Today, we’re well aware of the ongoing debate regarding how much aid we should send Ukraine, and exactly what our level of involvement should be. It’s a question many administrations have faced, and President Reagan’s was no exception. In his case, the hotbed was in the middle east, particularly 39 years ago, when Israel invaded Lebanon, marching all the way into Beirut. By October 1983, the conflict in the middle east, despite our effort to be part of a multinational peacekeeping force, well, the conflict continued to escalate. Syria, Hezbollah, they all engaged and the action was intense in Lebanon. So in today’s podcast we’re going to examine two radio addresses: one in 1978 focused on the UN’s aid to Lebanon and how the Soviet bloc did not fulfill its financial obligation, and then we’ll hear our 40th President’s perspective on our nation’s commitment to Lebanon in 1983. Of course, in both cases, the Soviet Union is supporting the enemy.
When President Reagan dedicated the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on November 4, 1991, he said that he wanted the Library to be more than just a place where scholars interpret the past, but that he wanted it to be a dynamic intellectual forum where policy makers debate the future. What better way to honor his vision than to host presidential debates at his Library? Since 2007, the Reagan Foundation has hosted 5 republican primary candidate presidential debates: 2 in the 2008 presidential election cycle, 1 in the 2012 presidential election cycle, 1 in the 2016 presidential election cycle, and then our 5th one, just last week, as part of the 2024 presidential election cycle. At our debate, which was broadcast on Fox Business and was in partnership with Univision, Rumble and the RNC, six candidates took the stage. They were, in alphabetical order, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott. Approximately 700 guests watched the debate live in our Air Force One Pavilion, with another 500 members of the media on our campus watching in the filing center and spin room. In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we are replaying this debate.
So, Ronald Reagan and the Heritage Foundation: it was a truly epic partnership. In fact, it's hard to tell the story of one without much of the other's. Heritage was President Reagan's favorite think tank, and Ronald Reagan was the embodiment of the ideas and principles Heritage holds dear. Some say that together, they blazed a new path for America. So I think in today’s podcast, we should focus on this significant partnership.
In this podcast we go back to September 12, 2019 when former Secretary of Defense James Mattis came to the Reagan Library to discuss his brand-new book, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead.
So today, we are focusing on President Reagan’s second address to the United Nations, delivered in September 1983, 40 years ago. Why, you ask, this specific address? Well, two things to consider here: the history of President Reagan’s opinion and his relationship with the UN, and secondly, the heated events of 1983 which led to this historic moment.
In this podcast, we go back to September 10, 2019, when Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch came to the Reagan Library to discuss his book, A Republic, If You Can Keep It.
Let's listen.
You might have heard that the Reagan Presidential Foundation is hosting a Republican debate in their Air Force One Pavilion on Wednesday, September 27th. We’re proud to be able to participate in this important component of our democratic process and we hope you’ll tune into FOX news on debate evening. Since we are in debate season, we thought it would be fun to go back, 43 years ago, when Candidate Ronald Reagan was easing into the final stretch of his campaign.
In this week's Reagan Forum, we go back to March 7, 2019, to our conversation with Gary Sinise.
The title of this podcast is broadcasting freedom. So, just how does a country go about doing just that? When Ronald Reagan was running for the presidency in March 1980, before he ever sat in the Oval Office, he said, “we must use our neglected ability at communications – Radio Free Europe, the Voice of Liberty, The Voice of America to call attention to the power of freedom” and the true spirit of democracy. While America had been criticized for their efforts to broadcast the truth about communism, the Soviets maintained a broadcasting radio network in 84 languages, 2000 hours a week. Moments after his inauguration, President Reagan authorized our international communications agency to increase its efforts in every way, shape and form. By late 1981, right after the declaration of the martial law in Poland in December 1981, U.S.-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Europe expanded their radio broadcasts. These broadcasts continued during the martial law. In order to get radios to them, they were smuggled in ingenious ways, hidden in lard or other products. The imprisoned Solidarity workers in Poland listened regularly and said they could receive all stations despite the Soviets effort to jam the radio signal. And those who were imprisoned said these broadcasts sustained them, buoyed their spirits, and helped them remain strong.
Let’s go back and remind ourselves about Voice of America which began during WWII.
In this week's Reagan Forum, we go back to August 2019, when we hosted a conversation with Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda.
After a brief career as a left-handed pitcher, Tommy Lasorda became one of the most enthusiastic and successful managers in baseball history. Lasorda, who has been with the Dodgers for 65 years, led the team to two world championships, four National League titles and eight division titles in 20 years as manager of the team. Following his retirement as manager, Lasorda became a special advisor to the chairman of the Dodgers. One of his most memorable accomplishments was managing the United States to its first-ever gold medal in baseball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
On August 31st, 1983, mid-afternoon Washington time, a Korean Airlines 747, Flight 007, en route from New York to Seoul, disappeared from air traffic control radar screens in the Far East. It took air traffic controllers and American intelligence agencies several hours to piece together what had happened. By 10:30 pm Eastern time, the unthinkable had occurred; the Soviets had shot the civilian airplane out of the sky. 60 Americans, including an American Congressman, were among the 269 passengers. Over the next few weeks, the President had plenty to say.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we look back to May 21, 2013 when we hosted Donald Rumsfeld, who, over the course of his life served as a Member of Congress, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, White House Chief of Staff, Secretary of Defense twice -- the only such example in U.S. history -- and literally a dozen or more important federal advisory roles. Sometime in the 1960s, Donald Rumsfeld began collecting pithy, compelling and often humorous observations about leadership, business and life, gathering them on three-by-five cards and storing them in a shoebox. As his career skyrocketed over time, what started out as scribblings in a shoebox eventually migrated their way to memos, grew sizably and have been distributed widely in one format or another to those who have had the privilege to work with him over the years. In 2013 they were captured in a book, entitled Rumsfeld’s Rules and organized in such a way that they will prove to be priceless pointers to everyone looking to lead in life, from college graduates to business leaders to aspiring public servants. During his remarks at the Reagan Library he discussed those rules.
Today, we’re looking at the historic re-nomination and acceptance speech of President Reagan and Vice President George HW Bush in August 1984, 41 years ago. In light of our current political season, we thought it might be valuable to hear a sitting president recount his promises, citing his accomplishments with honesty and candor. To set the scene, it was the first time a Republican National Convention was held in Texas! Reagan carried the endorsement of 2,233 of the 2,235 delegates to the Dallas convention. He was beyond a lock, having no serious competition in the primaries.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we look back to July 14, 2009 when Condoleezza Rice addressed our audience. It was less than seven months after serving our nation as the 66th Secretary of State, the first African-American woman to ever serve in this position. Her speech was the most-attended Reagan Forum in the Library’s 18-year history. Condoleezza Rice actually has many things in common with President Reagan. Like the president, she began her political aspirations with the Democratic Party before switching her party registration, and loyalty, to the Republican Party. And, like the President, her unwavering commitment to freedom and democracy and liberty over tyranny led her to an influential position in government, critical in our nation instituting change. During President Reagan’s administration, Condoleezza Rice served as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as an arms control and foreign policy specialist. She begins her remarks at the Reagan Library by stating that standing up for democracy is the proposition she wants to defend.
In August, the President always made an effort to spend time at Rancho del Cielo in Santa Barbara. Just because he was on vacation, did not mean his Presidential responsibilities were put on hold, because the work continued. He drafted and delivered many radio addresses from the Ranch and this one in particular stands out on the subject of the Middle East. Recall that in August 1983, the conflict in the Middle East, specifically in Lebanon had become so intense, a multi-national peacekeeping force had been sent to attempt to stabilize the conflict. And 5 years later, in 1988, here’s the President’s analysis of the Middle East.
On a train to Auschwitz, 17-year-old Heinz Geiringer told his sister Eva that he hid the paintings and poetry he created during his time in hiding beneath the attic floorboards. Heinz made Eva promise if he should die in the camps, she would retrieve the artwork. Eva survived the camps, and Heinz did not. After the war, Eva became the posthumous stepsister of Anne when her mother married Anne’s father. Heinz’s story sits in the shadow of the better-known DIARY OF ANNE FRANK. Director Steve McCarthy and Producer Susan Kerner created a documentary, called “Eva’s Promise” to introduce the world to Heinz and to share his sister’s efforts to find and share his remarkable legacy. They came to the Reagan Library on August 8, 2023 to screen the film and then share their thoughts about the project.
Just this summer, in June of 2023, tragedy struck when the Titan Submersible, on its way to explore the Titanic, imploded under the ocean, immediately killing all of those on board. One of the first authorities to discuss the matter was Dr. Robert Ballard, the man responsible for discovering the Titanic in 1985. With his name back in the news, we thought it might be fun in this week’s Reagan Forum podcast to dust off our program with Dr. Ballard from 2017. So please enjoy this podcast, which originally broadcast on April 19, 2018.
Most people don’t know that President Reagan initiated the program for the highest award for artists and art patrons by the United States government. I guess it’s no surprise since both the President and Mrs. Reagan, as actors, held a deep and abiding love for the Arts. To take the concept one step further, artistic expression flourishes in a free society and with that idea in mind, it’s even more logical that our 40th president would be so strongly supportive. So, the President, along with the Presidents’ Committee on the Arts and Humanities recommended this recognition in 1984, called the National Medal of Arts, to be given to 12 deserving individuals. This is a separate award, not to be confused with the Kennedy Center Honors which originated in 1977.
Anyway, it’s really fun to hear the President and Mrs. Reagan participate in this ceremony – we’ll start with the first ceremony in 1985 – and celebrate again the achievements of these great individuals. President and Mrs. Reagan established a tradition of holding a luncheon for the recipients in the State Dining Room at the White House.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back to March 1, 2017 when former United States President George W. Bush came to the Reagan Library to discuss his brand-new book, Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors. President Bush was so moved by the sacrifices of our wounded American warriors, that he began the challenge of capturing and immortalizing their courage on canvas. Through his paintings he was able to take their strength, their dignity, their perseverance and their patriotism, and lift it up for all of us to see on a much deeper and intimate level.
So early this spring – you probably heard – that both OPEC and Russia announced a massive oil supply cut, totaling 1.6 million barrels per day. This, of course, raises fears of a resurgence of inflation—and to no one’s surprise, oil prices jumped $7 a barrel on the news—as well as continued deterioration of the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. If you’ve filled your car with gasoline lately, you’re still feeling the pain from these inflated gas prices and our government’s bad policies. So for today’s podcast, I found some radio addresses delivered in 1977 and 1979 – yes, by then Governor Reagan – with a perspective I think you’ll appreciate. If we are really serious about “words to live by,” it’s sad no one has paid enough attention to these commentaries. But, today we shall!
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our in-person event with Holocaust Survivor Celina Karp Biniaz and author William Friedricks for Bill’s book, Saved by Schindler: The Life of Celina Karp Biniaz. This event was part of the programing for our current exhibition, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. Celina Karp was just eight years old when the Germans invaded her homeland of Poland in 1939. After spending time with her family in hiding, and then a ghetto, she and her family were sent to a slave labor/concentration camp. Celina even spent several terrifying weeks at Auschwitz where she faced down the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele before ultimately landing on Schindler's list.
In light of the heated Republican presidential race, we’ll focus today on events taking place after Ronald Reagan announced his candidacy for President of the United States on November 13, 1979, in the ballroom of the New York Hilton. That was just the beginning. The path to the White House was not an easy one and well, shall we start in Iowa?
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to May 24 and May 25, 2023 when the Reagan Institute held their annual Reagan Institute Summit on Education conference, otherwise known as RISE. RISE 2023 examined policy and practice from early childhood through postsecondary education and beyond. The imperative for education reform is even more salient as the United States emerges from the global pandemic and it is important to answer the call to modernize our education system and prepare for the challenges of the 22nd century. The two-day hybrid conference convened a number of thought leaders, current and former administration officials and members of congress, state leaders, students, and educators both in-person and virtually. The featured speaker on May 25 was First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, who spoke on the Future of Education. During her address, Dr. Biden spoke about the Biden-Harris Administration’s work towards bridging the gap between learning and earning. She spoke about the Administration’s education pathway which starts with free universal preschool, transitioning to a high school experience that properly prepares students, finally moving onto 2-years of affordable community college, and available avenues to a 4-year degree.
While the 2024 election is still 15 months away, Republican candidates are entering the fray faster than Clayton Kershaw can throw strikes. Which begs the question: how did Reagan do it? What was his strategy? What was on his mind? In this podcast, we’ll listen to some of his strategic speeches related to his 1980 campaign. As you know, he was also a candidate in 1976 and marginally in 1968. But today, we’re going to focus on 1980 and well…do you remember why he ran?
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to July 4th, 2023, when the Reagan Foundation and Institute unveiled a statue of Sally Ride – the first female American astronaut. Sally Ride’s first flight into space was on June 18, 2023, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. As she is also a California native, we thought it fitting to include her statue at the Reagan Library.
Well it’s baseball season, and as you know, our national pastime was a favorite of our 40th President’s, though he never really played the game. Why you ask? Because of his eyesight. He always said the ball wasn’t big enough. So, Ronald Reagan spent more time on the track, in the pool, and on the gridiron, but baseball was still a great love of his and an important part of his life.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our virtual event with Eva Schloss which was held on June 12 – the birthday of Anne Frank. Eva is the stepsister of Anne. The virtual program covered the legacy of Anne Frank, as well as the promise Eva made to her brother, Heinz, and what she’s doing now to make good on that promise. Eva Schloss is an Austrian-English Holocaust survivor, memoirist and stepdaughter of Otto Frank, the father of Margot and diarist Anne Frank. Eva speaks widely of her family's experiences during the Holocaust and is a participant in the USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive project to record video answers to be used in educational tools.
Ronald Reagan always said his favorite holiday was the 4th of July….oh and that the Democrats’ favorite was April 15. We know what a dedicated patriot he was, and he used his bully pulpit to celebrate everything wonderful about America. And of course, the 4th of July provided the perfect opportunity to do so. Over the years, his messages were pretty consistently patriotic but depending upon the current climate in Washington, he would choose to insert a little personal color.
Marian Kolodziej was on the first transport into Auschwitz on June 14, 1940. He was given number 432. He survived and never spoke of his experience for 50 years. After a serious stroke in 1993, he began rehabilitation by doing pen and ink drawings depicting the experiences he and others endured in the concentration camp. These drawings, in their skeletal detail, are a gripping depiction of the pain, death, and horrors of the camp. While most of the drawings represent the memories of a young man’s hellish experiences in Auschwitz, some tell stories of small acts of kindness and dignity. Marian’s story of survival, of persistence, of life before, during, and after Auschwitz are a testament to the human spirit. Marian’s drawings and art installations, which he called The Labyrinth, fill the large basement of a church near Auschwitz and draw visitors into the horrific reality of the Holocaust. On June 14, 2023, we held a documentary screening for The Labyrinth. Following that screening we were joined in conversation with the film’s producer, Fr. Ron Schmidt. Today’s Reagan Forum podcast is of that conversation.
In March this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Parents’ Bill of Rights intended to reform American public schools. Perhaps you’ve heard about it. Essentially, this bill follows states like Florida that have also sought to give parents more control. The bill has headed to the Senate for consideration. But it’s highly unlikely, that the Democratic-controlled chamber will take up the measure, with House Democrats dubbing the bill the “Politics over Parents Act.” In this podcast, we’ll hear how our 40th president felt about education. First, let’s listen to a radio address that Ronald Reagan delivered in 1976 – almost 50 years ago. And in the second half, we’ll get his presidential views on the subject, particularly as it pertains to a national report on education along with federal spending.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back one week to June 15, 2023 for our in-person event with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Mayor Suarez was first elected with a mandate of 86 percent and then re-elected with a mandate of nearly 79 percent. Under his leadership, Miami has cut crime and cut taxes to one of their lowest points in over fifty years, spurring a broad-based economic expansion across Miami. His father, Xavier Suarez, was Miami’s first-ever Cuban-American mayor. During his Time for Choosing speech at the Reagan Library, Mayor Suarez addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.
In today’s podcast, we’ll focus on Ronald Reagan the environmentalist. So let's start by going back to California from 1967-1975 when he was Governor. Actually, he had an admirable record of safeguarding the environment, to the surprise of some of his critics. You see, Governor Reagan’s administration added 145,000 acres of park land, more than any other modern California governor. He enforced new, tougher measures on air and water quality. He stopped plans for dams on two rivers, the Feather and the Eel, despite intense pressure from commercial interests and signed into law a bill to protect California’s wild and scenic rivers. So let’s first listen to Governor Reagan – and in the second half we’ll catch his thoughts as President.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our virtual event with bestselling authors Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee for their latest book, The Long March Home, a riveting coming of age tale of friendship, courage and sacrifice set in the true story of WWII, the Bataan Death March, and the life as a POW. This is our third event with Marcus – we’ve previously held events with him for his books A Bright and Blinding Sun and Blaze of Light which were both biographies of war veterans. In The Long March Home, Marcus and Tosca remind readers that freedom isn’t free.
Today, despite our belief in religious freedom, people of various religions feel bias and persecution. In particular, a wave of antisemitism has arisen. So in this podcast, we’ll look back at President Reagan’s support of religious freedom. In particular, we’ll listen to a speech he delivered 40 years ago at the National Convention of the Anti-Defamation League of B’Nai B’rith. But first, let’s hear what he said to Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev as he explained in his autobiography when the issue of human rights was discussed. You’ll hear the President’s particular focus on the Jewish refuseniks who were not given permission to leave the Soviet Union.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our in-person event held on Memorial Day – a day to honor and mourn our service men and women who have died while serving in the United States. Last year, the Reagan Foundation held its first ever program on Memorial Day and the feedback from the community was so positive, that we knew we needed to make it an annual event. This year’s program included live musical entertainment, an honor guard, and remarks by Major Cole Lapierre of the US Marine Corps, Captain Michael Meno, Jr., the Commodore of Naval Construction Group One, and remarks by Gold Star Family Members Melanie House and Michelle Carranza.
Like you, we’ve been watching news coverage of the crisis at our borders. Some outlets report record numbers crossing, others report diminished numbers, but one thing everyone seems to agree on is that our system is broken. Democrats, Republicans, Independents – for once they agree that our current immigration policy is a mess. Do you realize that Reagan’s 1986 Immigration Reform Act, 37 years ago, was the last time our legislators finalized a policy? Pretty disturbing isn’t it? So today, let’s try to cut through all the mixed messages and look at what Reagan tried to do and how it might apply to today.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we back to our in-person event with bestselling author Larry Loftis, for his book, The Watchmaker’s Daughter. In 1953 Israel’s Parliament unanimously passed the Yad Vashem Law, which established the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, in order to document and record the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust as well as to acknowledge the countless non-Jewish individuals who risked their lives to save Jews. In 1963, Yad Vashem began to award the title “Righteous Among the Nations” which awards non-Jews who risked their lives, liberty or positions to save Jews during the Holocaust. Since that time, over 22,000 rescuers from 44 countries have been acknowledged for their efforts. On December 12, 1967, Corrie Ten Boom was recognized with this award for her efforts in saving nearly 800 Jewish lives during WWII, as well as for her arrest and deportation into the camps, for which not everyone from her family survived. Enter New York Times and international bestselling author Larry Loftis. His book tells the story of the Ten Boom family, who risked lives – their free lives – to do what they could to save the people who were being targeted by the Nazi Regime.
The subject today? We’re going to delve into a little economics – you can call it Reaganomics if you’d like. Ronald Reagan called it common sense. Everyday, we hear economists debate a multitude of economic theories which are as diverse as apple varieties in the produce department. Whether you’re a fuji, or granny smith or Winesap lover, economic theories are usually not as sweet. Even Harry Truman got so frustrated he asked if he could have a one-handed economist. Because economists always say, "on the other hand…"
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back just three days to May 22, 2023 for our in-person event with United States Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Senator Capito has served as the Senator of West Virginia since 2014, the first female Senator in West Virginia’s history. When re-elected in 2020, Senator Capito won with the largest margin of victory for a Republican in state history – winning more than 70% of the vote and all 55 counties. During her Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Senator Capito addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.
‘Tis the season of the commencement address, that glowing tradition in which American presidents participate enthusiastically. Starting with Eisenhower, every president has made at least one commencement address in the first year of their presidency. Most gave only one or two addresses, but George H.W. Bush set the record by making six addresses in 1989. LBJ was runner-up with 5 in 1965. The earliest instance of a commencement address is Theodore Roosevelt in his 1902 address at the Naval Academy—the most frequent commencement destination. Turns out, the military academies account for 30% of presidential commencement addresses. Occasionally, commencement addresses have involved an extended articulation of an important new policy position but that is relatively rare. Commonly, presidents state their position on prominent contemporary issues. Almost always, they provide an opportunity for presidents to extol shared American values and international commitments.
President Reagan was no exception.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we back to March 29, 2023 for our in-person event with New York Times bestselling author Raymond Arroyo for his new family book, The Unexpected Light of Thomas Alva Edison. Raymond Arroyo sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller.
Join us this week on the "Words To Live By" podcast as we explore the timeless perspectives of former President Ronald Reagan on small businesses in America. During his time in office, President Reagan emphasized the crucial role played by small businesses in America's economy, famously stating, "Small business is the heart of America." We'll look at some of his key quotes and speeches that highlight the contributions of small businesses to our nation's prosperity. We'll also explore the socio-economic variables of the time period which shaped Reagan's views on small businesses in the 1980s, and discuss how his message remains relevant even today, particularly in our current economy. Get ready for this exciting episode of "Words To Live By"!
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back 10 days to May 1, 2023 for our in-person event with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Glenn Youngkin is an American businessman and politician, currently serving as the 74th governor of Virginia since January 15, 2022. Prior to entering politics, Glenn Youngkin spent 25 years at the private-equity firm the Carlyle Group, where he became co–CEO in 2018. During his Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Governor Youngkin addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.
It’s the month for celebrating our Moms. As we get older and become parents and grandparents, we realize the great gifts we received from our mothers and President Reagan was no exception. So today’s podcast will focus on the President’s respectful communication on that most wonderful subject: Motherhood.
Did you know that Pele visited the White House? Yes, the soccer star Pele was invited to the White House in 1982. Then a year later, President Reagan invited all of the all-star soccer players of Team America in order to promote America’s participation in the World Cup. The US tried to host soccer’s World Cup several times but did not succeed until 1994 when, you might recall, the final was played at the Rose Bowl. Anyway, turns out the White House was a busy place for sporting events in May. So in this podcast, we’ll listen to a few different sets of the President’s remarks while greeting the soccer playing members of Team America, then we’ll catch his remarks observing National Amateur Baseball Month, and finally, at the end of the podcast, we’ll hear when he hosted hockey’s New York Islanders, champs of the National Hockey League.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back one week to April 20, 2023 for our in-person event with Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel. She was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is the second woman ever elected as Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the longest-serving RNC Chair since the Civil War. Under her leadership, the RNC raised record funds, made its largest ever ground game investment, and retired Nancy Pelosi by winning back the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022. Prior to her tenure at the RNC, Chairwoman McDaniel served as the Chair of the Michigan Republican Party. During her Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Chairwoman McDaniel addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.
Today, the subject is the Middle East. And after years of struggling to find peace and end terrorism in that region, Ronald Reagan characterized the challenges by saying, “it was like walking on a tightrope.” From 1982 to 1991, over thirty U.S. and other Western hostages were kidnapped in Lebanon by Hezbollah. Some were killed, some died in captivity, and some were eventually released. Specifically, the year 1983 brought new and complex challenges to President Reagan’s doorstep. In Beirut, Lebanon, our U.S. embassy was destroyed in a suicide car-bomb attack on April 18th when a one-half ton pickup truck laden detonated its load of 2000 pounds of TNT. 63 died, including 17 Americans. Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. It was the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission to date, and changed the way the U.S. Department of State secured its resources and executed its missions overseas. Six months later, on October 23rd in Beirut, Shiite suicide bombers exploded a truck near U.S. military barracks at Beirut airport, killing 241 marines. Minutes later, a second bomb killed 58 French paratroopers in their barracks in West Beirut. Then in Kuwait City on December 12, Shiite truck bombers attacked the U.S. embassy and other targets, killing 5 and injuring 80. That’s just the Middle East…the subject of today’s podcast. And we’ll focus on the attack 40 years ago in Beirut.
So, what do you know about Social Security? USA Today reported that President Joe Biden should learn a lesson in leadership from Emmanuel Macron, his counterpart across the pond. The French president has followed through on campaign promises to address pension shortfalls by raising the retirement age to 64 from 62. Guess what? A lot of people don’t like it, and the French have taken to the streets. Yet, Macron isn't deterred by the potential political fallout. He knows it must be done. “One cannot play with the future of the country,” Macron said recently to government ministers. Rather than talk straight with Americans about what must be done to ensure that U.S. entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare remain solvent, Biden prefers to play politics. So calling upon Ronald Reagan for wisdom, we’ll listen to two addresses in this podcast on the subject – the first from November 1977 which goes into the history and purpose of Social Security…and in the second half of the podcast, we’ll listen to his speech, six years later, in 1983 after amendments were finally made to save the system.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back just over one week to April 2, 2023 for our in-person event with Auschwitz Survivor Tova Friedman. This event was our first event as part of our new special exhibition, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. which runs through August 13, 2023. Information on this exhibit can be found at ReaganLibrary.com/Auschwitz. Last November, we were contacted by the amazing staff of Holocaust Museum LA. They recommended we speak with Dr. Maria Zalewska, Executive Director of the Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial Foundation about a book she had put together called Honeycake and Latkes. The book is a beautiful collection of heirloom recipes and stories from Auschwitz-Birkenau survivors. She connected us with Tova Friedman whose New York Times bestselling memoir, The Daughter of Auschwitz, shares her string of near-death experiences in a Jewish Ghetto, a Nazi labor camp and Auschwitz. One of her recipes is also in Honeycake and Latkes. Tova is one of the very few Jews to have entered a gas chamber and lived to tell the tale. Tova has been quoted as saying, “I am a survivor. That comes with a survivor’s obligation to represent one and a half million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis. They cannot speak. So I must speak on their behalf.” Maria and Tova sat down in conversation to discuss Honeycake and Latkes, as well as The Daughter of Auschwitz.
In today’s podcast, we’re inspired to look back at a speech Reagan delivered in 1987 at the Annual Meeting of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group. "Why," you ask? Well due to the recent bank failures of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank , we thought our listeners would like a closer look. Everyone wants to blame Reagan. Economist Paul Krugman in 2009 claimed that “Reagan Did It.” Yes, he wrote that “the prime villains behind the mess we're in were Reagan and his circle of advisers.” This is perverse thinking by shifting blame from the obvious villains closer at hand. It is disingenuous to ignore the fact that the derivatives scams at the heart of the economic meltdown didn't exist in President Reagan's time. The huge expansion in collateralized mortgage and other debt, the bubble that burst, was the direct result of enabling deregulatory legislation pushed through during the Clinton years. Back in the 1982, 41 years ago, Ronald Reagan's signing off on legislation easing mortgage requirements pales in comparison to the damage wrought fifteen years later by a cabal of powerful Democrats and Republicans who enabled the wave of newfangled financial gimmicks that resulted in the economic collapse. Reagan didn't do it, but Clinton-era Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, did. They, along with then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and Republican congressional leaders James Leach and Phil Gramm, blocked any effective regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives that turned into the toxic assets now being paid for with tax dollars. Ok that was one financial crisis…and as another one looms, let’s listen to the President in 1987, who talks about the basics like good management.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back a few weeks to March 16, 2023 for our in-person event with American businessman and politician Dave McCormick. Mr. McCormick served as President Bush’s Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs and served as the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, from 2020-2022. He joined us at the Reagan Library to discuss his newest book, Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America, which is Dave McCormick’s vision for how to unlock America’s full potential for greatness. He sat down in conversation with Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim.
As you know, President Reagan was a man of deep faith, and because attending church created a massive security problem for the parishioners and clergy, he chose to stay home. Sometimes he was visited by a local clergyman and occasionally was able to take communion. So at this time of the year when both Easter and Passover are celebrated, we’ll listen to some of the President’s wise words from 1983, 40 years ago. He delivered a radio address on the subject of both Easter and Passover, reflecting on those seeking freedom from oppression across the globe – in East Germany, in Central America…which to our minds, reminds us quite a bit of the current struggle in Ukraine. We think you’ll find this interesting.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to March 23, 2023 for our private evening program to commemorate the opening of our special exhibition, “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.” which opened to the public Friday, March 24, 2023. The West Coast debut of the 12,500 sq. ft. exhibition is the first of three final North American stops. Created by Spanish company Musealia together with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland, and now being toured through North America by World Heritage Exhibitions, the exhibit displays the largest and most comprehensive collection of artifacts linked to the history of this German Nazi concentration and extermination camp.
A groundbreaking exhibit opened at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Museum on March 24 entitled Auschwitz: Not long ago. Not far away. No book, or podcast, or history lesson can prepare you for the impact and power this extraordinary collection of artifacts holds. The exhibition brings together more than 700 original objects of great historic and human value; objects which were direct witnesses to the horrors of Auschwitz and the Holocaust. These objects serve as the guiding thread of a rigorous and moving account on the history of the German Nazi camp Auschwitz and its dwellers, both victims and perpetrators. Why such an exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum you ask? In Ronald Reagan’s personal journey, he discovered that life does not proceed by leaps and bounds; rather it unfolds often in the most unlikely ways. His unexpected, eye-opening exposure to top-secret footage during World War II fueled his hatred of oppressive government, antisemitism, and his resolve to protect human freedom.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back two weeks to March 8, 2023 for our in-person event with Dr. Condoleezza Rice who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. From January 2005 to January 2009, Dr. Rice served as the 66th Secretary of State of the United States, the second woman and first black woman to hold the post. Dr. Rice also served as President George W. Bush’s National Security Advisor from January 2001 to January 2005, the first woman to hold the position. She is currently the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and a Senior Fellow on Public Policy. During her Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Dr. Rice addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.
Let’s look back some 40 years ago when President Reagan spoke to a convention of the National Association of Evangelicals in Florida on March 8, 1983. In that historic speech, he publicly referred to the Soviet Union as an evil empire…actually, for the second time in his career. Do you recall the first time he used the phrase? Answer: the word “evil” in relation to the Soviet Union was first used in a 1982 speech at the British House of Commons.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back just over one week to March 5, 2023 for our in-person event with Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis. He joined us as part of his Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival book tour and the program sold out in just over 12 hours. Governor DeSantis’s book reveals how he successfully implemented his goals for Florida, which he says is now a winning blueprint for patriots across the country. His book is a rallying cry for Americans who wish to preserve our liberties.
‘Tis the season of wearin’ the green which means St. Patrick’s day and we just can’t be true representatives of President Reagan’s “Words To Live By” if we don’t celebrate some of his colorful thoughts on this, one of his beloved holidays. Going through our archives, I noticed the wonderful toasts given on various Irish occasions: things like when he would say, “…in the words of our forefathers, may the sun shine warm upon your face, the wind be always at your back, and may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.” Plus of course, he included plenty of jokes about the Irish…as only he could.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back one month to February 15, 2023 for our in-person event with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. For over a decade the Reagan Foundation has partnered with the Medal of Honor Society to hold their annual Medal of Honor Forum whereby Medal of Honor recipients speak with students about their stories of courage and sacrifice, exploring such themes as patriotism, citizenship, and integrity. During this year’s program, we heard from Sergeant First Class Gary Littrell, US Army, Retired, who received the citation for his Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War after fighting in Kontum Province in April, 1970. The Medal of Honor is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. It is awarded for gallantry and bravery at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.
Let’s review a bit: recall when Jimmy Carter became President in the late 70s, believing the Soviets were not a threat, he cancelled the B1 Bomber Program and significantly reduced the American defense budget. What that did was to essentially force the US to accept nuclear parity with the Soviet Union. And yes, there was the SALT I Treaty which recognized the Soviet Union as equal in every respect. SALT II was never ratified by Congress; without ratification, both countries, the US and the Soviet Union were still supposed to hold to the terms. Of course, the Soviets ignored them. They invaded Afghanistan and deployed 200 SS20 missiles in East Germany, causing Europe to beg for help. Chancellor of West Germany Helmut Schmidt was frantic because the SS20 was a new kind of missile. All of Europe was within its range which was about 2300 kilometers. The missile had three warheads and it was mobile so it could easily be moved around wherever the Soviets needed. But the president had a better idea, a defensive weapon known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI, which was rolled out to the American people in a national televised address, 40 years ago this month.
In this week's Reagan Forum podcast, we go back almost one month to February 8, 2023, for our in-person event with the 70th Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, for his new book Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love.In today's program, he sat down in conversation with John Heubusch, Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
I’ve got a question for you today: what do George Balanchine, Paul “Bear” Bryant and Buckminster Fuller, and Clair Booth Luce have in common? The answer is they were awarded, along with 8 others, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in February 1983. This honor is not to be confused with the Kennedy Center Honors which focuses only on the arts. So what’s special about it? Well, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal which is, obviously, awarded by Congress.
So now…let’s dive in and listen!
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back two weeks to February 7, 2023 for our virtual event with New York Times bestselling author James Patterson and United States Army First Sergeant, Retired, Matt Eversmann for their new book, Walk the Blue Line: No Right No Left – just cops telling their true stories to James Patterson. James Patterson is one of the world’s bestselling authors, as well as one it’s most trusted storytellers. His writing career is characterized by a single mission – to prove that there is no such thing as a person who doesn’t like to read, only people who haven’t found the right book. He’s donated over three million books to school children and to the military, as well as endowed over 5,000 college scholarships for teachers. His co-author for Walk the Blue Line is Matt Eversmann, an Army Sergeant whose inspiring story of survival during a 1993 hostile conflict in Mogadishu became immortalized forever in the epic film, Black Hawk Down.
CPAC…do you remember what it stands for? It’s an acronym for the Conservative Political Action Conference, kind of a Woodstock for movement conservatives. Always the headliner, Ronald Reagan appeared in January 1974 as Governor of California in CPAC’s inaugural year. To put it in perspective, that’s just a few months before a Richard Nixon would resign in fear of impeachment. That year, in 1974, CPAC attendees heard California Gov. Reagan urge them to remain united, as the Founding Fathers had, and that America’s responsibility as a world leader had been blessed by God. To be honest, this is a consistent theme throughout all his speeches, and today, we’ll focus on 1983.
February 6, 2022 marked the 112th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Wilson Reagan. He used to love to joke that each birthday was the anniversary of his 39th birthday, so 2023 would have marked the 73rd anniversary of his 39th birthday! Since President Reagan’s passing on June 5, 2004, the Reagan Foundation has worked with United States Marine Corps Camp Pendleton to hold a birthday celebration on February 6th of each year to honor the life and legacy of our nation’s 40th president. Each year the program includes live musical entertainment from the 1st Marine Division Band, an honor guard, a rifle guard, and the official laying of the White House Presidential Wreath on President Reagan’s gravesite. Keynote speakers in prior years have included Ed Meese, Elizabeth Dole, James Baker, and Sam Donaldson. In this week’s A Reagan Forum podcast, we listen in to the ceremony held on February 6, 2023 with keynote speaker Dr. Henry Kissinger.
Everyone loves a good love story, and presidential love stories are no exception. Since we are in the season of Valentine’s Day, the theme of our podcast is the love story between Ronald and Nancy Reagan, specifically his expressive and loving correspondence which began in the 1950 and continued throughout their marriage. Our archives hold an abundance of letters, telegrams and cards from Ronald Reagan to his beloved wife, and a few cards from her. Because, for holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries, he believed that the best gift he could give her was his heartfelt expression of love and appreciation.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back just one week to January 31, 2023 for our in-person event with former Congressman and New York Times bestselling author Trey Gowdy for his new book, Start, Stay, or Leave: The Art of Decision Making. The book is filled with surprising insights and questions, such as how to craft your unique vision of success, assess the price worth paying to achieve your goals, balance logic, emotion, and fear when facing a new challenge, chart the course of your life with the end goal in mind, and more. He discussed these topics and more during his conversation with John Heubusch, Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
So today, let’s talk about cars, Chrysler, Reagan and…a looming recession. 40 years ago this week, President Reagan addressed the Chrysler plant in beautiful downtown Fenton, Missouri to stoke the fires of recovery and encourage the employees to stay the course. Recall that President-elect Ronald Reagan endorsed the government bailout of Chrysler during the campaign, reversing his initial position, but really never changed his fundamental belief that automakers should stand on their own without government backing. Let’s listen to the President in February 1983 when the economy was just starting to turn around. His hosts were Lee Iacocca, Senator Danforth and Governor Kit Bond.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back two weeks to January 18, 2023 for our in-person event with William Inboden for his new book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War and the World on the Brink, an account of how Ronald Reagan and his national security team confronted the Soviets, reduced the nuclear threat, won the Cold War, and supported the spread of freedom around the world.
At the time of this writing, the date for President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address has not been announced, only a general time frame that it will likely be delivered in February or March. In 1983, President Reagan’s State of the Union Address was given on January 25, 1983, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 98th United States Congress. So today we’re going back 40 years to 1983. We’ll just listen to a few sections since this is quite a lengthy address. The thing to remember here is that the President has been in office for two years, so he has had a chance to begin rebuilding the military, start establishing ground rules in dealing with the Soviets, and finally, developing policies to strengthen the economy and just beginning to see growth.
Every year, the Reagan National Defense Forum seeks to honor individuals who have spent their careers cultivating American strength at home to ensure peace abroad. This year, the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Institute presented the 2022 Peace Through Strength Awards to former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and former Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre. Mark Esper and John Hamre are emblematic of that kind of patriotic service and selfless dedication to their country. Their speeches both reflect on President Reagan’s legacy of “peace through strength” and what it means for today’s world.
In January 1983, 40 years ago, the President began his third year in office, working desperately to improve the economy while determined to convince the American people that the best was yet ahead. As a true leader, he met with his Executive team, exactly two years after his inauguration, to introduce two new cabinet members and to rally his executive squad to keep pushing the ball up the hill. His remarks are funny, inspiring, engaging and a perfect start to working with a brilliant team of individuals. We thought you’d like a taste of our 40th president’s leadership style in this new year: his vision, communication and optimism. You’ll hear him announce that Elizabeth Dole would replace Drew Lewis as Secretary of Transportation and Margaret Heckler would replace Richard Schweiker as Secretary of Health and Human services.
In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we continue our month long look back to our 2022 Reagan National Defense Forum. Fox News Channel’s Bill Hemmer facilitated the Reagan National Defense Forum’s closing plenary session featuring a conversation with former Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta and Mark Esper and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. The discussion focused on how the United States should address the many threats to our national security. From the vantage point of having served in the highest positions of the U.S. government, panelists emphasized the importance of a “peace through strength” approach to American global leadership from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East to Europe.
President Reagan’s courage as a leader, skill as a diplomat, and his willingness to confront communism around the world played a major role in ending the domination of the Soviet Union. He developed and applied with constant purpose a strategy not simply to contain communism, but to end it, and he achieved this goal across much of the globe. Ronald Reagan entered the White House determined to restore the strength of the U.S. military. He insisted on military might not for its own sake, but to discourage threats to American interests, defend freedom around the world, and bring the Soviet Union to the bargaining table. So in January 1983, 40 years ago this month, he faced the press, holding a news conference to clarify his position on Strategic Arms Reduction. In this podcast, we’ll focus on his resolve to clearly define, in his words, what his intentions were. To provide context, the leader of the Soviet Union at the time was Yuri Andropov…Gorbachev would not enter the scene for over two years. Also, this News Conference preceded his Evil Empire Speech AND his speech on SDI – his Strategic Defense Initiative – by two months.
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marking the first major conflict in Europe since World War II, the United States can no longer be assured of a peaceful continent across the Atlantic. During the 2022 Reagan National Defense Forum’s 4th panel of the day, a panel moderated by FOX News Channel’s Jennifer Griffin and comprised of Senator Joni Ernst, Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes, Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman, and Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth looked at how an engaged United States and a reinvigorated NATO represent the best path for peace and stability in Europe.
Today, we’re being instructed to call them undocumented but most of us still refer to those in this country illegally as…illegals. In the heated debate over immigration reform — despite the politicians and our current president choose to ignore the serious problems, the question that might be asked is “What would Ronald Reagan do?”
In last month’s December 15th podcast, we shared our 2022 Reagan National Defense Forum’s Keynote Address. In January’s podcasts we will share four additional panels with you. As previously shared, the Reagan National Defense Forum has quickly become one of our nation’s premier gatherings for defense and national security experts. The Defense Forum brings together leaders from across the political spectrum and key stakeholders in the defense community, including Members of Congress, current and former Administrations officials, senior military leadership, industry executives, technology innovators, and thought leaders. Their mission is to review and assess policies that strengthen America’s national defense in the context of the global threat environment. In this year’s fireside chat, United States Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines joined Andrea Mitchell of NBC News for a moderated discussion about the pressing security issues facing the United States. Director Haines provided her unique perspective on a multitude of national security matters, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, the protests in Iran and China, and North Korean nuclear tests. She highlighted the role the intelligence community plays in keeping America safe.
In November 2022, state department officials went to great lengths to prevent a meeting at the G20 summit between Biden and Putin. They knew that at some point, the two leaders would cross paths, but US officials ruled out a formal meeting and took steps to ensure that the American president does not encounter his Russian counterpart in a hallway or even in a group photo. Why? Well, the answer is that President Biden thinks Putin is a killer, a war criminal and, you don’t usually meet with killers and war criminals. Both of Biden’s immediate predecessors — Barack Obama and Donald Trump — crafted foreign policies that involved direct engagement with traditionally adversarial leaders; Obama as a matter of bridging difficult diplomatic divides, Trump as part creating personal and political alliances. Biden has had less engagement abroad. And today, Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine is TIME’s man of the year and awarded such an honor for standing up to the Soviet Union. With that in mind…just how did Ronald Reagan handle those pesky Russians?
As we sit between Christmas and New Year’s, we take time to reflect on the year past and the year ahead. From all of us at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, we wish you and your family the happiest and healthiest of holiday seasons. In this week’s A Reagan Forum Podcast, we’re going to go listen to some of our “Best Of Ronald Reagan” podcasts to help keep you in the holiday spirit. We’re going to start with the best of his remarks around holidays.
On January 1, 1985, President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev addressed each other’s people in an unprecedented exchange of televised New Year’s greetings. Remember that in March 1985, Gorbachev came into office, after the death of former Soviet leader Chernenko and after his very long illness. Knowing the voracity of the Cold War makes this exchange even more meaningful. The four major American networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN carried the leaders five minute speeches at 1pm EST. Even more remarkable, Soviet television agreed to broadcast Reagan’s message to the Soviet people simultaneously, or at 9pm Moscow time: prime time in the Soviet Union.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go 1 ½ weeks to December 13, 2022 for our in-person event with Peter Thiel who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Peter Thiel is an entrepreneur and investor. He cofounded PayPal, led it as CEO, and took it public; he made the first outside investment in Facebook, where he serves as a director; and he cofounded Palantir Technologies, where he serves as chairman. He is a partner at Founders Fund, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has funded companies including SpaceX and Airbnb. During his Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Peter Thiel addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.
President Reagan, a man of devout faith, loved Christmas deeply. And he chose to share his feelings about the holiday in many different ways over his eight years in office. So today in our podcast, rather than focusing on one single address or message, we’ll take an overview of the President’s eight years in office to look at eight mighty ways to express his joy during the holiday season.
In 2022, we were reminded of the fragility of peace. As we continue to follow the tragic events in Ukraine and keep our eye on a tenuous peace in the Indo-Pacific, Americans must remember the resolve and moral clarity of President Reagan, who explained, “We stand against totalitarianism, particularly imperialistic expansionist totalitarianism. We are for democracy and human rights.” During this year’s Reagan National Defense Forum our panels addressed how to rebuild and maintain the peace, and how we would do well to remember that a strong U.S. military is the best guarantor for that peace—and for freedom. Just like last year, this year’s Defense Forum’s keynote address was delivered by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Lloyd Austin.
In November 1981, President Reagan delivered what he considered to be the most important foreign policy speech of his administration. Before the members of the National Press Club, he called for a number of things: the elimination of all intermediate range nuclear force weapons – known as the zero zero option – and, he called for a meeting with the Soviet Union (then Brezhnev) to negotiate new reductions in their mutual stockpiles of long range strategic nuclear weapons. But just weeks before this speech he had given final approval to blueprints for a multibillion dollar modernization of our strategic forces to build 100 B-1B bombers to replace our deteriorating fleet of B-52 bombers, to deploy new trident nuclear submarines, to develop the stealth bomber, and to build 100 new intercontinental range missiles known as…the MX Peacekeeper.
President Reagan once said, “We of today must choose how we will respond to the Holocaust. Let us tell the world that we will struggle against the darker side of human nature; that with God's help, goodness will prevail and those who lost their lives will not be forgotten.” Here, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, we’re working to ensure that their lives won’t be forgotten. Just one month ago we held an event to announce our upcoming exhibition, Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away. During this program we heard the moving testimony of two Auschwitz survivors, as well as received the first artifact that is a part of this extraordinary exhibition – a German WWII Train Car – the type used during the Holocaust to transport goods – and people – to Auschwitz. This very touching program began with the arrival of that train car – which was led by a procession of combat veterans on motorcycles.
Every December, Americans celebrate their memorable cultural icons when the Kennedy Center bestows its annual honors to those in the performing arts for their lifetime contributions. Since 1978, the Honors have been presented annually each December to five honorees followed by a gala celebration. The original strategy was that these unique individuals were people who have contributed to society, not someone who happens to have a pop record hit at the moment. The intention was not to do just another award show. Do you recall the first host? It was Leonard Bernstein in 1978. And the White House got involved by inviting the Honorees first to the White House for an initial presentation by the President. For 2022, who are the Honorees? Well, George Clooney, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, Tania Leon and U2. In this podcast, we’ll focus on two ceremonies held at the White House. The first, 40 years ago in 1982 honored George Abbott, Eugene Ormandy, Lillian Gish, Benny Goodman, and Gene Kelly. Then, in the second half of the podcast, the President honored in 1984, Lena Horne, Arthur Miller, Gian Carlo Menotti, Isaac Stern and Danny Kaye. And in the second half of the podcast, I’ll share a bit about those who were offered the honor but declined.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back one month to November 10, 2022 for our in-person event with former Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland for his new book, The Envoy: Mastering the Art of Diplomacy with Trump and the World. In 2018, Gordon Sondland, the Founder and CEO of Provenance Hotels, was appointed to serve as the 20th U.S. Ambassador to the European Union by President Donald Trump. He was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in June 2018 and served as Ambassador to the E.U. until February 2020. As Ambassador, Gordon Sondland was one of the highest-ranking U.S. officials in Europe and his portfolio included trade, energy, national security, defense, agriculture and several other files.
As this podcasts airs, the 2022 November election results have been in the books for 3 weeks. At least most of the results are in the books. As the contentious debates continue, let’s go back over 40 years to some of Ronald Reagan’s thoughts expressed in his radio addresses on…voting – and on another issue – the possibilities of voter fraud with postcard registration.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to our in-person event on November 17th with former Vice President Mike Pence for a program on his newest book, So Help Me God, an inside story of the Trump Administration by its second-highest ranking official and of a profound faith that has guided him throughout his life. Mike Pence served as the 48th Vice President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, as the 50th Governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017, and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013. Fun fact: when he was sworn in as our nation’s Vice President, he did so with President Reagan’s mother’s bible, which the Reagan Library loaned to him for the occasion.
Thanksgiving is just a few days away, a time when we take stock of our many blessings and take an extra moment to let our loved ones know our deepest feelings of appreciation. As you recall, President Reagan was a deeply grateful man, who told the American people in his first Thanksgiving proclamation, that, “America has much for which to be thankful. The unequaled freedom enjoyed by our citizens has provided a harvest of plenty to this Nation throughout its history. In keeping with America's heritage, one day each year is set aside for giving thanks to God for all of His blessings.” Another example of his commitment to gratitude occurred when the hostages held in Iran for 444 days were freed in January 1981, President Reagan created a special national day of Thanksgiving to honor their sacrifice and safe return.
Last week was Veterans Day – a day to honor our nation’s military veterans. Commemorating this day on November 11th each year not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but also helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we go back on week to the Reagan Library’s Veterans Day Program, which included an honor guard, live music, and keynote remarks by US Army Veteran Brad Taylor. Brad Taylor served for 21 years, retiring as a Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel, with his final assignment as the Assistant Professor of Military Science at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He is now the New York Times bestselling author of his Pike Logan series; with more than 15 installments and more than 3 million copies sold.
On November 10, 1982 – 40 years ago – the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, died. Immediately after his passing, Yuri Andropov succeeded him as General Secretary. But our subject today is Brezhnev and the hauntingly similar ways both Brezhnev and Putin have ruled.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just three days to our virtual event on November 7th with one of America’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, Steve Case. Mr. Case joined us to discuss his latest book, The Rise of the Rest, which shows how the new generation of American business leaders is taking shape in cities across our heartland.
In today’s podcast, we’ll focus on a wonderful interview conducted by Tom Brokaw just 3 days before the President left office. This is not a gotcha interview or a hard-hitting challenge to the president – rather, Brokaw decided to focus on personal issues. You’ll hear the President reflect on his mother’s religious beliefs, his father’s alcoholism, careers in radio, acting, and politics, and reflections on his eight years as president. As for Brokaw, he was a longtime news anchor and senior correspondent who spent his entire career with NBC news. Beginning the Los Angeles Bureau where he covered Ronald Reagan’s first run for public office, he moved to the nation’s capital in 1973. Ultimately after 55 years with NBC news he retired at the age of 80.
It’s November, and, of course, November is the month to celebrate Thanksgiving. And from all of us at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, we wish you and your family the happiest and healthiest of Thanksgivings later this month. In this week’s A Reagan Forum Podcast, we’re going to go back to 2018’s “Words to Live By” podcast featuring President Reagan’s thoughts and messages to the American people on Thanksgiving.
It’s election season which begs the question – why did Ronald Reagan enter politics? What in his life experiences formed the foundation of a fine communicator and a man of great ideas? In this podcast, we’ll go back to his childhood, his collegiate years, and those following which led to his development as a political animal. Yes, he always said, he was an actor, not a politician, but once elected Governor of California, he became a card-carrying member of that elite club known as…politicians.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to October 18, 2022 for our in-person event with New York Times bestselling author Raymond Arroyo for his new family book, The Wise Men Who Found Christmas. During this program, Mr. Arroyo sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch to discuss The Wise Men Who Found Christmas, which is a thrilling, visual adventure capturing the wonder of the Christmas season. Based on new historical evidence, The Wise Men Who Found Christmas is the miraculous, untold tale of three seekers who followed a star and found themselves in the middle of the greatest story ever told.
At the Republican presidential debates in 2011 held at the Reagan Library, Newt Gingrich commented, “Well, I’m frankly not interested in your effort to get Republicans fighting each other. You’d like to puff this up into some giant thing…” Yes, It seems that name calling and vicious attacks are standard operating procedure in today’s political arena. It’s almost as if candidates need hunting licenses as they seek their party’s nomination. It’s open season with barbs flying faster at fellow Republicans than macaroni in the school cafeteria. Back in 1985, the President reiterated his position in a news conference.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to October 14, 2022 for our in-person event with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley for her new book, If You Want Something Done: Leadership Lessons from Bold Women, a book which celebrates the world’s most iconic women leaders woven among stories from her own childhood and political career. Nikki Haley is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Nations for two years, from January 2017 to January 2019. During this program she sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch to discuss If You Want Something Done.
During this season of primary politics and curious political antics, we are thankfully distracted by our great American pastime, baseball, where hot dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jack still prevail in stadiums across the country. While our 40th president spent more time on the track, in the pool, and on the gridiron, baseball was still a great love of his and an important part of his life. Even his father, Jack Reagan, played a little baseball around the late 1800’s in Bennett, Iowa. Starting in the early 30’s, Ronald Reagan became the play-by-play reenactment voice for the Chicago Cubs. As “Dutch Reagan” on Iowa’s WHO, he would receive game updates via telegraph and then, accompanied by sound effects, bring the action to life with a vivid description of the details. In one famous instance, the telegraph feed went down in the ninth inning of a tight ballgame, forcing the young announcer to improvise on the spot. So, with that story in mind, let’s listen to our 40th president warmly welcome some of baseball’s finest to the White House.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to October 3, 2022 for our in-person event with legendary sports executive Dick Ebersol for his new book, From Saturday Night to Sunday Night: My Forty Years of Laughter, Tears and Touchdowns in TV. From Saturday Night to Sunday Night is a memoir by the legendary television executive. Mr. Ebersol co-created Saturday Night Live with Lorne Michaels, created Friday Night Videos with Vince McMahon to bring professional wrestling to network TV, took over NBC Sports, created Sunday Night Football, which is still the #1 primetime show in America, and was responsible for Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta. During our event, Dick Ebersol sat down to discuss his book in conversation with his son, Charlie, an American television and film producer and director.
It’s the season when we anticipate quite a bit of turnover brought about by the curse of the midterm election. 40 years ago, in 1982, Pew Research reported that just 36% of the public said they wanted to see Reagan run for re-election. Recall that Ronald Reagan came to the presidency in 1981 with a straightforward and well-articulated domestic agenda. He promised to cut taxes, curb government spending, and balance the federal budget or at least reduce the deficit. His well-crafted Inaugural Address identified the major themes the new President hoped would define his administration. But, by fall of 1982, the fruits of his labors had not fully bloomed. So, this Pew data preceded, by just a few months, the beginning of a great economic boom. As a result, the late summer and fall of 1982 were tough times for Ronald Reagan and many of those whom he supported. He took to the campaign trail and we thought you’d enjoy a few great excerpts from some of those 1982 stump speeches. Each one is tailored to the specific region and audience – it’s a challenge being president of 50 states with varied interests and objectives.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back two weeks to September 20, 2022 for our in-person event with Doug Ducey, the Governor of Arizona, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Within Arizona, Governor Ducey has eliminated overburdensome regulations, fostered the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs, and reformed taxes every year he’s been in office. He has also positioned Arizona as a national leader in school choice and civics education. He is a former businessman and CEO of Cold Stone Creamery who today also serves as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
In today’s podcast we’ll focus on President Reagan’s special relationship with her royal highness Queen Elizabeth the second. In 1982, the Reagans visited Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor, where the Queen and Ronald Reagan carried out a specially orchestrated ride through Windsor Great Park, trailed by more than 150 photographers and a Range Rover full of Secret Service agents. (Nancy Reagan, meanwhile, joined Prince Philip in a four-in-hand carriage for a tour of the estate.) In the second half of this podcast, we’ll cover their remarks when the Reagans later hosted Elizabeth and Philip at their home of Rancho del Cielo near Santa Barbara in 1983, where Her Majesty had her first experience of Tex-Mex cuisine, feasting on tacos, enchiladas, and what she referred to as “used” (i.e., refried) beans.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back 10 days to September 19, 2022 when former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper joined us in conversation for his latest book, A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times. During the program, Dr. Esper sat in conversation with Reagan Foundation Institute Director Roger Zakheim to discuss the details of his tumultuous tenure while serving in the Trump administration – a period marked by growing threats and conflict abroad, a global pandemic unseen in a century, the greatest domestic unrest in two generations, and a White House which broke accepted norms and conventions.
It’s on the news every day – crime rates are escalating exponentially throughout the country. Well, when Ronald Reagan became our 40th president, our country was experiencing the same surge in crime and in 1980 he said, “We need a renewed emphasis on, and an enhanced sensitivity to, the rights of victims. These rights should be a central concern of those who participate in the criminal justice system, and it is time all of us paid greater heed to the plight of victims.” So in this podcast, we’ll listen to the president’s thoughts on Crime and criminal justice reform, beginning with a radio address delivered 40 years ago on September 11, 1982. In the second half of the podcast, we’ll move forward five years.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back a week to September 15, 2022 for our in-person event with Kellyanne Conway, who was here to discuss her latest book, Here’s the Deal: A Memoir. Kellyanne Conway is an American political consultant and pollster, who served as Senior Counselor to the President in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2020. During our event, she sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch to discuss Here’s the Deal, a book that takes you to the White House and beyond.
China’s activities of late – showing off their military muscle after Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan – are top of mind and call us to review the President’s objective when he visited China in 1984, and that’s by spreading the good news about democracy, particularly to students. We thought our listeners might be interested in his truly beautiful speech delivered to college students in China at Fudan University in 1984. In the first half of the podcast, we’ll cover a few excerpts from the speech in China and in the second half, we’ll be inspired by hearing his heartfelt description about everything that’s great about America at Fudan University.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we pay tribute to legendary Dodgers Baseball announcer Vin Scully, who passed away on August 2, 2022. As part of our baseball exhibit that was on display in 2014 in the Reagan Library, Vin Scully came out to share stories with our sold-out audience. This program is not on our YouTube channel, so this is the first time you might be hearing this amazing program.
In August this year, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made a somewhat controversial visit to Taiwan, making her the highest ranking US official to visit the island in 25 years. In the lead up to the trip, President Biden told reporters that the military “thinks its not a good idea’ to visit Taiwan due to rising tensions over the island’s status – also further complicated as the Biden administration has urged China not to back Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. So, what would Ronald Reagan do? We don’t know but we can tell you what he said in an interview with journalists before he left for his trip to China in the spring of 1984.
In May of 2020 we came to you each week to bring you some of our favorite Reagan Retrospective podcasts. These podcasts are stories shared by people who knew President and Mrs. Reagan best – people who worked with them, were friends with them, and knew them throughout their life. Each podcast brings you new behind the scenes stories from the Reagan years. They’re funny, poignant, and rich in history. Throughout May of 2020 we shared 6 Reagan Retrospectives from season 1, 6 more from season two, 6 from season 3, and 3 from season 4. Today, yes two years later, we are going to share four episodes from our current season – season 5 - of Reagan Retrospective podcasts.
In Ronald Reagan’s lifetime, he made numerous appearances on the Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson, and as you can imagine they’re not only entertaining but fascinating. As an actor, he knew how to charm and communicate – but as a politician, he knew that an opportunity to clarify his ideas on a national basis was rare, so these interviews with Carson provided a platform for doing just that – thoughtfully, carefully, and casually, explaining just what he believed in.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back a week to August 25, 2022 for our in-person event with United States Senator Joni Ernst, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Senator Ernst is a native of Red Oak, Iowa, and has dedicated her life to her state and country, having served in the military for over 23 years and now in the United States Senate. In November 2014, she was elected as the first woman to serve in federal elected office from the State of Iowa and also became the first female combat veteran elected to serve in the United States Senate. During her Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Senator Ernst addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.
So we thought we’d dedicate this podcast to the personal side of our 40th president who was described as an ordinary man who accomplished extraordinary things. Ronald Reagan often credited his political success to an empathy with ordinary Americans. Asked by a reporter on the eve of his election in 1980 what Americans saw in him, Reagan replied: "Would you laugh if I told you that I think, maybe, they see themselves, and that I'm one of them? I've never been able to detach myself or think that I, somehow, am apart from them." Even after two terms as president, Reagan called himself a "citizen-politician," the phrase he often used to describe himself in 1966 when he was elected governor of California in his first race for public office. Reagan said he wanted to become part of government in order to reduce its influence.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back one week for our in-person event with Don Brown and Amy Peacock for their new book, Old Breed General: How Marine Corps General William H. Rupertus Broke the Back of the Japanese in WWII from Guadalcanal to Peleliu. We invited them to share their book with our audience as part of our programming surrounding our new special exhibition at the Reagan Library – the Secrets of WWII. Amy Peacock is actually one of the three granddaughters of General Rupertus and current keeper of the family archives. Don Brown is a former US Navy JAG officer and Special Assistant US Attorney. He’s written 14 other books, including The Last Fighter Pilot, which he came out to the Reagan Library for back in 2017. During today’s program, Amy and Don sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller to discuss Old Breed General, which is the biography of General Rupertus and the story of the Marines at war in the Pacific. As a side note, Marine general Rupertus is actually best known today for writing the Corps’ Rifleman’s Creed, which begins, “This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine”—which has been made famous by films such as Full Metal Jacket and Jarhead.
Ronald Reagan was a loving guy – he never hated anyone, except, maybe two things: Communism and Liars. In his mind, the two were definitely intertwined. And, as we observe Putin’s assault on Ukraine, it’s the same old Soviet tune – one that says “we’re for peace” and oh by the way, just ignore the tanks invading your country, we’re hunting for nazis. No one believes them. And Reagan didn’t drink the Soviet Kool-Aid, either. There’s one Town Hall that he conducted in 1987 in California at the Century Plaza Hotel with transmission also on the East Coast AND supposedly in the Soviet Union. The Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York had, since 1984, sponsored a week of debate between Soviet and American scholars and officials and August 1987 was no exception. To put the time frame in perspective, by August 1987, Gorbachev had been General Secretary for about 2 ½ years. Two summits – one in Geneva and one in Reykjavik - had taken place with the signing of the historic INF Treating looming in four months, in December of the same year. We love this town hall and we’ll focus on it in this podcast.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to August 9, 2022 for our in-person event with Mike Garcia, the California Congressman who has overseen the district which includes the Reagan Library since 2020. Congressman Garcia was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. A first-generation American citizen, Congressman Mike Garcia was a highly decorated United States Naval Officer and businessman before serving in the United States House of Representatives. He was one of the first F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter pilots in the Navy. He participated in combat operations during the first six months of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and accrued over 1,400 hours of operational flight time over nearly 20 years of active and reserve military service.
Forty years ago this month, President Reagan responded to the crisis in the middle east by announcing the deployment of American forces as part of a multinational peacekeeping force. This will prompt a more interesting discussion for this podcast, of the rules of engagement, which President Reagan asked to be reviewed after the bombing of the US Marine barracks October 23, 1983 which killed a significant part of our peacekeeping force, taking the lives of 241 American soldiers as they slept. The president said it was the saddest day of his presidency, perhaps the saddest day of his life.
In 2018, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute hosted its first annual RISE conference. Standing for the Reagan Institute Summit on Education, RISE 2018 was a day-long bipartisan conference assessing the American education landscape in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the seminal report: A Nation at Risk. RISE 2018 took place on April 12, 2018 in Washington, D.C. There were over a dozen panels in the day-long session focusing on the state of education, reducing recidivism through postsecondary education opportunities, the need for broadband access throughout schools and more. The closing panel was entitled An Educated Citizenry and it was a discussion between US Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett, as moderated by Dr. Akhil Reed Amar, a professor of law and political science at Yale University. During the hour long panel, the justices discussed everything from the importance of engaged citizenry and getting involved, to dealing with dissenting opinions, to the importance of just breaking bread with your fellow colleagues or classmates to connect on a more one-on-one level.
Recall that Governor Reagan began his first term as a novice who promised to squeeze, cut and trim the costs of government. By 1971, he was an experienced politician with an able finance director in Verne Orr and a competent chief of staff in Ed Meese. So they got to work. And in a sweeping welfare reform program, Governor Reagan stiffened penalties for fraud, removed employed recipients from welfare, and required adult children to help support their parents on welfare, among other changes. By 1974, welfare caseloads dropped 20 percent, benefits rose 43 percent for residents with no income, welfare fraud cropped and California saved hundreds of millions of dollars. Reagan, as governor and as president always struggled with the idea of welfare because, as he said, “the principal issue in any welfare reform proposal is whether or not it'll help people become self-sufficient and lead a full life or keep them in a state of dependency.” It’s a question Americans struggle with to this day and Reagan, after leaving Sacramento and before the White House, delivered several radio addresses on the subject. So in today’s podcast, we’ll listen to a few good ones and let him tell the story. Let’s start with December 1976.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back one week for our in-person event with former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. Ari joined us to discuss his new book, Suppression, Deception, Snobbery and Bias: Why the Press Gets so Much Wrong – and Just Doesn’t Care.
So let’s take a look at some current news on grain and the Ukraine. It’s been reported that Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations are due to sign a deal aimed at resuming Black Sea grain exports from Ukraine, which have been severely hampered by the war there. Russia's Feb. 24 invasion has stalled exports from Ukraine's ports, leaving dozens of ships stranded and some 20 million tons of grain stuck in silos at Odessa. Moscow has denied responsibility for worsening the food crisis, blaming instead a chilling effect from Western sanctions for slowing its own food and fertilizer exports and Ukraine for mining its Black Sea ports. However, in July 2022, drone footage revealed that Russia was setting Ukrainian wheat fields on fire, thus putting a massive strain on the country's grain exports. Those battered and harassed Ukrainian farmers are racing to save their crops from Russian shell strikes. So, here we go again playing the grain game. Let’s go back 40 years ago to August 1982, when the Russian grain embargo had just been lifted and President Reagan worked to help the American farmer.
For years, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation has been hosting a national Great Communicator Debate Series in which high schoolers grades 9 through 12 across the nation compete for their share of $50,000 in college scholarships. The final debates were held in the Reagan Library’s Air Force One Pavilion on July 23, 2022, with the scholarships for the winners being supported by an endowment fund created through the generosity of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we bring you that national championship debate.
Today’s subject? The Presidential Press Conference. We’re going to cover his July 1982 press conference which President Reagan noted in his diary that…went well – after feeling less than pleased about previous press conference. When and why did this tradition start? Since Woodrow Wilson held the first presidential press conference in March 1913, all of his successors have used the sessions as a basic part of their publicity strategies. The sessions have survived because reporters found them useful for developing information, citizens saw them as valuable for making judgments about their chief executives, and presidents and their staffs saw them as a primary strategy for explaining their policies. Of course, presidents could give speeches laying out their policies, but press conferences have become a major way to explain the intricacies of those policies as the proposals made their way through the legislative process.
Last week we brought you the program for the Nancy Reagan Forever Stamp artwork unveiling held with Dr. Jill Biden at the White House. In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we are going full circle by sharing Mrs. Reagan’s 101st birthday program on July 6, 2022. During that event, the United States Postal Service joined us again, this time for the first day issue of the stamp. During this program, remarks were made by Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service Louis DeJoy and Dennis Revell, Mrs. Reagan’s former son-in-law.
In light of the war in Ukraine, we thought that looking back to Ronald Reagan’s ideas on human rights and the captive nations might be pertinent. Going back to 1975, Ronald Reagan opposed President Gerald Ford’s signing of the final act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe – known as the Helsinki Accords on August 1, 1975. Why, you ask? Well, he objected on the ground that it codified the captive nation status of Eastern Europe; that the Soviet Union and other communist states routinely violate human rights; and once again, that such states cannot be trusted to honor agreements.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we are sharing a special program with you. From July 6, 2021 through July 6, 2022, we are honoring the 100th year since Mrs. Reagan’s birth with a national centennial celebration. As part of the centennial celebration, the United States Postal Service has honored Mrs. Reagan with a forever stamp, which will go on sale on July 6, 2022, her 101st birthday. On June 6, 2022, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden hosted the Nancy Reagan Centennial by unveiling the artwork. Joining Dr. Biden for the program was Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service Louis DeJoy, Reagan Foundation and Institute Chairman Fred Ryan, and Ann Petersen, Mrs. Reagan’s niece.
About 40 years ago, President Ronald Reagan took bold steps to protect a storied U.S. manufacturing company from foreign competitors. At the time, challenges in international trade, specifically, how to deal with the flood of Japanese car and motorcycle imports, was a serious problem.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to June 29, 2022 for our in-person event with Representative Liz Cheney, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Liz Cheney serves as Wyoming’s lone member of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2016. She sits on the House Armed Services Committee and also serves as the Vice Chair for the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. From 2019 to 2021, Cheney served as the Chair of the House Republican Conference, the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives.
If you look back at Ronald Reagan’s career, whether you agree with his policies or not, there’s one thing no one can dispute, and that’s his staunch, hopeful patriotism. Journalist and author Nancy Gibbs wrote, “Hope is an infectious disease, and Reagan was a carrier. The country he courted and finally won over in 1980 was a dispirited place, humiliated abroad, uncertain at home, with a hunger for heroes but little faith that they could make any difference. But you can, he told us. I am not the hero, you are.” "Let us renew our faith and our hope," he declared in his first Inaugural Address. "We have every right to dream heroic dreams." And he would serve as Dreamer in Chief. "What I'd really like to do," he said after six months in the White House, "is go down in history as the President who made Americans believe in themselves again."
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back just two days for our in-person event with Fox News host Pete Hegseth. Pete joined us to discuss his new book, Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation. Pete Hegseth joined Fox News Channel in 2014, first as a contributor, but now as a co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend. In addition, over the past few years, Pete has hosted Fox News Channel’s New Year’s Coverage, most recently ringing in 2022 from the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, Tennessee. After graduating college, Pete was commissioned as an infantry officer into the US Army National Guard in 2003. In 2004, his unit was called to Guantanamo Bay where he served as an infantry platoon leader. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal. Shortly after returning from Cuba, Pete volunteered to serve in Baghdad and Samarra, where he held the position of Infantry Platoon Leader and, later in Samarra, as a Civil-Military Operations Officer.
The subject of today’s podcast is inflation…yes, just like the song, everything old is new again. What we’re going to hear today are two angles: a radio address he delivered on Inflation and Recession in 1975 and in the second half of the podcast, we’ll hear the president report directly after leaving Washington on how he handled the problem of inflation.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back a few weeks to our virtual program program with New York Times bestselling author Marcus Brotherton. Marcus previously joined us a year ago – on Memorial Day 2021 – and is back for his latest book, A Bright and Blinding Sun: A World War II Story of Survival, Love and Redemption. We invited Marcus to share his book with our audience as part of our programming surrounding our new special exhibition at the Reagan Library – the Secrets of WWII. Marcus is best known for his books with high-profile figures, humanitarians, inspiration leaders, and military personnel. His works include books with the elite WWII paratroopers featured in FBI’s Band of Brothers and the elite WWII Marines featured in HBO’s The Pacific. He also co-wrote Gary Sinise’s autobiography, Grateful American.
The place is…Berlin and the date is June 1982, FIVE years before he delivered his historic speech at the Brandenburg gate, demanding that the wall be torn down. This was during the Brezhnev years, long before Gorbachev and Glasnost were in the picture. It’s easy to forget how clearly President Reagan expressed his disgust with the Soviets and the Berlin Wall, many years before the so-called climax at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back one month to our in-person program with former US Navy Seal Sniper and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr. Jack joined us to discuss the release of his latest book – which is the fifth in his James Reece Novel Series – In the Blood. Jack Carr led special operations teams as a Team Leader, Platoon Commander, Troop Commander and Task Unit Commander. He later became a Navy Seal sniper, leading assault and sniper teams in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he later commanded a Special Operations Task Unit in the most Iranian influenced section of southern Iraq throughout the tumultuous drawdown of US Forces. Following his years in service of our country, he became a thriller novelist, applying the experiences and emotions from real-world combat to the pages of his novels. During our program, Jack sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Learning Officer Tony Pennay to discuss his James Reece novels.
Constructed in the early hours on August 13, 1961, the Berlin Wall was characterized by the Soviets as “a democratic anti-fascist protective structure.” Now isn’t that an interesting statement? Today Putin is using the same angle, claiming their intrusion into Ukraine is an anti-fascist gesture. The Berlin wall was built to end the flow of East Germans into the West. The Wall was built and within hours, friends and family were divided by barbed wire and concrete. Fast forward to the Spring of 1987. Negotiations from the Reykjavik Summit in 1986 had stalled and Gorbachev noted after visiting the Berlin Wall….get this…. that “At the Brandenburg Gate, one can clearly see how much strength and true heroism the defense of the first socialist state on German soil requires against the attacks of the class enemy.” Aware of such language, President Reagan was ready to level stronger demands which would echo throughout the West, reverberate behind prison gates in the East and ignite a resolve to fight for freedom. By 1987, President Reagan was ready to take freedom on the offensive, into the heart of the disintegrating Soviet empire.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back a week to June 2, 2022 for our in-person event with Senator Ben Sasse, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Ben Sasse is the current Senator from Nebraska. He is a member of the intelligence, judiciary, finance and budget committees. Prior to being elected to the Senate, he spent five years as the college president of Midland University, where he was one of the youngest college presidents in the nation, at just 37 years old.
If one thinks about Ronald Reagan’s signature causes, the things that come to mind are peace through strength, economic opportunity, individual liberty, and national pride. What many people have forgotten is his campaign for democracy – yes, a global campaign for democracy – which was launched 40 years ago on June 8, 1982. The setting for that speech? The British Parliament and the speech came to be known as his “Westminster Speech.” He became the first American President to deliver an address before British Parliament and stood in a grand and regal setting, speaking at the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords, with paintings of British military victories lining the walls and guards in their red beefeater uniforms standing behind him.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back two weeks to our virtual program with presidential advisor David Gergen. David joined us to discuss the release of his latest book, Hearts Touched with Fire: How Great Leaders are Made. David Gergen began his career in journalism, and later as the director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy School. During his career he also served as White House adviser to four U.S. presidents of both parties: Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. During President Reagan’s administration, David served as the director of communications. Speaking on David, President Reagan once said, “Dave is devoted to honest, open, and decent government.”
The Statue of Liberty was designed by sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel, as a gift to the United States from France. She arrived in 1885 on our shores in pieces after floating across the Atlantic in 214 crates. All the pieces were assembled on Liberty Island the following year. But by 1984, after welcoming immigrants to New York for almost 100 years, she was in bad shape. In this podcast, we’ll learn about how President Reagan in May 1982, 40 years ago, took action to return Lady Liberty to pristine condition. He called upon Lee Iacocca to create the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation to raise the funds necessary for the restoration, and by the 4th of July 1986, she was ready for her debut. In the second half of this podcast, we’ll focus on the final result.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back two weeks to our in-person program with American playwright David Mamet. David joined us to discuss the release of his latest book, Recessional: The Death of Free Speech and the Cost of a Free Lunch. David Mamet is most known for his work as a playwright and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed the Plow. Feature films that he wrote include “The Verdict,” “The Untouchables,”, “Hoffa,” “Hannibal” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice.”
Armed Forces Day is upon us – it’s the 3rd Saturday in May. And right now, there’s an historic exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley - running through October 9th – called the Secrets of World War II honoring those brave men and women who served and supported our troops. Our curators have assembled hundreds of artifacts from museums and private collections - never before seen together – which reveal compelling stories of technological advancement, creative problem solving, and incredible human persistence under the backdrop of world’s largest and most destructive war in history. If you have a chance to visit the Reagan Library to see this exhibit, you’ll love it. And we’re mentioning this in our podcast, because President Reagan always remembered to honor those men and women currently wearing the cloth of our nation in a radio address to the nation on Armed Forces Day. It was created by President Harry Truman in August, 1949, to those all serving as well as those who sacrificed to defend our freedom.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back a few weeks to our virtual program with Mark Updegrove. Mark is the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and serves as Presidential Historian for ABC News. Mark joined us to discuss his brand new book, Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency, an illuminating account of John F Kennedy’s brief but transformative tenure in the White House.
It turns out that Presidents like to visit schools and deliver remarks. President George HW Bush told a group of junior high students, “I’m not here to tell you what to do or what to think. Maybe you’re accustomed to adults talking about you and at you; well, today, I’m here to talk to you and challenge you. Education matters, and what you do today, and what you don’t do can change your future.”
In 1988, President Reagan told Junior High students they were living in a “time of unlimited possibilities, bounded only by the size of your imagination, the depth of your heart, and the character of your courage.” But earlier, in 1982, he went a step further. The President visited Providence-St. Mel’s High School in Chicago, and actually answered questions. The kids didn’t mince words – they asked him tough questions…from the meaning of the Falkland Island crisis, to the economy to nuclear weapons to gun control.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back a week to May 3, 2022 for our in-person event with Larry Hogan, the Governor of Maryland and previous Chairman of the National Governor’s Association, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Governor Larry Hogan, Jr. was sworn in as the 62nd governor of Maryland on January 21, 2015. In 2018, he was overwhelmingly re-elected to a four-year term, receiving the most votes of any Maryland gubernatorial candidate and becoming only the second Republican governor to be re-elected in the 242-year history of the state. During his Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Governor Hogan addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.
It’s commencement address season and like all American presidents, our 40th delivered quite a few. One of his most memorable was at his Alma Mater, Eureka College on May 9, 1982, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his class of ’32. So in this podcast, we’ll listen to an excerpt from that historic Commencement address in which he used the occasion to launch the START program for reducing nuclear weapons for both the United States and Russia. In the second half of the podcast, we’ll hear his speech after he had been inducted into Eureka College’s Athletic Hall of Fame – get ready to smile and laugh. It’s a classic.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back just over one week to our Reagan Forum with Former Attorney General Bill Barr. This wasn’t just a regular Reagan Forum – it was also our first Reagan Book Club event, a membership program which connects like-minded individuals with exclusive reading materials, impactful experiences with world-class authors, and a passionate community to cultivate meaningful connections and thoughtful discussions about the history, state and direction of our nation. Bill Barr came to the Reagan Library to discuss his new book, One Damn Thing After Another, his candid memoir which takes readers behind the scenes during seminal moments of the 1990s, from the LA riots to Pan Am 103, to 30 years later while facing an unrelenting barrage of issues, such as Russiagate, the COVID outbreak, civil unrest, the impeachments, and the 2020 election fallout.
By May, 1982, the President’s economic reforms were just starting to kick in, slowly. Once his economic reform package passed in August 1981, he relied on Republican Congressional support to reassure their constituents to have faith that the reforms would eventually kick the economy into full gear. As you might recall, Republicans were in the minority in the House with Tip O’Neill as the Speaker. In the Senate, Republicans held a small majority, only 53, seats with Howard Baker as Majority Leader.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back a week to April 21, 2022 for our in-person event with American politician and former CIA clandestine officer who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 23rd congressional district from 2015 to 2021, William Hurd. Congressman Hurd came to the Reagan Library to discuss his latest book, “American Reboot: An Idealist’s Guide to Getting Big Things Done,” a bold political playbook for America rooted in the timeless ideals of bipartisanship, inclusivity, and democratic values.
As you perhaps recall, in the late 1970's, the energy crisis was in full swing. The price of gasoline and oil were soaring as we waited hours in gas lines and worried about a shortage of heating oil in the winter. Demands for more energy ran up against serious environmental concerns. Sound familiar? Over a 5 year period, Governor Reagan, then out of office, delivered 85 broadcasts on the energy problem and environment – we’ll listen to two of them today…one entitled OIL I and the other entitled OPEC.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back only a few days to April 19, 2022 for our in-person event with United States Senator Tim Scott, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Tim Scott grew up in a poor, single parent household in South Carolina. But after graduating college and building his own successful small business, Tim Scott developed his mission statement he still lives by today – to positively affect the lives of a billion people. He current serves as the Senator from South Carolina after first being appointed to the position by Governor Nikki Haley in 2013 and then winning his seat in a special election in 2014. He was elected to a full term in 2016.
40 years ago on April 15, 1982, President Reagan met with reporters in the Oval Office to announce his plans to speak to the United Nations’ Arms Limitation Conference in June. He also suggested that General Secretary Brezhnev of the Soviet Union would do the same. And he hoped he could meet with the elusive Soviet Leader during the Conference. Ultimately, Brezhnev did not attend the Conference but sent Andrei Gromyko, the Soviet Foreign Minister, in his place. Rumors were that Brezhnev was in poor health, and yes, ultimately confirmed by his death five months later in November 1982. But just a few days after President Reagan met with those reporters in the Oval Office in April, he felt compelled to report to the American people his approach and his strong beliefs on the subject of nuclear war and delivered this radio address on April 17th.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back only a week to April 6, 2022 for our in-person event with Kristi Noem, the Governor of South Dakota, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Kristi Noem has served as the 33rd governor of South Dakota since 2019, and is the state’s first female governor. In addition to serving as Governor, Kristi Noem is a wife, lifelong rancher, and small business owner. Despite all of this, she says that her greatest accomplishment is raising her three children.
As the world watches the Soviet Union march through Ukraine, terrorizing and pillaging, we’ll go back to the words of Ronald Reagan in his autobiography when he noted that in the 70’s, the Soviets interpreted our hesitation and reluctance to act, along with our reduced sense of National self-confidence, as a weakness and exploited it to the fullest, to create a communist dominated world.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just a few days to April 4, 2022 for our in-person event with Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Previously, Amy Coney Barrett served as a law clerk for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 1997 to 1998, and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1998 Term. After two years in private law practice in Washington, D.C., she became a law professor, joining the faculty of Notre Dame Law School in 2002. She was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2017. During the event at the Reagan Library she sat on stage in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Board Chairman Fred Ryan.
Russian aggression is top of mind today with their tragic invasion of Ukraine. Sadly, it’s not a new topic if you look at the Reagan archives where citizen Reagan was speaking to Americans. Let’s go back to these words from his speech in October 1964, 58 years ago.Russian aggression is top of mind today with their tragic invasion of Ukraine. Sadly, it’s not a new topic if you look at the Reagan archives where citizen Reagan was speaking to Americans. Let’s go back to these words from his speech in October 1964, 58 years ago.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back two months to our Reaganism Podcast with Former Congressman and Senator of Missouri, Jim Talent. In this episode of Reaganism, Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim and Senator Talent discuss the 2021 report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The discussion touches on China's trade practices as well as their activities in the Xinjiang and Hong Kong regions.
Today’s podcast continues on the theme of Taiwan and China, but we’re moving up to 1984. In the spring of 1984, President Reagan spent six days in the People’s Republic of China, visiting Beijing and Shanghai. This visit followed Premier Zhao Ziyang’s visit to Washington DC in January 1984, clearing the diplomatic path for the President to visit China.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to March 7, 2022 for our in-person event with United States Senator Tom Cotton, who was the Foundation’s sixth speaker in its Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Tom Cotton is the United States Senator from Arkansas. He previously served as a lawyer, leaving law because of the September 11th attacks on our country and joining the military. He served nearly five years on active duty in the United States Army as an Infantry Officer. Senator Cotton served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne and in Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team. Between his two combat tours, he served with The Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery.
Today, we’ll begin a two-part podcast about Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China by hearing Ronald Reagan’s thoughts in the 70’s and 80’s. Governor Ronald Reagan was a vocal supporter of Taiwan and was first introduced to the country in 1971 when he traveled there at the request of President Nixon. His task was to reassure Chiang Kai-shek that the United States remained committed to U.S.-Taiwan relations, even though Henry Kissinger was holding secret meetings in the People’s Republic of China. Ronald Reagan regarded Taiwan as a loyal, democratic, longtime ally to whom we owed unqualified support and he was concerned how Al Haig and others in the state department were so eager to improve relations with the Peoples Republic of China, that, ultimately as president, tried to press him back from this pledge of support.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present American journalist and political commentator John Avlon, who joined us at the Reagan Library virtually on February 28, 2022, to discuss his newest book, Lincoln and the Fight for Peace which is a revelatory history of Abraham Lincoln’s plan to secure a just and lasting peace after the Civil War — a vision that inspired future presidents as well as the world’s most famous peacemakers, including Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a story of war and peace, race and reconciliation.
For today’s podcast, we’re showcasing how President Reagan used humor and Irish wit to build relationships, defuse anger and reach across the aisle consistently. We know how he fought with Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, and we also know how hard he worked to build a relationship with his political foe whom he considered a friend and colleague. You’ll hear him say that we live in “a country which permits two not-so-shy and not-so-retiring Irishmen to have it out on the issues rather than on each other or their countrymen.” A lesson our current politicians seem to have missed.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Speaker Gingrich is well-known as the architect of the “Contract with America” that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994, creating the first conservative majority in the House in 40 years. He is also recognized internationally as an expert on world history, military issues, and international affairs, as he is the longest-serving teacher of the Joint War Fighting course for Major Generals.
The subject today? Newspapers. Every year in March, President Reagan would deliver a speech to the National Newspaper Association at their annual meeting, often inviting them to the White House. His remarks were always very entertaining – and well, you know the phrase, keep your friends close but your enemies closer? He always kept his eye on the ball.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we’re going to break from our normal format to honor President and Mrs. Reagan on what would have been their 70th wedding anniversary on March 4, 2022. 70 years prior, on March 4, 1952, Ronald Reagan wed Nancy Davis at the Little Brown Church in the Valley near Los Angeles, California. Their only wedding guests were their best man and maid of honor, married couple William Holden and his wife, Brenda. It’s been said that Romeo had his Juliet, Antony had his Cleopatra. Prince Edward had his Wallis, and Ronald Reagan had his beloved Nancy. Charlton Heston once said theirs was “probably the greatest love affair in the history of the American Presidency.”
Today’s podcast on the Olympics is inspired by some of the controversies surrounding the 2022 Beijing games, which is no surprise because controversies have plagued this global event for years. Today, you’ll hear Ronald Reagan’s critical thinking on the subject from the 1970’s.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present Craig Shirley, the author of four bestsellers on President Ronald Reagan, including “Rendezvous with Destiny” and “Reagan’s Revolution.” On this visit to the Reagan Library, Craig launched his latest book, “April 1945: The Hinge of History,” which is the long-awaited follow-up to the widely praised December 1941. In April 1945, Craig combines engaging anecdotes with deft research to look at the several events which changed the face of the world forever: the sudden death of President Roosevelt followed by Harry S. Truman’s rise to office; Adolph Hitler’s suicide; and the horrific discoveries of Dachau and Auschwitz. During his visit, Craig sat down with Reagan Foundation Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller to discuss his book.
It’s hard to believe that 80 years ago, the Voice of America, America’s radio outreach to spread freedom and truth globally, was created. So, 40 years ago, in February 1982, our 40th president celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Voice of America. We think you will truly enjoy these remarks – not only does he give a history of the Voice of America, but tells some great old radio stories to entertain his audience.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back two weeks to February 7, 2022 for our in-person event with Peggy Noonan, who was the Foundation’s seventh speaker in its Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. As speech writer and special assistant, Peggy Noonan crafted for Ronald Reagan some of the most memorable addresses of his Presidency. From his unforgettable speech before the “boys of Pointe du Hoc” at Normandy in 1984 to mark the 40th anniversary of D-Day, to his soothing and soaring words that moved a nation forward following the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, Peggy displayed a mastery of her craft. As such, it is of no surprise to anyone that in her years since, as a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. She’s also currently a Trustee for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. During her Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Peggy addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.
In Ronald Reagan’s eight years as president, he held a total of 46 press conferences which is one of the lowest numbers compared to other presidencies. For example, in their eight years, Eisenhower and Clinton faced the press 193 times, Bush ’43 met with the White House Press corps 210 times and to date, Biden is at number nine. Although President Woodrow Wilson held the first presidential press conference on March 15,1913, the modern idea of a live, televised press conference dates basically from the Eisenhower Administration. Prior to that, the rules governing press conferences favored the president.
February 6, 2022 marked the 111th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Wilson Reagan. He used to love to joke that each birthday was the anniversary of his 39th birthday, so 2022 would have marked the 72nd anniversary of his 39th birthday! Since President Reagan’s passing on June 5, 2004, the Reagan Foundation has worked with United States Marine Corps Camp Pendleton to hold a birthday celebration on February 6th of each year to honor the life and legacy of our nation’s 40th president. Each year the program includes live musical entertainment from the 1st Marine Division Band, an honor guard, a rifle guard, and the official laying of the White House Presidential Wreath on President Reagan’s gravesite. Keynote speakers in prior years have included Rudy Giuliani, Elizabeth Dole, James Baker, and Sam Donaldson. In this week’s A Reagan Forum podcast, we listen in to the ceremony held on February 6, 2022 with keynote speaker Peggy Noonan.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just a few days to January 31, 2022 for our in-person event with FBI Director Christopher Wray. Director Wray spoke at the Reagan Library as part of the Library’s special exhibition, FBI: From Al Capone to Al Qaeda, which covers the history of the storied agency from inception to its modern-day efforts to fight domestic terrorism in the United States.
One of the most heartbreaking moments in Reagan’s presidency came early in his term, when his dear friend and colleague, Anwar Sadat, was assassinated. The President greatly admired everything about his leadership and character and worried about who would follow and uphold the principles the fine man initiated. Who would take the helm in Egypt? The man who followed Sadat, Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, was an Egyptian military and political leader who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.
Ronald Reagan had tremendous respect for FDR, in many ways; in how he communicated and inspired the American people and how FDR was a devoted public servant. 40 years ago, on January 28th, 1982, the President delivered remarks at a White House Luncheon, celebrating the Centennial of the Birth of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We’ll listen to these remarks but first, on May 25th, 1977, then former Governor Ronald Reagan delivered a radio address, entitled Public Servants. As you listen, think about the Air Traffic Controllers strike which occurred 4 years later in 1981, during his first year in office.
This week’s Reagan Forum Podcast goes back to last month’s Reagan National Defense Forum, for our 4th panel of the day, entitled Defense in the Digital Age: US Cyber Capabilities and the Future of Warfare. The panel included Representative Mike Gallagher, Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations for the US Navy, Dr. Alex Karp, Cofounder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, and General Paul Nakasone, Commander of the United States Cyber Command. The panel was moderated by New York Times reporter Julian Barnes.
On January 27, 1987, President Ronald Reagan delivered his sixth State of the Union address, calling for cuts in domestic spending, an increase in the defense budget, and an assurance of no tax increases. But before he delivered the speech to Congress, he prepared a radio address to the nation, to be delivered several days before his annual State of the Union Address. Inspired by FDR’s Fireside Chats, Ronald Reagan felt there was an intimacy to radio which could not be replicated. And this intimacy provided an opportunity to touch the American people in a completely unique way. So, on January 24, 1987, in this informative address, the President gave the American people a little history on the State of the Union tradition.
This week’s Reagan Forum Podcast will be a little different, as we will spend it by honoring the expansion of the Reagan Library Peace Through Strength Pavilion.
In this podcast, we’ll look back to a few addresses delivered by President Reagan in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. As you recall, beginning almost immediately after King’s assassination in April 1968, members of Congress proposed that his birthday ought to be a national holiday, but bills mandating the occasion went nowhere. The effort received more publicity when, after about a decade, shortly after the failure of a bill that was introduced by Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan in September of 1979, Stevie Wonder released a song called “Happy Birthday.” Despite its cheery title, it was specifically meant to make a case for the holiday, calling out anyone who didn’t support the idea. In 1982, Coretta Scott King and Stevie Wonder presented a petition with more than six million signatures in support of the holiday to the then speaker of the house. In November 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill establishing the third Monday of January as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday.
In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we go back one month to our 2021 Reagan National Defense Forum. But rather than share one of the panel discussions, as we’ve been previously doing, this podcast is going to focus on our annual Peace Through Strength Award ceremony. Presented at each Reagan National Defense Forum since 2013, the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award recognizes those who have applied, with constant purpose, a strategy to strengthen our armed forces, support our military men and women striving around the world, reinforce our nation’s defense systems and safeguard the lives and interests of the American people.
Delivering a warm New Year’s greeting to the American people was always an important tradition for President Reagan. And these greetings reflected more than the extension of glad tidings and joy. By January 1982, 40 years ago, he had been in office 11 months, he already witnessed the successful passage of his economic agenda and, interestingly, began to transition to a global strategy with speeches throughout the year, echoing his intentions.
As we approach a new year, let’s throw a Hail Mary pass to one of President Reagan’s favorite sports….football. So in this podcast, we’ll cover his thoughts on sports, his New Years Address, 40 years ago on January 1, 1982 when he focused on the Rose Bowl competitors, Iowa and the Washington Huskies, we’ll catch his Remarks at the opening of the Champions of America exhibit, and we’ll listen to his interview with Tom Brokaw at Superbowl 20 in 1986.
In June of 1982, President Reagan delivered a prophetic address to British members of Parliament at Westminster on June 8, 1982. In that speech, he said that the Soviet Union, the home of Marxist Leninism, was gripped by a great Revolutionary crisis. And the pivot of that crisis was…Poland, which was still under martial law in 1982, first imposed in December 1981. 40 years ago this month.
As we sit between Christmas and New Year’s, we take time to reflect on the year past and the year ahead. From all of us at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, we wish you and your family the happiest and healthiest of holiday seasons. In this week’s A Reagan Forum Podcast, we’re going to go listen to some of our “Best Of Ronald Reagan” podcasts to help keep you in the holiday spirit.
As we continue to bring you some of the panels and discussions at last month’s Reagan National Defense Forum, in this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we’ll look at our closing session, entitled “Enduring challenges and strategic choices; a conversation with former secretaries of defense.” The panelists included two former secretaries of defense – The honorable Mark Esper and the Honorable Leon Panetta. The conversation was moderated by Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer.
There’s a lot of talk about the environment these days – climate change of course – but also many other issues. With those issues top of mind, let’s take another look at those seminal radio addresses, written in the late 70’s. Initially, when he set out to write these essays, there was no special plan to cover particular issues. From 1975-1979, he chose various topics week by week, choosing ones that he thought were timely. The result was nonetheless a blueprint for the policy issues that were important to Reagan from 1975-1979.
On December 3 and 4, 2021, the Reagan Foundation and Institute held its annual Reagan National Defense Forum. In its eighth year, the Defense Forum has quickly become one of our nation’s premier gatherings for defense and national security experts. In an era where the threats to our national security are increasing in number and complexity, the Reagan National Defense Forum allows senior leaders from the defense community to come together with viewpoints on how best to deal with these challenges. As such, this year’s theme was Peace Through Strength: Enduring Challenges and Strategic Choices. During this year’s Defense Forum our panels addressed enduring and emerging threats to our national security and what strategic choices we can make to preserve our advantage. From traditional regional theaters to new domains of competition, we must ensure we have the strategy and resources necessary to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. This year’s Defense Forum’s keynote address was delivered by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Lloyd Austin, followed by a Q&A led by Fox News Anchor Bret Baier.
You may recall a recent gubernatorial election in the state of Virginia where a virtual unknown Republican by the name of Glenn Youngkin prevailed. Basically, the pundits hailed his win as a victory for parental rights in education. 45 years ago, the same concern was expressed by Governor Reagan in a radio address to the nation. Actually, he wrote a number of essays on what was wrong with American education and today, you’ll have a chance to listen to a few of these. You’ll note a strong theme running throughout all his writings…which is the desirability of local control and the dangers of interference by the federal government.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just a few days to November 30, 2021 for our in-person conversation with New York Times best selling author Joel Rosenberg on his newest book, Enemies and Allies: An Unforgettable Journey Inside the Fast Moving and Immensely Turbulent Modern Middle East. Joel Rosenberg is most known for his 16 political thriller novels like The Last Jihad and The Auschwitz Escape. But he is also an American-Israeli communicators strategist, non-profit executive and author of multiple non-fiction books, including the one he joined us for. Among the readers of his books are Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former President George W. Bush, former CIA Director Porter Goss, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, former Israeli Interior Minister Natan Sharansky, and many other foreign leaders.
Today, when most of us think about Venezuela, the former socialist President Hugo Chavez comes to mind. He led the nation from 2002 until his death in 2013. While initially a “populist” leader, he implemented a socialist revolution, fueled by massive oil revenues and made the country resemble an authoritarian state. After his death, President Nicolas Maduro succeeded him along with Juan Guaido, and the net result has been dismal. The South American country has been caught in a downward spiral for years with growing political discontent further fuelled by skyrocketing hyperinflation, power cuts, and shortages of food and medicine. More than 5.6 million Venezuelans have left the country in recent years. But in 1981, 40 years ago, when our 40th President came into office, Venezuela’s leader was an advocate of democracy. With a desire to solidify the relationship with this important South American ally, President Reagan held a state dinner in November 1981 for President Luis Herrera Campins and welcomed him to the White House.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go to our in-person program with conservative talk radio host and bestselling author Michael Medved. Mr. Medved was kind enough to be our first in-person event back in July 2021 after we had been shutdown for 14 months due to COVID. The event was so successful, that he agreed to come back. Michael Medved returned to the Reagan Library just before the Thanksgiving Holiday to discuss “Guilt versus Gratitude” which confronts America’s self-esteem crisis. For all their raging disagreements, the detractors and defenders of the United States share one point of common conviction: that America represents an unprecedented, deeply consequential development in the history of civilization. The core dispute behind our current culture war involves the nature of that uniqueness, and whether America qualifies as exceptionally guilty or exceptionally great. Michael Medved addresses this ferocious debate in the context of his two New York Times bestselling books, THE AMERICAN MIRACLE and THE 10 BIG LIES ABOUT AMERICA.
1981 was a year of firsts: Ronald Reagan’s first year as President and the Space Shuttle’s first mission in April and second mission in November. From Space Shuttle Columbia’s first journey in 1981 to the last journey of Endeavour in June 2011 the Space Shuttle program inspired many Americans in many different ways. Today, we’re focused on the Space Shuttle Columbia, know as the First in the Fleet.
In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we go back one week to the Reagan Library’s Veterans Day Program, which included an honor guard, live music, and keynote remarks by United States Marine Corps Vietnam veteran Bob Parsons. Mr. Parsons is the recipient of the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. An American entrepreneur, he is best-known as the founder of GoDaddy.com and PXG. He and his wife are also the founders of The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, which provides transformational grants to nonprofit organizations including those who focus on the needs of wounded veterans and military families.
During the assassination attempt of President Reagan in March 1981, his Press Secretary James Brady was severely wounded and permanently disabled by Hinckley’s random shots. The wound left him with slurred speech and partial paralysis that required the full-time use of a wheelchair. Never able to return to work, President and Mrs. Reagan honored his contribution by renaming the Press Briefing Room as the Brady Press Briefing Room, 40 years ago on November 9th, 1981. In this podcast, we’ll learn about this remarkable man, James Brady, we’ll learn a little about the history of the White House Press Room and we’ll catch the President’s remarks with some fun banter from Mr. Brady and Mrs. Reagan, along with a few members of the press, like Sam Donaldson and Helen Thomas.
Although today is Veterans Day, we will spend today’s Reagan Forum Podcast celebrating the Reagan Library’s 30th Anniversary. Last week we brought you the official opening day ceremonies from November 4, 1991. Today we go back just a few days to November 7, 2021, for the Library’s 30th Anniversary Commemorative Program, featuring former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former Reagan Speechwriter Peter Robinson, and David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States.
40 years ago this month, President Reagan was delighted to accept an award, presented to him at the 84th Annual Dinner of the Irish-American Society in New York City. He was introduced by Dr. Kevin Cahill, president of the Society, who presented the President with a medal representing the Society's highest award. Now of course, it’s an honor receive an award. But what the President truly enjoyed was a chance to celebrate his Irish heritage and tell a few stories himself.
On November 4, 1991, President Reagan stood alongside four other living U.S. Presidents – the first time in history five presidents had ever gathered together before – and officially opened the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. Since that time, millions of visitors have visited our hilltop to experience the life and legacy of our nation’s 40th president. And, in those 30 years, we have grown – in 2005 we opened the Air Force One Pavilion which houses President Reagan’s Air Force One, President Johnson’s Marine One, and a portion of Ronald Reagan’s motorcade; in 2011 we renovated all of our galleries; in 2018 we added a hologram of President Reagan, and we’ve added outdoor displays, including an F14 fighter jet, an F117 stealth fighter jet, and an M1 Abrams tank. And, of course, the Reagan Library is now the final resting place for both President and Mrs. Reagan. In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back 30 years today to the opening of the Library, to hear the opening day’s ceremonies.
Today the subject is Presidential Libraries because this month we’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. But wait, here’s a question for ya – who was the first President to have a Presidential Library by leaving his papers to the Federal Government? The answer is FDR who not only left his papers, but ultimately, his Hyde Park residence. So, that’s why we hear about George Washington’s or Thomas Jefferson’s or Lincoln’s papers in private collections because earlier, when a President left office, he just packed up the work product and went home. So, after FDR left his to the government, President Truman followed suit, leaving his papers to the government at which point Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act, providing Federal Funding for the preservation of the work product of the White House.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back one month to September 9, 2021 for our virtual program entitled, Digital Defense and Deterrence: America’s Cybersecurity Posture. The program featured America’s first National Cyber Director, Chris Inglis, and Dave Levy of Amazon Web Services as they focused on the future of U.S. cyber defenses across the national security interagency. The program also covered recent congressional policy interventions (including creating the National Cyber Director position), the Biden Administration’s approach to cyber, the importance of a unified cyber strategy, and how private sector partners can bolster U.S. cyber readiness.
When a President enters office, he inherits unfinished business from the prior administration. 40 years ago, one of the bits of dicey business President Reagan inherited was a promise made by President Carter to sell AWACS or Advance Radar Surveillance Aircraft to Saudi Arabia.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back one month to September 14, 2021 for our virtual event held in partnership with the Heritage Foundation, entitled “Does President Reagan Matter to Generation Z?” The program was moderated by Joseph Loconte, the Director for the B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies at Heritage, as well as Tunku Varadarajan, a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. The panel included Matthew Continetti, Senior Fellow from the American Enterprise Institute, Henry Nau, a professor emeritus of political science at George Washington University, and Reagan Biographer Craig Shirley.
40 years ago, on October 6, 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated. Both President and Mrs. Reagan were deeply disturbed to learn of this tragedy, as only two months before, they warmly welcomed President Sadat and his wife to the White House and honored them with a state dinner. In this podcast, we’ll learn about the tragic assassination attempt, the funeral and in the second half of the podcast, the relationship that developed between the Reagans and the Sadats in August 1981.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to April 19, 2021, for our virtual event with former GE CEO Jeff Immelt for a conversation on his latest book, Hot Seat: What I learned leading a great American company. Jeff Immelt served as Chairman and CEO of GE for 16 years where he revamped the company’s strategy, global footprint, workforce, and culture. During his tenure, he led several innovative transformations that doubled industrial earnings, reshaped the portfolio, re-established market leadership, and quadrupled emerging market revenue. He is currently a Venture Partner at New Enterprise Associates and he has been named one of the World’s Best CEOs three times by Barrons. Let's listen.
In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to February 18, 2021 event with Senator Tom Cotton. The program, entitled, “China, Targeted Decoupling, and the Economic Long War,” was the virtual launch of a report from Senator Tom Cotton which offered recommendations for how the United States can decouple key strategic sectors of its economy from China, mitigate the costs of decoupling, and reorganize parts of the federal government to wage the economic long war with China. The conversation with Senator Cotton was held with Reagan Institute Director, Roger Zakheim. Let’s Listen
Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel’s day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. Known as Yom HaShoah in Israel, the national memorial day is held on the Jewish Calendar’s 27th day of Nisan, which falls in April or May on our calendar. In 2021, the memorial fell on sundown of April 7 through sundown of April 8. On April 20, 1982, President Reagan delivered remarks for the 2nd annual commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the holocaust. Let’s listen.
As we continue to commemorate the 40th anniversary year of Ronald Reagan becoming our nation’s president, we come to April 24, 2021, which marks the 40th anniversary of Ronald Reagan sending a letter to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev to try to begin a discussion and negotiation on the Soviet Union’s arms buildup. In March of 1983, President Reagan addressed the nation on defense and national security to discuss America’s defenses and the increase in America’s military build-up. During the speech, he spoke about Secretary Brezhnev. Let’s listen.
n this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our March 11, 2021 virtual event with Midshipman 1st Class Sydney Barber. In December 2020 Sydney Barber was appointed as the brigade commander for the United States Naval Academy – the first black female brigade commander at the academy. In an interview with The Capital Gazette about the appointment, Sydney said, “I see it more as a responsibility and a privilege and an honor to be able to be someone to pave the way. I feel extremely blessed that I have this opportunity to open doors for people who are coming after me.” The brigade commander — who serves for a semester — is selected by the academy's senior leadership through an application and interview process. The role was previously held by 1st Class Ryan Chapman, who called Barber a "catalyst for action, a visionary, a listener, a doer, and a person driven by compassion, by faith, by a fierce sense of passion and heart full of love." Barber, who is a mechanical engineering major, joined the Reagan Foundation’s Chief Learning Officer Tony Pennay in a conversation about her role. Let’s listen.
As part of the year-long commemoration, the Reagan Foundation will be holding a series of virtual events that look at, and discuss, one of these historic anniversary dates. The first virtual event in this series commemorated the 40th anniversary of that fateful day – March 30, 1981 – when President Reagan and three others were shot. During this virtual event, which originally aired on YouTube on March 30, 2021, you will hear from the people who were there that day, including Former United States Secret Service Agent Ray Shaddick, the agent who helped shove President Reagan into the car, before closing the door behind him Former United States Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy, who was struck by one of the bullets aimed at President Reagan Former White House Advance Staff Rick Ahearn, who helped to save White House Press Secretary James Brady’s life with his quick actions that day Former White House Speechwriter Mari (Maseng) Will, who drafted the speech the President delivered that day and was walking in front of the President when the shots rang out. Let's Listen
During today’s conversation with Martha MacCallum, Dana Perino discusses Everything Will be Okay, a no-nonsense how-to guide to life for young women looking to reframe their thinking, to believe in themselves, to take risks, to understand their power, and to feel better overall through finding serenity and taking action. The book covers topics such as how to manage your relationships, how to be your best self on the job, how to solve the biggest problems you’re facing, and how to move past perceived obstacles. For everyone from the job-seeker fresh out of college to the ambitious career woman looking to make her next big jump up the ladder, Everything Will be Okay has tips, advice, and reassurance for young women everywhere. Let’s listen.
In this week’s Words to Live By, we honor St. Patrick’s Day, the cultural and religious celebration held each year on March 17th, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. The holiday has evolved over the years into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking…and a whole lot of green! Ronald Reagan’s ancestral homeland was Ballyporeen, Ireland, and he was extremely proud of his Irish roots. In June of 1984, during a diplomatic mission to Ireland, President and Mrs. Reagan visited Ballyporeen, where he discovered a local pub named in his honor!
The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the federal government of the United, States, especially with regard to the president, senior aides, and executives, as well as government policies. The press secretary is responsible for collecting information about actions and events within the president's administration and issues the administration's reactions to developments around the world. The press secretary interacts with the media and the White House press corps on a daily basis. President Reagan selected James Brady for his first White House Press Secretary. Just 40 when Ronald Reagan gave him the White House job, he had already served as a spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Office of Management and Budget and the Pentagon, and for the failed presidential campaign of Texas Republican John Connally. Exactly two months into the job, on March 21, 1981, President Reagan joined in the fun during a roast in honor of Press Secretary Brady.
While in office, President Reagan visited 26 foreign countries, and countless U.S. cities, traveling over 660,000 miles in Air Force One – more than any other president at that time. His first visit outside of the United States? To Canada, in March of 1981. We learn more about this trip in this week’s Words To Live By Podcast.
Tim Tebow is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Tim Tebow Foundation which works to bring faith, hope, and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need. He has granted close to 100 official W15H experiences through his W15H program, which fulfills the dreams of children with life-threatening illnesses. Working with so many special children inspired Tim to write his first children’s book, Bronco and Friends: A Party to Remember. Each character in the book is named after one of the W15H kids he has met, children who have since passed away. In a recent interview in People Magazine, Tim said that these children have had such an impact on his life, so it was important to him to honor them, their memory, and how much they meant to him. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Tim Tebow discusses his new book, a book that he hopes inspires children to appreciate that they are unique, special and wonderful. Let’s listen.
In this week’s A Reagan Forum we bring you one of the world’s best selling authors and trusted storytellers – James Patterson - who joined us on February 17, 2021 for conversation on his latest book, Walk in My Combat Boots. Joining us in the conversation was the book’s co-author, First Sergeant Matt Eversmann who’s story of survival during a combat in Mogadishu in 1993 is told in the epic film, Black Hawk Down. James Patterson’s writing career is characterized by a single mission: to prove that there is no such thing as a person who “doesn’t like to read,” only people who haven’t found the right book. He has given over three million books to schoolkids and the military, donated more than seventy million dollars to support education, and endowed over five thousand college scholarships for teachers. With over 150 millions copies of his book in print, and over 180 titles printed, James Patterson recently called Walk in My Combat Boots the most important book of his career. The book is a powerful collection, crafted from hundreds of original interviews which are the brutally honest stories usually only shared amongst comrades in arms. Here, in the voices of the men and women who’ve fought overseas from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, is a rare eye-opening look into what wearing the uniform, fighting in combat, losing friends and coming home is really like. Readers who next thank a military member for their service will finally have a true understanding of what that thanks is for. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, James Patterson and Matt Eversmann discuss their book, which they say will change the way you view our military. It’s the stories that your fathers and mothers, your sons and daughters, who have come back from battle have never been able to tell you.
A White House state dinner honors a visiting head of government or reigning monarch and is one of the grandest and most glamorous of White House affairs. It is part of an official state visit and provides the president and first lady the opportunity to honor the visiting head of state and his or her spouse. It is a courtesy—an expression of goodwill—a way of extending hospitality. It brings to mind the tradition of breaking bread with friends to seal a friendship. It is an event that also showcases global power and influence. The traditional toasts exchanged by the two leaders at the dinner offer an important and appropriate platform for the continuation of the serious dialogue that has taken place earlier in the day. Let’s now listen to the Toasts of President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher at the first State Dinner, on February 26, 1981.
President Reagan loved his birthday. He always joked it was an anniversary of his 39th birthday. This February 6th would have marked the 71st anniversary of his 39th birthday. In honor of this week commemorating the 110th anniversary of his birth passing, this week’s “Reagan Forum” podcast is a compilation of past birthday events as a tribute to our nation’s 40th president. Let’s start with Secretary James Baker and his remarks honoring what would have been President Reagan’s 107th birthday, on February 6, 2018:
Since the 1981 inauguration of Ronald Reagan, the ceremony has been held at the west front of the United States Capitol facing the National Mall, with its iconic Washington Monument and distant Lincoln Memorial. But prior to being elected president, candidates must go through the debate process. Let’s start this podcast with our “Ronald Reagan Greatest Debate Moments” collection.
On January 27, 1981, just six days after the inauguration, President Reagan welcomed all of the freed American hostages at the White House and greeted each of them individually. Let’s listen to his remarks from that day.
In this week’s A Reagan Forum we bring you Senator Connie Mack, who joined us in conversation on January 19, 2021 for his recent, Citizen Mack: Politics, an Honorable Calling. Cornelius McGillicuddy III, popularly known as Connie Mack, is a Republican politician who served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (between 1983 and 1988) and two terms in the U.S. Senate (between 1989 and 2001) before announcing his retirement in 2000. Throughout his service in both the House and Senate, Connie Mack supported the passage of legislation related to health care, financial modernization, modification of the tax code, and public housing reform. A cancer survivor, Senator Mack was a strong advocate for cancer research, early detection, and treatment, co-founding the Senate Cancer Coalition.Fun fact? His paternal grandfather was Connie Mack, former owner and manager of baseball's Philadelphia Athletics and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Senator Mack discusses his new book, which former Vice President Dick Cheney calls “an account of his spiritual journey which is honest, humble, and explains much about the man and his life of service. Let’s listen.
In this week’s A Reagan Forum we bring you American speechwriter Mark Salter, who joined us in conversation on December 7, 2020, for his brand-new book, The Luckiest Man: Life with John McCain. Governor and Mrs. Reagan first came to know John McCain as a returning prisoner of war whose POW bracelet they had worn. That bracelet has been on display in the Reagan Library since its opening in 1991. In the years after, he became a deeply respected and cherished personal friend. Senator McCain was an inspiring risk-taker. Time and again, he demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice for his country and his beliefs. From his extraordinary courage in a Hanoi dungeon to his practice of putting principle over political expediency, he consistently modeled character and conviction. Mark Salter’s Luckiest Man is a deeply personal and candid remembrance of the late Senator John McCain from one of his closest and most trusted confidants, friends, and political advisors who worked with the Senator on several nonfiction books as well as on political speeches, and who also served as his chief of staff. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Mark Salter discusses his new book, which covers all the major events of McCain’s life while also introducing aspects of the man that the public rarely saw and hardly knew. Woven throughout this narrative is also the story of Salter and McCain’s close relationship, including how they met, and why their friendship stood the test of time in a political world known for its fickle personalities and frail bonds. The capstone to Salter’s intimate and decades-spanning time with the Senator, The Luckiest Man is the authoritative last word on the stories McCain was too modest to tell himself and an influential life not soon to be forgotten. Let’s listen.
LtGen McMaster was the 26th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984, McMaster served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018. He is currently the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, HR McMaster discusses his brand-new book, “Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free world” which is a bold and provocative re-examination of the most critical foreign policy and national security challenges that face the United States, and an urgent call to compete to preserve America’s standing and security. Let’s listen.
In November of 1979, militants in Iran seized 66 American citizens at the US embassy in Tehran and held 52 of them hostage for more than a year. Negotiations to get the citizens returned safely to America were hard, as the US administration struggled to find anyone to negotiate within a meaningful fashion. On January 27, 1981, just six days after the inauguration, President Reagan welcomed all of the freed American hostages at the White House and greeted each of them individually. Let’s listen to his remarks from that day.
In this week’s A Reagan Forum, we bring you bestselling author and humorist Dave Barry, who joined us in conversation on December 1, 2020. According to his website, Dave Barry has been a professional humorist ever since he discovered that professional humor was a lot easier than working. For many years he wrote a newspaper column that appeared in more than 500 newspapers across the country, winning the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1988. He has also written more than 30 books. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Dave Barry discusses his writing career and his love of dogs, not to mention the softcover release of his latest book, Lessons from Lucy, the Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog, in which Dave decides that his dog is aging better than he is, and it’s time to figure out why. Let’s listen.
January 20, 2021, otherwise known as Inauguration day. But it’s also historic for another reason. January 20, 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, making him the 40th president of the united states. Let’s use this podcast to go back 40 years in time, and listen to President Reagan’s inspiring 1981 inaugural address. Let's listen.
Although we’re two months past the event, we wanted to share with you today our November 11, 2020 Veterans Day Ceremony which was very special to us at the Reagan Foundation. Veterans Day is always special to us – as it’s a day to thank our nation’s heroes for our freedom – but this year was even more special because it was the first in-person event we have held since the COVID19 shutdown of our campus. We were only permitted to host 100 people on our campus, and those 100 people were made up of veterans, active military, and their families, and then the event was live-streamed to anyone else who wanted to watch. Our program had two keynote speakers – Congressman and former fighter pilot – Mike Garcia, and Congressman and former Navy Seal, Dan Crenshaw. Congressman Garcia represents California’s 25th congressional district – which is home to the Reagan Library. He’s also a highly decorated United States Naval officer and leader who served his country with distinction and is lauded as one of the most talented fighter pilots in the Navy. Congressman Crenshaw represents Texas’s 2nd congressional district. As a Navy Seal he served five overseas deployments, and during the third was struck by an IED blast in Afghanistan, destroying his right eye and leaving him almost blind in his left. Yet he recovered and did two more deployments overseas, finally retiring in 2016 as a Lt Commander. Let’s listen.
Ronald Reagan made a point of honoring American heroes—in ceremonies at the White House and on many other occasions. During his State of the Union Addresses, he began a tradition of extending the nation’s gratitude to ordinary citizens who met extraordinary challenges. He described heroes best during his first State of the Union address, which he delivered on January 26, 1982. Let’s listen.
With President Reagan’s staunch support, NASA put the Space Shuttle to work on 27 occasions during his administration alone, carrying people into orbit, launching, recovering and repairing satellites, conducting cutting-edge research and building the largest structure in space, the International Space Station. Let’s now listen to President Reagan’s radio addresses to the nation on the space program.
In December of 1985, just a month after their Geneva meeting, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to record a joint New Year’s Message – one that would play over the radio in both the United States and the Soviet Union. President Reagan recorded his half at 9am on December 28th from the Century Plaza Hotel in los Angeles. It was actually broadcast via television at 1pm on January 1st in the Soviet Union. Let's listen.
We’ll start today’s podcast by listening to President Reagan’s 1983 Radio Address to the Nation on the Celebration of Christmas. Let's listen.
We present a very special speaker in this week’s “A Reagan Forum,” which centers around our November 10, 2020 event with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. On November 10th, Secretary Pompeo spoke to a small crowd of invited guests to launch the Reagan Institute’s Center for Freedom and Democracy, a program that reaffirms Americans’ commitment to freedom and democracy during a period when our system of government is in doubt at home, and under assault abroad. Let’s listen.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we bring you Fox News Host Maria Bartiromo and the Wall Street Journal’s James Freeman, who joined us in a virtual conversation on November 18, 2020. Maria Bartiromo joined FOX Business Network as the Global Markets Editor in January 2014. She is the anchor of Mornings with Maria and Sunday Morning Futures on that channel. James Freeman is assistant editor of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page and author of the weekday Best of the Web column. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Maria Bartiromo and James Freeman discuss their brand-new book, “The Cost: Trump, China, and American Revival,” which explains why, in the wake of the coronavirus—which clearly has had an effect on the economy—now, more than ever, strong leadership is critical for American revival and recovery. Let’s listen.
Candace Owens is the founder of the BLEXIT Foundation, which is dedicated to the advancement of urban and minority communities by encouraging youth to seek and take advantage of opportunities in 21st Century America.. She is also the host of “The Candace Owens Show” on PragerU which airs every other Sunday. In describing herself, she has said: Choosing to think has been one of the most transformative secrets of my life. It’s brought me closer to others and has opened the world up to me in a way that I never knew was possible. I believe if we can turn the dial on the way people view themselves, we can change the world instantly – for the better. I am a fighter. And right now, I’m fighting for the heart and soul of a country I love. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Candace Owens discusses her brand-new book, “Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape From the Democrat Plantation, “ which she says lays bare the myth that all black people should vote Democrat—and shows why turning to the right will leave them happier, more successful, and more self-sufficient. Let's Listen.
During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Judge Ginsburg discusses his new book, Voices of our Republic, is a companion piece to his 3-part 2020 PBS Series, A more or less perfect union, which he also talks about with us today. Voices of Our Republic features thoughts about the Constitution from personalities, dignitaries, and everyday heroes, who help answer the question of why the Constitution is so important and how it can be applied to political discourse today. Each person emphasizes a different part of the Constitution―from the Bill of Rights to the 19th Amendment and beyond―and why those particular passages are important, serving as a key resource for those looking to better appreciate the foundation of American government and to increase our understanding of its application during its initial creation and still today. Let’s listen.
Speaking of invoking the 11th commandment during campaigning, on June 29, 1987, while speaking to political activists, President Reagan spoke about the importance of following this tenant during elections. Let’s listen.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we bring you Jewish dissident Natan Sharansky and American Historian Dr. Gil Troy, who joined us in a virtual conversation on November 2, 2020. Natan Sharansky was convicted in 1978 on trumped-up charges of treason and spying for the United States, sentenced to 13 years in prison. After spending 16 months in Moscow’s LEF-OR-TOVO prison, frequently in solitary confinement and in a special torture cell, Natan Sharansky was transferred to a notorious prison camp in the Siberian gulag. During the years of his imprisonment, Sharansky became a symbol for human rights in general and Soviet Jewry in particular. Natan Sharansky joins us in conversation today to discuss his new book, Never Alone: Prison, Politics and My People, which is co-written by Gil Troy, an award-winning American presidential historian and a leading Zionist activist, who was recently named as one of the top 100 people “positively influencing Jewish life. They are joined in conversation by Roger Zakheim, director of the Reagan Institute. Let’s listen.
Human Rights Day is observed every year on December 10th – the day the United National General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is a milestone document that proclaims the inalienable rights which everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Let’s now listen to President Reagan’s remarks in 1988 after signing the Human Rights Day Proclamation.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we bring you Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, who joined us in a virtual conversation on October 27, 2020. Matt Gaetz is currently serving his second term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. His work in Congress focuses on national security, veterans’ affairs, and adherence to constitutional principles. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Congressman Gaetz discusses his new book, “Firebrand,” a book he is quoted as saying is “your invitation to the front lines of our fight.” He goes on to say, “This is not my chronological diary. You can watch me on television for that. This is how we prevail with joy—and exactly how an exciting president is leading the way against all odds.” Let’s listen.
On December 1, 1985, Ronald “Dutch” Reagan was honored at an All-Star Tribute by the Variety Club for their annual fundraising dinner. The money raised at this event went to name a children’s hospital building at the University of Nebraska for the president. So in today’s Words to Live By podcast, 35 years after the actual event, we give you the December 1985 All Star Tribute to Ronald Reagan. Let's listen.
uring the virtual conversation, we discussed a brand-new book published by the White House Historical Society called, Wine and the White House: A History. The first book of its kind, Wine and the White House is a comprehensive journey through the history of White House hospitality that explores every president’s experience of wine. The fully illustrated pages also feature memorable presidential toasts, menus from historic White House gatherings, a catalog of vintages served, and spectacular new photography of the White House glassware collection. Early presidents recognized the important function wine played in entertaining at the White House. While some appreciated and enjoyed wine, others considered it merely a ceremonial necessity. Still, others campaigned to outlaw wine and banned it from the White House; their successors celebrated its return. More recently, all presidents, regardless of whether they enjoyed wine themselves, have used the White House as a venue to showcase the fine wines produced in the United States. Today’s conversation was between Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, and the book’s author, Fred Ryan, who served as President Reagan’s Assistant to the President from 1982 to 1989 and as his post-presidential Chief of Staff from 1989 until 1995. Let’s listen.
In this week’s podcast, we begin by presenting President Reagan’s Address on the Upcoming Soviet-United States Summit Meeting in Geneva, delivered on November 14, 1985. Let’s listen.
Sean Spicer is a lifelong Republican. His role in reshaping the Republican National Committee’s PR strategy helped the party rebuild after losses in 2012. He implemented his same strategies in 2014 and lead the party to sweeping victories. In 2016 prior to the must-see Republican primary debates, Sean worked on behalf of the party to restructure debate formats creating more informative and fair debates. Sean’s efforts as the RNC’s Chief Strategist and Communications Director landed him a spot in PR Week’s Power 15 list for 2016. During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Sean Spicer discussed his brand-new book, “Leading America,” which examines the upwards battle conservatives have to face from the media, Hollywood, academia, and big tech. Let’s listen.
In this week’s podcast, we present Ronald Reagan’s famous October 27, 1964 “A Time For Choosing” speech. Let’s listen.
Gerald Seib is the executive Washington Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He joined the Dallas bureau of the WSJ as a reporter in 1978 and transferred to the DC bureau in 1980. He covered the Ronald Reagan White House in 1987 and 1988 and won the Aldo Beckman award for coverage of the White House and the presidency. Mr. Seib was also part of the team from the Wall Street Journal that won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in the breaking news category for its coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks. On August 25, 2020, Gerald Seib’s book, “We Should Have Seen It Coming; From Reagan to Trump – a Front Row Seat to a Political Revolution” was published. The book chronicles the rise, climax, and decline of one of the great political movements in American history—the forty-year reign of the conservative movement, from the election of Ronald Reagan to the Republican Party's takeover by Donald Trump During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute executive director, John Heubusch, Gerald Seib discusses his book, which Rahm Emanuel calls a “thoughtful analysis of the recent historical trends that led us to today.”
During today’s conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Sarah Huckabee Sanders discusses her new memoir, “Speaking for Myself: Faith, Freedom and the Fight of Our Lives Inside the Trump White House,” a book she summaries as the story of her challenges of being a working mom at the highest level of American politics, and her role in the historic fight raging between the Trump administration and its critics for the future of our country.”
“The dreams of people may differ, but everyone wants their dreams to come true…And America, above all places, gives us the freedom to do that, the freedom to reach out and make our dreams come true.” If you search President Reagan’s speeches and papers, you will find hundreds of references to the American Dream. Let’s listen now to his 1982 address to the nation on the economy, where he talks about the importance of renewing the American dream. Let's listen.
Dr. Jamel Wright is the 27th President of Eureka College, Ronald Reagan’s alma mater. She is also the first woman and African American to lead the 165-year-old institution. Dr. Wright has led the effort to update Eureka College’s strategic plan, enhance communications, overhaul the Title IX policy and processes on sexual discrimination, work collaboratively with human resources to examine and refine hiring practices and establish strategic community partnerships. During the virtual conversation with Ronald Reagan Institute Director of Learning and Leadership, Janet Tran, Dr. Wright discusses President Reagan’s formative years at Eureka, President Reagan’s early advocacy for racial equality, and the challenges posed by COVID19 to higher education.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present bestselling author and Fox News Host Sean Hannity who joined us in a virtual conversation on August 5, 2020. This was a long-awaited event for us, as his last visit was in 2010 when he launched his previous book, “Conservative Victory.”
On September 7, 1988, President Reagan issued Proclamation 5851 calling out the week of September 17th as Citizenship Day and Constitution Week. Let’s now listen to President Reagan’s remarks at the Bicentennial Celebration of the United States Constitution on September 16, 1987.
As we think of 9-11, we cannot forget, we cannot be complacent, and we most certainly cannot let the terrorists win. Ronald Reagan said it best:“When terrorism strikes, civilization itself is under attack; no nation is immune. There’s no safety in silence or neutrality. If we permit terrorism to succeed anywhere, it will spread like a cancer, eating away at civilized societies and sowing fear and chaos everywhere…the United States can be proud of the role that it plays in that struggle…In our time, it’s terrorism that must be overcome.”
Today’s “Words to Live By” honors the 19th anniversary of 9-11. We remember today not only to honor the almost 3000 innocent souls who lost their lives that day and the other 6000 people who were injured but to send an irrefutable message to those who perpetrated this unthinkable crime that we will never forget and our resolve to continue the fight for freedom will only get stronger. Let’s start with three quotes from President Reagan’s 1981 Inaugural Address. Let's listen.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present bestselling author and Fox News Host Greg Gutfeld who joined us in a virtual conversation on July 24, 2020. During this virtual conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch, Greg speaks about his new book, entitled, “The Plus: Self-Help for People Who Hate Self Help.”
In today’s “words to live by” podcast we’re going to get at the heart of President Reagan’s desire to truly reach across the aisle and work together, no matter what your political preferences. Let's listen.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present former Trump Deputy National Security Advisor KT McFarland who joined us in a virtual conversation on August 10, 2020. The Reagan Foundation had been working with her office since 2016 trying to create an event and one had finally been planned for July 2020 when the Coronavirus pandemic shut down event venues and we had to postpone our event. Thankfully for us – and all our listeners -- she agreed to do it virtually and earlier this month she joined the Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director to discuss her bestselling book, “Revolution: Trump, Washington and ‘We The People.’ Let's listen.
In this week’s podcast, we begin by presenting President Reagan’s Address on the Upcoming Soviet-United States Summit Meeting in Geneva, delivered on November 14, 1985. Let’s listen.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present our virtual conversation with Congressman Carl Curbelo, the son of political refugees who fled tyranny and oppression in Cuba, rising to hold office in the U.S. House of Representatives as the Congressman representing Florida’s 26th congressional district. Congressman Curbelo joined our Reagan Institute Policy Director Rachel Huff for a conversation on how conservatives should approach climate change and how his bipartisan approach to politics stems from Reaganite principles.
Let’s listen.
In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present the Chairman of the National Governors Association and the Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan. This podcast is from our virtual conversation with Governor Hogan from July 28, 2020 – the actual launch date for his brand-new book – entitled, “Still Standing: Surviving Cancer, Riots, a Global Pandemic, and the Toxic Politics that Divide America.” Let's listen.
In this week’s podcast, we present President Reagan’s remarks accepting the Presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas on August 23, 1984. Let’s listen.
Our next event in our virtual series was with New York Times bestselling author Brad Thor, who has written twenty thrillers including Blowback which was named “one of the top 100 killer thrillers of all time” and The Lions of Lucerne which was named “one of the best political thrillers ever.” In his latest book, Near Dark: A Thriller, his hero, Scot Harvath, discovers that the world’s largest bounty has been placed on him. His only hope for survival is to outwit, outrun, and outlast his enemies long enough to get to the truth. During this virtual conversation with the Reagan Foundation and Institute’s executive director, Brad Thor discusses his latest book, as well as real threats facing the world today. Let’s listen:
Almost as soon as the Inaugural ceremony was over, President Reagan set his sights on Capitol Hill. From day one, he and his team worked tirelessly to get Congress to pass legislation to put the economy back on track. Even a near-fatal assassination attempt did not slow him down. Nine months into his presidency he delivered remarks on the program for economic recovery at a White House reception for Members of Congress. Let’s listen.
Congresswoman Cheney represents Wyoming’s at-large congressional district and was elected by her colleagues to serve as the House Republican Conference Chair, the third-highest position in GOP House leadership, in 2018. During this virtual conversation, led by Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim, Congresswoman Cheney discussed how the GOP can better engage young and women voters, the ongoing protests engulfing our country, and the importance of U.S. leadership in the world. Let’s listen:
On July 16, 1980, Ronald Reagan secured the nomination for the Republican Party, formally accepting the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Detroit Michigan on July 17, 1980. Let’s listen.
On June 23, 2020, the launch date for his new book, the Reagan Foundation hosted former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to discuss his brand new book, Trump and the American Future: Solving the Great Problems of our Time. During our virtual discussion with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s executive director, Speaker Gingrich discuss the spread of the coronavirus, the highs and lows of the economy and the 2020 election.
In 1987, during an address to high school students on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, President Reagan declared, “We cannot be complacent about racism and bigotry. And I would challenge all of you to pledge yourselves to build an America where incidents of racial hatred do not happen.” Let’s listen.
For over 20 years, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum has hosted a day-long 4th of July commemoration fun for the entire family. Over 3,500 people come up to our hilltop each year to enjoy games, activities, arts and crafts, presidential lookalikes and patriotic music. When COVID19 closed our Museum to the public our thoughts quickly turned to our joyous event and how we might be able to still celebrate it while still conforming to new policies and guidelines about social distancing and limited group sizes. So this year we went 100% virtual! From an online 4th of July costume contest, to at-home crafts and activities, to a great virtual event, we were proud to still bring our community a great engaging, educational and family fun day. Today we will be sharing our virtual program, which includes patriot music, as well as remarks from Thomas Jefferson, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin, as well as amusing Flag trivia by Betsy Ross.
In a statement announcing actions against terrorism just one month prior to his speech, President Reagan wrote, “The war which terrorists are waging is not only directed against the United States, it is a war against all of civilized society. This is a war in which innocent civilians are targets. This is a war in which innocent civilians are intentional victims…This cannot continue. We must act against those who have so little regard for human life and the values we cherish.” Let’s listen.
These past few months have been trying times for Americans and people around the world as we have battled with the Coronavirus and everything in its wake, but let’s now take a moment to be thankful that we ARE Americans…that we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Let's listen.
This month we have brought you two of our virtual programs since the Reagan Museum closed due to COVID19. This week we’ll bring you our third program, which was held on June 18, 2020, with Chris Wallace, host of Fox News Sunday. During our virtual discussion with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s executive director, Mr. Wallace discussed his brand new book, Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days that Changed the World. Let’s listen:
Gretchen Carlson is an award-winning journalist and author who helped pave the way for #MeToo with her historic 2016 sexual harassment complaint against the chairman of Fox News Roger Ailes. She had previously hosted “The Real Story” on Fox News, and co-hosted the number-one-rated cable morning news show, “Fox and Friends," for more than seven years. On June 26, 2015, Ms. Carlson came to the Reagan Library to discuss her latest book, Getting Real, a candid memoir that shares her inspiring story and offers important takeaways about what it means to strive for and find success in the real world. Let's Listen.
In this radio address, delivered at Camp David on June 14, 1986, President Reagan spoke about both Flag Day, as well as Father’s Day, which was just a few days away. Let’s listen.
Last week we brought you our first virtual program since the Reagan Museum closed due to COVID19. This week we’ll bring you our second program, which was held on May 26, 2020, with ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl. During our virtual discussion with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s executive director, Mr. Karl discussed the responsibility of the news media during the Coronavirus, as well as his brand new bestselling book, Front Row at the Trump Show. Let’s listen: