Ronald Reagan vs. The Evil Empire (Part 4)

The Rest Is Politics: US

Goalhanger

News, Government, Politics

4.4 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 25 September 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

By the mid-1980s, Ronald Reagan was riding high. The economy had bounced back, and his “Morning in America” message carried him to a landslide re-election. But behind the optimism, crises brewed. At home, the AIDS epidemic spread while the White House stayed silent. Abroad, Reagan’s “evil empire” speech, nuclear near-misses, and the launch of his “Star Wars” missile defense plan pushed the Cold War to its most dangerous point in decades. Then came a new face in Moscow, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the first real chance to imagine a world without nuclear weapons. Was Reagan’s success during these years a triumph of vision, or of image? In this episode, join Katty Kay and Anthony Scaramucci as they explore the highs, the crises, and the contradictions that defined the most pivotal stretch of his presidency. Instagram: ⁠@RestPoliticsUS⁠ Twitter: ⁠@RestPoliticsUS⁠ Email: ⁠therestispoliticsus@goalhanger.com⁠ Assistant Producer: India Dunkley Producer: Fiona Douglas Video Editor: Kieron Leslie 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	Are you better off than you were four years ago?
0:05.0	After experiencing the worst economic recession, the economy starts to bounce back.
0:10.5	1983 was a banner year for America.
0:13.0	He has that famous line against Walter Mondale.
0:16.1	I am not going to exploit my opponent's youth and inexperience.
0:20.4	He wins another landslide victory.
0:23.7	It wasn't until 1985 that Reagan first addressed AIDS.
0:28.2	Reagan wasn't just trying to contain the Soviet Union.
0:31.1	He wanted to end it.
0:32.5	They are the focus of evil in the modern world.
0:35.4	He launched the Strategic Defense Initiative.
0:38.6	I call upon the scientific community in our country to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons,
0:44.0	impotent and obsolete. Only one man has the proven experience we need. Together, we'll make America
0:50.5	great again. Thank you very much. Hello and welcome to the rest of politics, U.S., and to our fourth episode of our mini-series
1:03.5	all about Ronald Reagan. So let's go back in time. It's 1983. The American economy is roaring back.
1:12.1	The president is heading towards one of the biggest landslide victories in American history. But behind all of that kind of sunny
1:18.2	optimism of mourning in America, there are definitely dark occurrence that are flowing.
1:23.2	That's right, Katty. There's some rough stuff happening at home. The AIDS crisis grows into a deadly epidemic, ignored by the White House for years.
1:32.2	Abroad the Cold War is heating up. Reagan calls the Soviet Union an evil empire. He unveils his Star Wars missile defense plan and pushes the superpower rivalry to its most dangerous point since the Cuban missile crisis.
1:50.2	And this is what I think is so interesting in the context of today's America, because you have a very different leader in Ronald Reagan.
1:56.5	Even as those tensions are rising, you get this new face in Moscow.
2:01.0	Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the head of the Pollop Bureau, and he opens the door to dialogue.
	...

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