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
Episode 75 — John F. Kennedy: Image, Nerve & the Narrow Edge
pplpod Episode 75 follows John F. Kennedy from war-scarred PT boat skipper to congressman, senator, and a television-age president who moved history by inches that felt like miles. We track the 1960 c...
21 Sep 20251h 43min
Episode 74 — Dwight D. Eisenhower: Command Calm, Subtle Power
pplpod Episode 74 tracks Dwight D. Eisenhower’s steady arc—from Kansas cadet to Supreme Allied Commander who orchestrated D-Day and victory in Europe, then a two-term president who governed with restr...
21 Sep 202532min
Episode 73 — Harry S. Truman: Plain Talk, Hard Calls, New World
pplpod Episode 73 follows Harry S. Truman’s unlikely ascent—from Missouri farmer and WWI artillery captain to FDR’s last-minute VP, then 33rd President handed the heaviest in-tray in modern history. W...
21 Sep 20251h
Episode 72 — Franklin D. Roosevelt: New Deal Nerve, Wartime Resolve
pplpod Episode 72 follows Franklin D. Roosevelt’s long arc—from Hyde Park heir turned reform-minded politician to the only four-term president who steered America through depression and world war. We ...
21 Sep 20251h 19min
Episode 71 — Herbert Hoover: Engineer of Plenty, President in Scarcity
pplpod Episode 71 traces Herbert Hoover’s uncommon arc—from orphaned Iowa kid to globe-trotting mining engineer, then the humanitarian who fed millions in wartime Europe. We follow his rise as Commerc...
21 Sep 202552min
Episode 70 — William Howard Taft: Between Trusts, Courts & a Fractured Party
pplpod Episode 70 follows William Howard Taft’s singular path—27th President and later Chief Justice of the United States—charting a career pulled between executive power and judicial temperament. We ...
21 Sep 202555min
