S38 · E1
August 12 · 4 min
PC
Presidential Chronicles
David Fisher
Welcome to Presidential Chronicles, the series of books, podcasts, and videos on American history as seen through the lives of the Presidents of the United States.
The stories come from David Fisher's robust yet concise biographies of every American President. Fisher tells the stories of these lives with approx. ten episodes episodes for each President, averaging about 12 minutes in length, with each episode delving into a particular aspect of the President's life, along with an assortment of direct quotations, images, and relevant perspective.
- 20 episodes
- Avg 16 min
- English
- PCS37 · E12August 11 · 20 min
Episode #417: Gerald Ford #12: A Very Busy Retirement (1977-2006)
Gerald Ford #12: A Very Busy Retirement (1977-2006); Topics covered include: Inaugural of Jimmy Carter as President, Ford's retirement including his many lucrative business activities, Betty Ford's addiction and treatment, the establishment and success of the Betty Ford Center for addiction treatment, Ford's memoirs ("A Time to Heal"), Ronald Reagan pursues Ford to be his vice presidential candidate in 1980 (eventually declined), Ford's charity work, attending the funeral for Anwar Sadat, perspectives from Ford on some of his successors, Ford's death and burial, Ford's own perspective on his legacy, and Ford receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2001 Key people include: Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford, Susan Ford, Elizabeth Taylor, Johnny Cash, Liza Minelli, Mickey Mantle, Chevy Chase, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan , Walter Cronkite, Anwar Sadat, Richard Nixon, Thomas DeFrank, Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, and John Kennedy For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E11August 10 · 20 min
Episode #416: Gerald Ford #11: Running for His Own Term (1975-1976)
Gerald Ford #11: Running for His Own Term (1975-1976); Topics covered include: 1976 presidential election, Ford vs. Ronald Reagan in the Republican Primary, Bicentennial Celebration, Jimmy Carter wins the Democratic nomination, Ford wins the Republican nomination, Swine flu outbreak at Fort Dix and response, Fall campaign, Ford's gaffe re: Soviet domination of Eastern Europe in the second debate with Carter, roundtable interviews with Joe Garagiola, Carter wins the 1976 election, and some reflection on the reasons for Ford's loss including his pardon of Richard Nixon Key people include: Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller, Donald Rumsfeld, James Schlessinger, Dick Cheney, William Colby, George H.W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, Omar Torrijos, Thomas Jefferson, Queen Elizabeth, Jimmy Carter, Richard Schweiker, Bob Dole, Bob Teeter, Max Frankel, Joe Garagiola, Betty Ford, and Richard Nixon For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E10August 7 · 20 min
Episode #415: Gerald Ford #10: End of the Vietnam War, the Mayaguez Incident, and the Helsinki Accords (1975-1976)
Gerald Ford #10: End of the Vietnam War, the Mayaguez Incident, and the Helsinki Accords (1975-1976); Topics covered include: Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge, Congress refuses military aid for South Vietnam, South Vietnam falls to North Vietnam, evacuation of Americans and South Vietnamese allies via helicopter from the U.S. embassy, Vietnam refugee crisis, capture of the SS Mayaguez and the response of the Ford administration including the rescue of the crew, negotiating of the Sinai Accords between Egypt and Israel, Ford signs the Helsinki Accords and the importance of the Helsinki Accords, two assassination attempts on President Ford's life, and comedians make fun of Ford as a klutz Key people include: Richard Nixon, Nguyen Van Thieu, Frederick Weyard, Jacob Javits, Henry Kissinger, Anwar Sadat, Betty Ford, Yitzhak Rabin, Lech Walesa, Lynette Squeaky Fromme, Sarah Jane Moore, Mao Tse-tung, Deng Xiaoping, and Chevy Chase For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E9August 6 · 11 min
Episode #414: Gerald Ford #9: Stagflation, CIA in Crisis, and New York City Going Bankrupt (1975)
Gerald Ford #9: Stagflation, CIA in Crisis, and New York City Going Bankrupt (1975); Topics covered include: Stagflation (high inflation and high unemployment), first State of the Union Address, Cabinet changes, Rockefeller Commission investigating the CIA, the Church Committee, and Ford's response to New York City seeking a Federal bailout ("The New York Daily News": "Ford to City: Drop Dead") Key people include: Ed Levi, Carla Hills, William Coleman, Nelson Rockefeller, Seymour Hersh, Frank Church, Jack Marsh, Hugh Carey, and Abraham Beane For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E8August 5 · 14 min
Episode #413: Gerald Ford #8: Beginning to Govern: "Whip Inflation Now" to a Soviet Summit (1974)
Gerald Ford #8: Beginning to Govern: "Whip Inflation Now" to a Soviet Summit (1974); Topics covered include: Economic challenges, Ford introduces his "Whip Inflation Now" (WIN) initiative, changes to the White House operating model, Betty Ford gets cancer and has a mastectomy, Betty's recovery, the Fords get a dog (Liberty), changes for the Ford children, Susan Ford's high school prom in the White House, Ford visits Nixon in the hospital, Republicans suffer big setbacks in the 1974 midterm elections, Ford's Summit with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev at Vladivostok including personal detente, the economy falls into recession, Nelson Rockefeller is confirmed as Vice President, and end of year reflections Key people include: Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Al Haig, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Betty Ford, David Kennerly, Mike Ford, Gayle (Brumbaugh) Ford, Jack Ford, Steven Ford, Susan Ford, Pat Nixon, Leonid Brezhnev, Henry Kissinger, and Nelson Rockefeller For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E7August 4 · 18 min
Episode #412: Gerald Ford #7: Ford Pardons Nixon (1974)
Gerald Ford #7: Ford Pardons Nixon (1974); Topics covered include: Beginning of Ford's presidency including initial organization and meetings, initial speech to Congress, changes from the Nixon administration, debates about what to do with Nixon's papers and tapes plus many questions about a possible pardon for Nixon, negotiations with the Nixon team, Ford makes the decision to issue to pardon, Ford announces the Nixon pardon, strong national reaction to the Nixon pardon, and Ford testifies to Congress about the Nixon pardon including denying there was any deal of a pardon in exchange for his resignation Key people include: Richard Nixon, Jerald terHorst, Alexander Haig, Bob Hartmann, Henry Kissinger, Jack Marsh, Phil Buchen, Betty Ford, George Meaney, King Hussein (Jordan), George H.W. Bush, Nelson Rockefeller, Leon Jaworski, Benton Becker, Ron Ziegler, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Elizabeth Holtzman For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E6August 3 · 15 min
Episode #411: Gerald Ford #6: Zigzagging through the Vice Presidency (1973-1974)
Gerald Ford #6: Zigzagging through the Vice Presidency (1973-1974); Topics covered include: Ford's service as Vice President of the United States, challenges balancing his desire to support President Richard Nixon while not getting too close to the Watergate scandal, plenty of travel for Ford, the collapse of the Nixon presidency, Ford prepares to take over the presidency, discussions with Al Haig about a possible pardon for Nixon and then reiterating that Ford was making no commitment regarding a pardon or anything else, Nixon announcing his resignation, the Fords escort the Nixons from the White House to the helicopter that will fly them away, Ford takes his oath of office and delivers his remarks, including "Our long national nightmare is over." Key people include: Richard Nixon, Bob Hartmann, Paul Miklich, Jack Marsh, Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, Richard Vander Veen, John Dean, Bob Haldeman, Alexander Haig, Betty Ford, Bryce Harlow, Ray Price, Phil Buchen, Warren Burger, and Nelson Rockefeller For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E5July 31 · 16 min
Episode #410: Gerald Ford #5: The Unelected Path to the Vice Presidency (1972-1973)
Gerald Ford #5: The Unelected Path to the Vice Presidency (1972-1973); Topics covered include: Richard Nixon, the Watergate scandal, Ford's trip to China, Election of 1972, Spiro Agnew scandal over kickbacks from government contractors when he was Governor of Maryland, Agnew was initially defiant but eventually pled guilty and resigned the vice presidency, Nixon considers candidates to replace Agnew as VP, Ford is nominated for the vice presidency, FBI inquiry into Ford's background, Ford's confirmation hearings, and Ford sworn in as the 40th Vice President of the United States Key people include: Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt, John Mitchell, Bob Haldeman, Chou En-lai, George McGovern, John Dean, Jeb Stuart Magruder, John Ehrlichman, John Connally, Nelson Rockefeller, Ronald Reagan, Carl Albert, Mel Laird, Betty Ford, William Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E4July 30 · 13 min
Episode #409: Gerald Ford #4: Minority Leader (1964-1972)
Gerald Ford #4: Minority Leader (1964-1972); Topics covered include: Election as House Minority Leader, partnering with Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, frustration with the Lyndon Johnson administration over spending and the Vietnam War, election of Richard Nixon in 1968, frustrations with the Nixon administration, attempt to impeach Supreme Court Justice William Douglas, and the prospects for Republicans in 1972 Key people include: Charles Halleck, Bob Dole, Betty Ford, Susan Ford, Everett Dirksen, Lyndon Johnson, Franklin Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Eugene McCarty, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Hubert Humphrey, George Wallace, William Douglas, Meyer Lansky, Abe Fortas, and Andrew Jacobs For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E3July 29 · 14 min
Episode #408: Gerald Ford #3: Congressman Ford: A Workhorse not a Show Horse (1949-1964)
Gerald Ford #3: Congressman Ford: A Workhorse not a Show Horse (1949-1964); Topics covered include: Begins congressional career, joins Appropriations Committee, birth of four children, supports Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon in the 1952 presidential election, consistent supporter of civil rights legislation, move into home in Alexandria, VA, supports Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election, becomes the Chair of the House Republican Caucus, assassination of President John Kennedy, serves on the Warren Commission, and the findings of the Warren Commission Key people include: Harry Truman, Albert Engel, Betty Ford, Mike Ford, Jack Ford, Steven Ford, Susan Ford, Clara Powell, Dwight Eisenhower, Robert Taft, Richard Nixon, John Taber, John Kennedy, Charles Hoeven, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, Lyndon Johnson, Earl Warren, Jacqueline Kennedy, and John Stiles For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E2July 28 · 10 min
Episode #407: Gerald Ford #2: Law, War, Politics, and Betty (1941-1948)
Gerald Ford #2: Law, War, Politics, and Betty (1941-1948); Topics covered include: Starts law firm, U.S. enters World War II, volunteers for Navy, assigned to the USS Monterey, missions in the Pacific Theater against the Japanese, Typhoon Cobra, returns to the U.S., war ends, back to law and community groups in Grand Rapids, meets Betty Bloomer Warren, runs for Congress against incumbent Barney Jonkman, wins the Republican primary, marries Betty, and wins the general election campaign to become a congressman Key people include: Phil Buchen, Franklin Roosevelt, Stuart Ingersoll, Betty Bloomer Warren, Martha Graham, Barney Jonkman, Frank McKay, Harry Truman, Fred Barr, and Betty Ford (now married) For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS37 · E1July 27 · 12 min
Episode #406: Gerald Ford #1: All American Boy (1913-1941)
Gerald Ford #1: All American Boy (1913-1941); Topics covered include: Early troubles between Ford's mom and birth father leading to their divorce, Dorothy leaves for Grand Rapids, Michigan, meets and marries Gerald Ford, Fords as a high school football star, meets his biological father, attends University of Michigan to play football, becomes football and boxing coach at Yale, enters Yale Law School, relationship with Phyllis Brown, graduates from Yale Law, and returns to Grand Rapids to start his law practice Key people include: Leslie King, Dorothy King (later Dorothy Ford), Cliff Gettings, Harry Kipke, Arthur Krause, Chuck Bernard, Ducky Pond, Potter Stewart, Byron White, and Phyllis Brown For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS36 · E18July 24 · 19 min
Episode #405: Richard Nixon #18: Resurrection? (1974-1994)
Richard Nixon #18: Resurrection? (1974-1994); Topics covered include: Nixon returns to San Clemente after his resignation, Gerald Ford pardons Nixon, Nixon is treated for phlebitis, the Nixon/Frost interviews, Nixon's memoirs, international travel, relationships with successors (Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton), student uprising in Tiananmen Square (China), the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the opening of the Nixon Library and Museum, death of Pat Nixon, and death and funeral of Richard Nixon Key people include: Bud Krogh, Gerald Ford, Benton Becker, Julie Nixon Eisenhower (and family), David Frost, Jimmy Carter, Deng Xiaoping, Ronald Reagan, Tricia Nixon Cox (and family), Katherine Graham, Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, George H.W. Bush, Boris Yeltsin, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Pat Nixon Correction at 15:20. Should be "Library and Museum" not "Library and Memorial." For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS36 · E17July 23 · 23 min
Episode #404: Richard Nixon #17: Resignation (1973-1974)
Richard Nixon #17: Resignation (1973-1974); Topics covered include: Resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew, nominates Gerald Ford to replace Agnew as VP, Yom Kippur War in the Middle East, Appeals Court rules Nixon must turn over tapes, the Stennis Plan, the Saturday Night Massacre (firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox), appointment of Leon Jaworski as the new Special Prosecutor, missing tapes, the 18.5 minute gap from the June 20, 1972, tape, charges of excessive use of federal funds to improve Nixon's homes plus tax evasion, more indictments against Nixon staffers, Nixon releases more transcripts but fights additional efforts to the Supreme Court where he loses in a unanimous ruling, trips to the Middle East and the Soviet Union, the Judiciary Committee moves forward with an impeachment inquiry, agrees that the June 23, 1972 tape is impossible to overcome (the "smoking gun"), decides to resign, refuses requests from Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman for pardons for the Watergate defendants, resigns the presidency on August 9, and leaves office that morning Key people include: John Dean, Alexander Butterfield, Spiro Agnew, Elliott Richardson, John Connally, Nelson Rockefeller, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Golda Meir, James Schlessinger, Henry Kissinger, Anwar Sadat, John Stennis, Archibald Cox, William Ruckelshaus, Robert Bork, John Chancellor, Leon Jaworski, Rose Mary Woods, Edward Morgan, Bob Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Chuck Colson, John Mitchell, Joseph Alsop, Leonid Brezhnev, Fred Buzhardt, Alexander Haig, Julie Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford Correction at 3:59. Should be "in favor of the Israelis" not "in favor of the Arabs." For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS36 · E16July 22 · 22 min
Episode #403: Richard Nixon #16: "Watergate had Become a Bottomless Pit" (1972-1973)
Richard Nixon #16: "Watergate had Become a Bottomless Pit" (1972-1973); Topics covered include: Newspaper reports on Watergate, Deep Throat, Watergate defendants found guilt, the establishment of the Ervin Committee, John Dean informs President Nixon of his cover-up activities (March 21, 1973 meeting), includes discussion of hush money payments, defendants begin to cooperate with authorities including James McCord, Jeb Magruder, and John Dean, Nixon fires Dean and accepts the resignations of Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, Dean shares all he knows with the Justice Department and the Ervin Committee, Nixon continues to deny involvement or knowledge of the Watergate activities, charges are dismissed against Daniel Ellsberg, Nixon hosts Soviet Prime Leonid Brezhnev for a Summit, Dean testifies for a week - all carried on national television, Alexander Butterfield reveals Nixon's White House taping system, Nixon decides not to destroy the tapes Key people include: Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Mark Felt, Ken Dahlberg, Bernard Barker, John Mitchell, Donald Segretti, Bob Haldeman, John Sirica, Gordon Liddy, James McCord, Sam Ervin, John Dean, Pat Gray, Chuck Colson, Gordon Strahan, Jeb Magruder, Howard Hunt, Herbert Kalmbach, Bud Krogh, John Ehrlichman, Richard Kleindients, Henry Petersen, Elliott Richardson, Archibald Cox, Matthew Byrne, Daniel Ellsberg, Leonid Brezhnev, Tricia Nixon, Howard Baker, Alexander Butterfield, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and David Frost For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS36 · E15July 21 · 15 min
Episode #402: Richard Nixon #15: Re-election Landslide and Ending the Vietnam War (1972-1973)
Richard Nixon #15: Re-election Landslide and Ending the Vietnam War (1972-1973); Topics covered include: Democrats nominate George McGovern in the 1972 election, Nixon is renominated by the Republicans, breakthroughs in the Vietnam Peace Talks but South Vietnamese President Nguyen Thieu won't sign onto the deal, Nixon wins re-election in a landslide, plans to change the organization of the executive branch, peace talks fall apart, Nixon orders the Christmas Bombing of North Vietnam, the North Vietnamese return to the negotiating table, Nixon issues an ultimatum to President Theiu to accept the deal on the table, Thieu reluctantly agrees, Nixon is inaugurated for his second term, Lyndon Johnson dies, the Paris Peace Accords are signed, some perspective on the outcomes of the Vietnam War, and the celebration for the returning American prisoners of war Key people include: George McGovern, Thomas Eagleton, Sargent Shriver, Henry Kissinger, Le Duc Tho, Nguyen Thieu, Bob Haldeman, Elliott Richardson, Caspar Weinberger, Bill Rogers, Lyndon Johnson, and John Flynn For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS36 · E14July 20 · 18 min
Episode #401: Richard Nixon #14: Watergate: The Break-In (1972)
Richard Nixon #14: Watergate: The Break-In (1972); Topics covered include: 1972 political pranksterism, Gordon Liddy's Gemstone plan, pressure from the White House to the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP) to move out on intelligence gathering of political opponents, break-ins (2) at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office building, the arrest of the burglars, initial press coverage of the break-in, initial efforts by the White House to cover-up any connection between the break-in and the White House staff (including the June 23 "smoking gun" meeting), John Dean's initial role in the cover-up, the "Enemies List" and attempts to use the IRS to get information on Democratic opponents, and the indictments of the Watergate burglars + Gordon Liddy + Howard Hunt Key people include: Dwight Chapin, Donald Segretti, Howard Hunt, Chuck Colson, Gordon Liddy, John Mitchell, Jeb Magruder, John Dean, Bob Haldeman, Gordon Strahan, Larry O'Brien, Frank Wills, Ron Zeigler, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Ken Dahlberg, Bernard Barker, Richard Helms, Vernon Walters, Pat Gray Johnnie Walters, and George Shultz For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS36 · E13July 17 · 19 min
Episode #400: Richard Nixon #13: Making History in China and the Soviet Union (1970-1972)
Richard Nixon #13: Making History in China and the Soviet Union (1970-1972); Topics covered include: Nixon's interest in opening relations with China, realpolitik, "triangulation" strategy, Ping-Pong Diplomacy, agree to Summit with China, agree to subsequent summit with the Soviet Union, Taiwan is replaced by the People's Republic of China in the United Nations, Nixon's successful summit (substance and style), meeting with Mao Tse-tung, Panda Diplomacy, the Shanghai Communique, decision to mine Haiphong Harbor in North Korea, the Soviets do not cancel the summit over this action in North Vietnam, and Nixon's successful summit in the Soviet Union including relations with Brezhnev and several agreements signed between the two countries Key people include: Chiang Kai-shek, Henry Kissinger, Mao Tse-tung, Chou En-lai, Leonid Brezhnev, John Kennedy, John Foster Dulles, and Bob Haldeman For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/
- PCS36 · E12July 16 · 14 min
Episode #399: Richard Nixon #12: Leaks and Plumbers (1971)
Richard Nixon #12: Leaks and Plumbers (1971); Topics covered include: Faltering economy in 1971 and the response by the Nixon administration, the Huston Plan, the Pentagon Papers, establishing the Special Investigation Unit ("The Plumbers"), the break-in of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office, the "Enenmies List," and Nixon's White House taping system Key people include: John Connally, Tom Huston, Bob Haldeman, John Mitchell, Chuck Colson, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Henry Kissinger, Dabniel Ellsberg, Hugo Black, John Ehrlichman, Bud Krogh, David Young, Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt, Lewis Fielding, Jeb Stuart Magruder, John Dean, Alexander Butterfield, Rose Mary Woods, and Pat Nixon For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/