Episode 83 — George W. Bush: Crisis, Conviction & the Post-9/11 Presidency
pplpod Episode 83 traces George W. Bush’s path from Texas governor to a two-term presidency reshaped by September 11. We cover the disputed 2000 election and an initial domestic agenda—tax cuts, No Ch...
21 Sep 202550min
Episode 82 — Bill Clinton: New Democrat, Boom Years, High Wire
pplpod Episode 82 tracks Bill Clinton’s arc from Arkansas wunderkind to 42nd President who fused triangulation with retail politics in a decade of change. We chart the 1992 upset, the “New Democrat” p...
21 Sep 20251h 52min
Episode 81 — George H. W. Bush: Steady Hand, New World
pplpod Episode 81 follows George H. W. Bush’s life of service—from WWII Navy aviator and Texas oilman to congressman, UN ambassador, RNC chair, envoy to China, CIA director, and two-term vice presiden...
21 Sep 202548min
Episode 80 — Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator, Markets & the Cold War Endgame
pplpod Episode 80 follows Ronald Reagan’s long arc—from Midwestern radio voice and Hollywood leading man to California governor and two-term president who reset the political and economic conversation...
21 Sep 20251h 18min
Episode 79 — Jimmy Carter: Faith, Reform & the Longest Second Act
pplpod Episode 79 follows Jimmy Carter’s path from Plains peanut farmer and Georgia governor to a post-Watergate outsider promising competence and decency—and then to one of the most consequential pos...
21 Sep 20251h 8min
Episode 78 — Gerald Ford: The Unelected Healer Between Storms
pplpod Episode 78 tracks Gerald Ford’s improbable chapter—from Grand Rapids congressman and long-time House Minority Leader to the only American who served as vice president and president without a si...
21 Sep 20251h 7min
Episode 77 — Richard Nixon: China Cards, Quiet Wins, Loud Fall
pplpod Episode 77 tracks Richard Nixon’s long, jagged arc—from California striver and HUAC prosecutor to Eisenhower’s vice president, from the 1960 heartbreak and “last press conference” to a 1968 com...
21 Sep 202557min
Episode 76 — Lyndon B. Johnson: The Johnson Treatment, Great Society, Vietnam’s Shadow
pplpod Episode 76 tracks Lyndon B. Johnson’s sweep—from Texas Hill Country teacher and New Dealer to Senate maestro, accidental president, and architect of the most ambitious domestic agenda since FDR...
21 Sep 202556min
