The Past, the Promise, the Presidency
Welcome to "The Past, the Promise, the Presidency," a podcast about the exciting, unexpected, and critically-important history of the office of the President of the United States. You'll find four seasons of this podcast: Season 1 - Race and the American Legacy; Season 2 - Presidential Crises; Season 3 - The Bully Pulpit; and the current Season 4 - Conversations. Between Seasons 3 & 4, you will also find here a new pilot series called "Firsthand History." In each season of this series, we'll tell a different story from the complex and controversial era of the George W. Bush presidency. We'll tell these stories by featuring oral histories from our Collective Memory Project - firsthand stories told by the people who were there, including U.S. government officials, leaders from foreign countries, journalists, scholars, and more. Season 1--"Cross Currents: Navigating U.S.-Norway Relations After 9/11"--explores the tangled webs of transatlantic alliance in a time of war and uncertainty. "Firsthand History" is a production of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University.
The Past, the Promise, the Presidency
S4 E9: The Peacemaker
The early 1980s was a time of great political uncertainty. With the threat of nuclear destruction seemingly imminent, the emergence of global terrorism, and the rise of proxy conflicts in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, Ronald Reagan entered the White House with many global security problems on his hands, and very few clear solutions. He wasn’t alone, though. Throughout the end of the Cold War, Reagan was supported by a national security team with competing ideals to solve these looming crises. Recently declassified documents and interviews with many of these senior Reagan administration officials have revealed a new storyline toward the peaceful conclusion of the Cold War and the remaking of the world order.
Guiding us through today’s conversation is Dr. William Inboden. William Inboden is a historian of national security and professor at the UT Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs. Prior to joining the UT faculty, he has served as senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council, worked on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and served as a congressional staff member. He also served as head of the London-based Legatum Institute, and as a Civitas Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Dr. Inboden’s commentary has been featured in op-eds in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and more. As a professor, he has been awarded the “Texas 10” Award by the Texas Exes Alumni Association, selected as “Lecturer of the Year” at the LBJ School, and his classes Presidential Decision-making in National Security and Ethics and International Affairs have been voted as "Best Class in the LBJ School" and “Class Most Likely to Challenge Your Assumptions.”
He is the author of The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink and Religion and American Foreign Policy, 1945–1960: The Soul of Containment.
Visit his pages on the University of Texas at Austin website and on the Clements Center website.