How Dick Cheney’s legacy fits into today’s political landscape

Here & Now Anytime

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4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

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Summary

Dick Cheney was arguably the most powerful vice president in U.S. history and he served four presidents over his career. Cheney died at age 84, and former President George H.W. Bush biographer Jon Meacham shares a remembrance of Cheney’s work and legacy.

And, Hawai’i is home to a high number of federal workers, and the ongoing government shutdown is weighing heavily on the state. Gov. Josh Green details what’s happening in his state, 35 days into the shutdown.

Then, Hurricane Melissa killed at least 33 people in Jamaica and resulted in billions of dollars in damage. Ivonne Rodríguez-Wiewall, executive advisor to Direct Relief, joins us from Kingston, Jamaica, with a look at recovery efforts there.

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
0:05.4	RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right.
0:12.1	Learn more at RWJF.org.
0:16.6	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:22.4	The United States will work closely with a global coalition to deny terrorists and their state sponsors,
0:28.8	the materials, technology, and expertise to make and deliver weapons of mass destruction.
0:34.9	Dick Cheney, one of America's most powerful vice presidents, has died.
0:43.1	It's Tuesday, November 4th, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBUR Boston.
0:53.9	I'm Shiko Thiuri.
0:57.1	Today on the show, the government shutdown is taking a toll on federal workers in Hawaii.
1:02.9	They're suffering and we all need this madness to end.
1:06.7	And Jamaica continues recovery efforts one week after Hurricane Melissa.
1:11.3	Most of the people right now are in the first phase, which is the shock of losing everything.
1:17.3	The good thing is that Jamaicans are very strong and they are cooperating and collaborating between each other.
1:24.9	But first, former vice president Dick Cheney has died.
1:29.5	He served four presidents, but was a force all on his own.
1:33.5	Cheney helped lead the nation after the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
1:36.9	He also positioned the U.S. into almost 20 years of war in Afghanistan based on faulty evidence
1:43.1	and eight years of war in Iraq. Historian John evidence and eight years of war in Iraq.
1:45.8	Historian John Meacham knew Cheney personally. He's the biographer of President George H.W. Bush,
1:51.5	who Cheney served as defense secretary. Mietam reflects on the former vice president's life
1:56.6	and legacy with Deb Becker. So after we heard word of Cheney's death from his family today,
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