成人论坛 Radio 4 - Letter from America by Alistair Cooke, The Reagan Years (1981-1988)

The Reagan Years (1981-1988) Podcast

Ronald Reagan鈥檚 presidency: Reagonomics, the Grenada invasion, the Iran-contra scandal and reconciliation with the Soviet. Alistair Cooke's fascinating account of American life.

Ronald Reagan鈥檚 presidency, from Reagonomics and the invasion of Grenada in his first term, to the Iran-contra scandal and reconciliation with Soviet leader Mihail Gorbachev in his second. A fascinating social, cultural and political history of American life, through the words of British-American journalist and broadcaster, Alistair Cooke (1908 鈥� 2004).

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Updated: occasionally

Episodes available: indefinitely

Gorbachev's perilous experiment

Fri 9 Dec 1988

Soviet leader addresses UN as first cracks widen in the Eastern bloc.
Yasser Arafat's speech at the UN, 1988

Fri 2 Dec 1988

A milestone in Middle Eastern politics as Yasser Arafat is invited to speak at the UN.
Fears over US deficit

Fri 25 Nov 1988

Greenspan warns that Bush will face economic woe.
A dirty campaign

Fri 18 Nov 1988

Commentators agree the campaign was the dirtiest 'in living memory'.
The 1988 presidential election

Fri 11 Nov 1988

George Bush's victory in the 1988 election, and the complexity of a modern ballot paper.
George H W Bush vs Michael Dukakis

Fri 4 Nov 1988

A profile of the Democratic and Republic contenders for the White House in 1988.
The Bess Myerson trial begins

Fri 28 Oct 1988

The Bess Myerson trial, often referred to as "the Bess mess", begins in New York.
Baseball and politics in 1988

Fri 21 Oct 1988

Do the baseball metaphors of the 1988 presidential candidates endear them to the public?
Testing public opinion

Fri 14 Oct 1988

Vice-presidential debate could sway public opinion on main candidate.
1988 televised debates, and Thatcher in 1979

Fri 7 Oct 1988

Has the campaign for the 1988 presidential election become too sterile?
Looking good on TV

Fri 30 Sep 1988

Forget the issues, the most important political feat is to look good on television.
Hurricane Gilbert

Fri 23 Sep 1988

The destruction caused by Hurricane Gilbert, and the Great New England Hurricane of 1938.
The Democratic outsider

Fri 16 Sep 1988

Could Michael Dukakis learn from Jimmy Carter when campaigning for the 1988 election?
Yellowstone National Park, 1988

Fri 9 Sep 1988

Yellowstone centre is saved from wildfires which have destroyed a million acres.
Etiquette for presidential candidates and the heat wave of Summer 1988

Fri 2 Sep 1988

When presidential candidates only talked policy, and when Adlai Stephenson broke the rule.
Dan Quayle for vice president

Fri 26 Aug 1988

George H W Bush chooses Dan Quayle as Vice-Presidential candidate.
President Reagan鈥檚 final Republican Convention

Fri 19 Aug 1988

President Reagan gives his farewell address at the Republican convention in Kansas.
Ed Koch, Mayor of New York

Fri 12 Aug 1988

A look at the daily tasks and problems faced by New York's mayor Ed Koch.
Day care and recreation

Fri 5 Aug 1988

The unexpected success of the newspaper USA Today; day care becomes an election issue.
America's polluted waters

Fri 29 Jul 1988

The polluted state of America's waters, coastline and lakes.
Democratic National Convention, 1988

Fri 22 Jul 1988

Michael Dukakis is nominated as presidential candidate at the 1988 Democratic convention.
Indict and remand

Fri 15 Jul 1988

The purpose and history of the US Grand Jury, the meanings of indict and remand.
Iran Air Flight 655

Fri 8 Jul 1988

An Iranian civilian airliner is shot down by US missiles killing all on board.
Seeing justice done

Fri 1 Jul 1988

Television simplifies court cases to a point where they are seen as a sports contest.
Goodbye to men's clubs

Fri 24 Jun 1988

Supreme Court rules that all-male clubs discriminate.
The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door of 1963

Fri 17 Jun 1988

The 25th anniversary of the desegregation of the University of Alabama.
Bush will win it

Fri 10 Jun 1988

Dukakis faces too many hurdles to overcome the Reagan feel-good factor.
Golf in Russia

Fri 3 Jun 1988

Never mind the summit, the news is out that golf is coming to Russia.
Nancy Reagan's astrologer, 1988

Fri 27 May 1988

New book exposes First Lady's use of astrologer to dictate the president's diary.
Lame duck President Reagan, 1988

Fri 20 May 1988

What power does the outgoing President Reagan really hold?