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Presidential

62 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★ - 3.6K ratings

The Washington Post's Presidential podcast explores how each former American president reached office, made decisions, handled crises and redefined the role of commander-in-chief. It was released leading up to up to Election Day 2016, starting with George Washington in week one and ending on week 44 with the president-elect. New special episodes in the countdown to the 2020 presidential election highlight other stories from U.S. presidential history that can help illuminate our current moment. Hosted by Lillian Cunningham, the series features Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers like David McCullough and Washington Post journalists like Bob Woodward. [When you're done, listen to Lillian's other historical podcasts: Constitutional and Moonrise]

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Episodes

The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop: ‘Somebody knows’

November 22, 2023 13:30

Every 19th of October, Grenadians mark a somber anniversary: the 1983 execution of the country’s former prime minister and revolutionary leader, Maurice Bishop, and others who died alongside him. The people of this Caribbean nation still have no closure 40 years later. The remains of Bishop and his supporters were never returned to their family members and are missing to this day.  In the first episode of “The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop,” The Washington Post’s Martine Powers takes us on ...

Introducing “The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop”

October 13, 2023 17:30 - 3.25 MB

Grenada’s Black revolutionary leader, Maurice Bishop, was executed in a coup in 1983, along with seven others. The whereabouts of their remains are unknown. Now, The Washington Post’s Martine Powers uncovers new answers about how the U.S. fits into this 40-year-old Caribbean mystery. “The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop” is an investigative podcast that delves into the revolutionary history of Grenada, why the missing remains still matter and the role the U.S. government played in shaping the...

Listen to the first episode of “Field Trip”: Yosemite National Park

June 28, 2023 10:30

To hear the rest of the series, follow “Field Trip” wherever you listen.  California’s Sierra Nevada is home to a very special kind of tree, found nowhere else on Earth: the giant sequoia. For thousands of years, these towering trees withstood the trials of the world around them, including wildfire. Low-intensity fires frequently swept through groves of sequoias, leaving their cinnamon-red bark scarred but strengthened, and opening their cones to allow new seeds to take root. But in the er...

Introducing “Field Trip”

June 14, 2023 11:00 - 2.94 MB

Journey through the messy past and uncertain future of America’s national parks. The Washington Post’s Lillian Cunningham ventures off the marked trail to better understand the most urgent stories playing out in five iconic landscapes today. “Field Trip” is a new podcast series that will transport you to five national parks: Yosemite, Everglades, Glacier, White Sands and Gates of the Arctic. Follow the show wherever you listen.

A sneak peek from Lillian

June 06, 2023 14:44 - 869 KB

Exclusively for listeners of “Presidential,” Lillian Cunningham shares news about her new podcast. You don’t want to miss this.

BONUS | Happy Presidents’ Day! Or … not?

February 21, 2022 14:33 - 24 MB

Students, teachers and historians reflect on what has changed — and should change — about the way we teach presidential history today. This special episode features presidential experts Barbara Perry and Julian Zelizer, “How the Word Is Passed” author Clint Smith, and the AP government and politics class of teacher Michael Martirone.

Joe Biden: Triumph, tragedy and the fate of the center

November 08, 2020 04:55

Four years later, the “Presidential” podcast adds a new biography to its cadre of American presidents. This special episode explores Joe Biden's decades-long, hard-fought personal and political path to the White House, with the New Yorker’s Evan Osnos.

BONUS | What books about Trump say about America

October 23, 2020 10:00

Books published in the Trump era reveal the battles over, and changes in, the American presidency today. In this special episode of “Presidential,” Post nonfiction book critic Carlos Lozada shares what he’s learned from reading more than 150 of them.

Pandemic, propaganda and the presidency

September 24, 2020 10:00

The 1918 influenza pandemic killed more than 675,000 Americans, but President Woodrow Wilson never made a single public statement about it. Why? Here’s what happens when efforts to promote patriotism and suppress free speech collide with a deadly virus.

BONUS | Pandemic, propaganda and the presidency

September 24, 2020 10:00

The 1918 influenza pandemic killed more than 675,000 Americans, but President Woodrow Wilson never made a single public statement about it. Why? Here’s what happens when efforts to promote patriotism and suppress free speech collide with a deadly virus.

BONUS | When a VP pick changes history

August 07, 2020 21:52 - 35.7 MB

Geraldine Ferraro broke a major barrier in American politics in 1984, when she became the first woman nominated for the vice presidency by a major party. It was a historic decision by Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Walter Mondale. And it did more than pave the way to the White House for more diverse candidates — it also fundamentally changed the way all future presidential campaign teams would approach vice-presidential announcements and conventions. Hosted by W...

When a VP pick changes history

August 07, 2020 21:52 - 35.7 MB

Geraldine Ferraro broke a major barrier in American politics in 1984, when she became the first woman nominated for the vice presidency by a major party. It was a historic decision by Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Walter Mondale. And it did more than pave the way to the White House for more diverse candidates — it also fundamentally changed the way all future presidential campaign teams would approach vice-presidential announcements and conventions. Hosted by W...

BONUS | Binding up the nation's wounds

June 19, 2020 17:12 - 26.6 MB

The famous black contralto singer Marian Anderson performed at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, after being denied the ability to perform down the street at Constitution Hall. And when she did, she transformed the monument into something more than a stone temple to Abraham Lincoln. She ushered in its new life as an active place for generations of Americans to continue the work to“bind up the nation’s wounds.” Hosted by Washington Post journalist Lillian Cunningham, the podcast episode features...

Binding up the nation's wounds

June 19, 2020 17:12 - 26.6 MB

The famous black contralto singer Marian Anderson performed at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, after being denied the ability to perform down the street at Constitution Hall. And when she did, she transformed the monument into something more than a stone temple to Abraham Lincoln. She ushered in its new life as an active place for generations of Americans to continue the work to“bind up the nation’s wounds.” Hosted by Washington Post journalist Lillian Cunningham, the podcast episode features...

LIVE EVENT | 'Unprecedented Presidents' live from WBUR CitySpace

March 06, 2020 15:33 - 39.9 MB

Four years after making Presidential, host Lillian Cunningham led a panel examining what's really unprecedented--or not--about Donald Trump's presidency. Historians Alexis Coe, Drew Gilpin Faust and Julian Zelizer joined for this live event in Boston.

BONUS: 'Unprecedented Presidents' live from WBUR CitySpace

March 06, 2020 15:33 - 39.9 MB

Four years after making Presidential, host Lillian Cunningham led a panel examining what's really unprecedented--or not--about Donald Trump's presidency. Historians Alexis Coe, Drew Gilpin Faust and Julian Zelizer joined for this live event in Boston.

Introducing Moonrise

July 19, 2019 14:00

Host Lillian Cunningham's next podcast explores the real story of why we went to the moon -- a darker, but truer story than the one you've heard before. Listen to this trailer, and subscribe on your favorite podcast app or at washingtonpost.com/moonrise.

Donald Trump: Division and union

November 09, 2016 09:58 - 51.5 MB

In this final episode of the podcast, Library of Congress historians Michelle Krowl and Julie Miller return--along with Washington Post journalist Dan Balz--to reflect on the changing nature of the American presidency.

Barack Obama: The pursuit of identity

October 30, 2016 22:30 - 51.5 MB

Political strategist David Axelrod and biographer David Maraniss discuss Barack Obama's search for identity -- and how that quest has paralleled America's own complex reckoning with race.

George W. Bush: Changing course

October 23, 2016 22:46 - 42.5 MB

Peter Baker, author of "Days of Fire" and a journalist with the New York Times, joins historian Mark Updegrove to examine how George W. Bush's presidency marked the beginning of a new era in American history.

Bill Clinton: The good and the bad

October 16, 2016 14:00 - 44.3 MB

David Maraniss, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on Bill Clinton, explores how Clinton's core character traits had both a bright and a dark side. And Post reporter Jim Tankersley examines a similar duality in his policy legacy.

George H. W. Bush: Restraint

October 09, 2016 14:23 - 47.6 MB

Historians Jon Meacham and Jeffrey Engel discuss President Bush's unique form of presidential leadership--a vintage combination of public service, conservatism and emotional restraint--and examine why his legacy has grown more positive over time.

Ronald Reagan: Myths and truths

October 02, 2016 21:13 - 40 MB

Lou Cannon, biographer and senior White House correspondent for The Washington Post during President Reagan's administration, helps us separate the fact from fiction about who Ronald Reagan really was.

Jimmy Carter: Keeping the faith

September 25, 2016 16:15 - 52.7 MB

Longtime Carter political adviser Pat Caddell, theologian and biographer Randall Balmer, and Washington Post reporter Robert Costa examine how Jimmy Carter's faith has shaped his leadership in and out of the White House.

Gerald Ford: It's personal

September 18, 2016 21:29 - 51 MB

The president's son Steven Ford joins White House photographer David Hume Kennerly and Berkeley professor Daniel Sargent to talk about how Gerald Ford's experience working across the aisle in Congress affected his leadership style as president.

Richard Nixon: Looking inward

September 11, 2016 21:55 - 38.5 MB

Bob Woodward, one of the Washington Post investigative reporters who helped uncover the Watergate scandal, examines what was at the heart of Richard Nixon's presidential downfall. The Washington Post's current executive editor, Marty Baron, joins as well.

Lyndon B. Johnson: Power

September 04, 2016 17:55 - 36.4 MB

The LBJ Presidential Library's director, Mark Updegrove, helps us examine how Johnson worked his will--at times darkly--to get some of the most transformative legislation of the 20th century through Congress.

John F. Kennedy: We are all mortal

August 28, 2016 23:14 - 43.8 MB

Robert Dallek, Michael Beschloss and Fredrik Logevall--three major Kennedy historians and biographers--join us on this week's episode to talk about JFK and death. But not his assassination...

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Covert action

August 21, 2016 14:00 - 47.1 MB

Stephen Kinzer, author of "The Brothers," and historian Will Hitchcock explore President Eisenhower's predilection for covert action--both in foreign affairs and in his own leadership style.

Harry S. Truman: Trying to make the right call

August 15, 2016 03:56 - 33.7 MB

Biographer David McCullough looks at some of the most difficult decisions President Truman made during his time in the White House, and Washington Post polling manager Scott Clement examines the biggest polling failure in presidential history.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: Through Eleanor's eyes

August 07, 2016 18:27 - 48.6 MB

Allida Black, editor of the Eleanor Roosevelt papers, along with FDR Library Director Paul Sparrow and White House speechwriter Sarada Peri, examine Franklin Roosevelt's leadership through the lens of the first lady's own contributions to his presidency.

Herbert Hoover: Dealing with disaster

July 31, 2016 19:47 - 36.1 MB

Herbert Hoover entered the White House with an array of high-profile experiences leading disaster relief. So why was his handling of the Great Depression considered a failure? Biographer Charles Rappleye guest stars.

Calvin Coolidge: A tale of two Coolidges

July 25, 2016 03:55 - 42.1 MB

Former politician Michael Dukakis, biographer Amity Shlaes and political scientist Robert Gilbert join Washington Post economics reporter Steven Pearlstein to offer a version of Calvin Coolidge's legacy that doesn't follow the standard story.

Warren G. Harding: Love and scandal

July 18, 2016 03:59 - 39 MB

Steamy love letters. Jazz. Scandal. Psychics. Newspapers. The Hope Diamond. Historian Nicole Hemmer helps guide us through the wild life and presidency of Warren G. Harding.

Woodrow Wilson: A complicated legacy

July 11, 2016 03:58 - 41.5 MB

Racism, diplomacy, women's suffrage...historian John Milton Cooper and Woodrow Wilson House executive director Robert Enholm lead us through Wilson's complicated personal and presidential legacy.

William Howard Taft: This chief, not that chief

July 03, 2016 13:58 - 34.7 MB

Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of 'The Bully Pulpit,' along with historian Michelle Krowl and Supreme Court reporter Robert Barnes discuss why President Taft made a better chief justice than commander-in-chief.

Theodore Roosevelt: Exuberance

June 26, 2016 13:57 - 38.7 MB

Biographer David McCullough and historian Michelle Krowl take us inside the wild, unstoppable dynamism of Teddy Roosevelt, whose energy and activism redefined the role of American president.

William McKinley: The modern campaign

June 20, 2016 00:03 - 36.2 MB

Republican political strategist Karl Rove dissects what was so transformative about William McKinley's 1896 presidential campaign. And Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig discusses how his assassination modernized the Secret Service.

Benjamin Harrison: The president as conservationist

June 12, 2016 13:59 - 36.6 MB

Benjamin Harrison was the first U.S. president to use his position to try to save a species, the fur seal. He also set aside more than 13 million acres of forest reserves. This episode looks at the roots of conservation as a presidential responsibility.

Grover Cleveland: Tell the truth

June 05, 2016 16:39 - 36.6 MB

Known for his forthrightness, Cleveland came clean when news broke that he had fathered an illegitimate child; yet he later covered up a cancer surgery at sea. Guests Matthew Algeo, Michelle Krowl and Roman Mars explore candor and the presidency.

Chester A. Arthur: Redemption

May 29, 2016 13:58 - 37.7 MB

How does one of the greatest beneficiaries of the spoils system end up being the president who passes civil service reform? Post reporter David Fahrenthold and Stateline editor Scott Greenberger tell the amazing story of Arthur's personal transformation.

James A. Garfield: Shot down

May 23, 2016 00:45 - 38.7 MB

Only 100 days into office, President Garfield was shot down in a train station by a disturbed office seeker. 'Destiny of the Republic' author Candice Millard, along with Michelle Krowl of the Library of Congress, examine the life cut short.

Rutherford B. Hayes: The most contested election

May 15, 2016 20:27 - 39.8 MB

How does a vicious, close and disputed election spill over into a presidency? We examine the razor-thin election results for Rutherford B. Hayes, and the equally fine line he then had to tread as president during the end of Reconstruction.

Ulysses S. Grant: Lover, fighter, writer

May 08, 2016 13:59 - 39.8 MB

Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs are considered the best ever written by a president. In this episode, Washington Post nonfiction book critic Carlos Lozada and biographer David Maraniss discuss what they found funny, touching and illuminating about the work.

Andrew Johnson: Stitching up a torn country

May 02, 2016 00:15 - 33.6 MB

What kind of president can repair America's deepest divisions? Michelle Krowl of the Library of Congress walks us through Andrew Johnson's time in office right after the Civil War and sheds light on why he struggled to bring the country together.

Abraham Lincoln: His hand and his pen

April 24, 2016 20:43 - 50.8 MB

Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of 'Team of Rivals,' and Michelle Krowl of the Library of Congress guide us through Lincoln's love for language--and how his gift for writing and oratory became one of his greatest presidential leadership tools.

James Buchanan: The bachelor and the bloodshed

April 18, 2016 00:05 - 36 MB

America is on the eve of civil war, and James Buchanan is alone in the White House as our first and only bachelor president. Historians Jean Baker and Jim Loewen, and The Washington Post's Jim Tankersley, explore the lack of personal and political union.

Franklin Pierce: Rolling off the tracks

April 10, 2016 13:55 - 28.8 MB

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer James McPherson and historian Edna Greene Medford discuss Franklin Pierce's role in the country's progression toward civil war, as well as the personal tragedy that unfolded right before he took office.

Millard Fillmore: Teaching the obscure presidents

April 03, 2016 16:47 - 36 MB

Should we teach the presidency of Millard Fillmore? What do we lose if we don't? Historians Jean Baker and James McPherson, along with Washington Post education reporter T. Rees Shapiro, tackle these questions in our 13th episode.

Zachary Taylor: War heroes and conspiracy theory

March 27, 2016 13:55 - 26.9 MB

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank joins historians Catherine Clinton and Joseph Uscinski to talk about military hero Zachary Taylor and the assassination theories that swirled around his death in the White House.

Guests

David Maraniss
2 Episodes
Bob Woodward
1 Episode
Jon Meacham
1 Episode
Stephen Kinzer
1 Episode

Books

Ulysses S. Grant
1 Episode
Warren G. Harding
1 Episode