Ronald Reagan: Cheating Death and Igniting a Revolution (Part 3)

The Rest Is Politics: US

Goalhanger

News, Government, Politics

4.4 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

*Founding Members exclusive* Ronald Reagan takes his biggest leap yet: from Hollywood star and California governor to the White House. In this episode, Katty Kay and Anthony Scaramucci chart Reagan’s bruising campaign against Jimmy Carter, a landslide victory that redefined American politics, and the near-fatal assassination attempt that almost ended his presidency before it began. With his approval ratings soaring, Reagan rolls out his bold economic experiment — Reaganomics. Sweeping tax cuts, deregulation, and a dramatic showdown with striking air traffic controllers set the tone for a new conservative era. But behind the optimism and patriotic rhetoric lay recession, soaring unemployment, and a country still reeling from the turmoil of the 1970s. How did Reagan’s first years in power ignite a political revolution, and what price did America pay for it? Become a Founding Member: Go deeper into US politics every week with ad-free listening, members-only miniseries, early access to live show tickets and a bonus members-only Q&A podcast every week. Sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠therestispoliticsus.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@RestPoliticsUS⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@RestPoliticsUS⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠therestispoliticsus@goalhanger.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Assistant Producer: India Dunkley Producer: Fiona Douglas Video Editor: Kieron Leslie, Adam Thornton Social Producer: Charlie Johnson Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Head of Digital: Sam Oakley Exec Producers: Tony Pastor, Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The year is 1980.
0:03.7	The country was facing stagflation.
0:05.9	We were facing a malaise.
0:08.2	Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns.
0:15.2	Ronald Reagan was able to instill in our nation and in our people a sense of optimism.
0:19.5	I aim to try and tap that great American spirit.
0:23.8	Ronald Wilson Reagan is our projected winner.
0:27.3	Our economic recovery program will lift the crushing burden of inflation off of our citizens.
0:33.1	President Reagan was shot in the chest by a gunman outside the Washington Hotel.
0:37.7	There is a big standoff with the air traffic controllers.
0:40.9	If they do not report for work within 48 hours, they will be terminated.
0:45.4	Only one man has the proven experience we need.
0:48.6	Together, we'll make America great again.
0:51.4	Thank you very much.
1:02.2	Here it's Katty, and you might know that Anthony and I are in the middle of our latest mini-series is all about Ronald Reagan. You can hear it by signing up at the rest is politics, us.com.
1:08.7	It's episode three this week, and in that episode we're covering Reagan beating Carter
1:13.6	and becoming president of the United States in 1980, the assassination attempt against Ronald
1:19.0	Reagan and the beginning of what became to be known as Reaganomics. What I found sort of fascinating
1:26.0	in this episode, Anthony, was the whole account of
1:30.3	the assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan. It's so quintessentially Reagan, how he manages.
1:35.9	He's there being kind of wheeled into hospital with his blood coming from his side. He's actually
1:40.9	much more severely wounded than people realized at the time. And yet he
	...

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