Ronald Reagan: The Hollywood President

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Think what you like about him, Ronald Reagan was a big hitter and his presidency changed America. This ex-Hollywood actor's eight years in office set the political agenda in ways we live with today.

To discuss this most charismatic of Presidents, Don is joined by Jeremi Suri host of the 'This Is Democracy' podcast & author of 'The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Office'.

Edited by Sophie Gee. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States.
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0:59.1	Listen to Medal of Honor wherever you get your podcast.
1:04.1	Greetings all. When last on our march through the U.S. presidents, we covered number 38, Gerald Ford, which means by
1:12.6	rights, Jimmy Carter should be next. Well, we haven't forgotten, President Carter. Not at all.
1:19.1	Indeed, we released a full episode about Carter's legacy at the end of last year just following
1:24.0	the man's sad passing. If you haven't heard this episode and you're curious about the
1:28.5	life and times of our 39th president, please go to our homepage wherever you get your pods and check out
1:34.4	episode 240. I highly recommend it. So that lands us today at our 40th president, Ronald Reagan.
1:48.9	Reagan was an inveterate diarist, one of the few who kept one every day consistently. So if you want to understand what it was like to be Ronald Reagan in office,
1:55.1	consider the following entry from August 12, 1986. An ordinary day, if there ever is such a thing for a president, with a packed
2:03.3	agenda ending with a punchline. Classic Reagan. Here we go. 7.45 a.m., breakfast with Nancy at the White
2:10.9	House. Then it's on to Marine One, quick hop to Andrews Air Force Base, then Air Force One, bound for
2:17.2	Springfield, Illinois.
2:18.6	In the air, Reagan phones two senators.
	...

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