"a Reagan Forum" Podcast

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back two weeks to our in-person program with American playwright David Mamet. David joined us to discuss the release of his latest book, Recessional: The Death of Free Speech and the Cost of a Free Lunch. David Mamet is most known for his work as a playwright and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed the Plow. Feature films that he wrote include “The Verdict,” “The Untouchables,”, “Hoffa,” “Hannibal” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice.”

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back a few weeks to our virtual program with Mark Updegrove. Mark is the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and serves as Presidential Historian for ABC News. Mark joined us to discuss his brand new book, Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency, an illuminating account of John F Kennedy’s brief but transformative tenure in the White House.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back a week to May 3, 2022 for our in-person event with Larry Hogan, the Governor of Maryland and previous Chairman of the National Governor’s Association, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Governor Larry Hogan, Jr. was sworn in as the 62nd governor of Maryland on January 21, 2015. In 2018, he was overwhelmingly re-elected to a four-year term, receiving the most votes of any Maryland gubernatorial candidate and becoming only the second Republican governor to be re-elected in the 242-year history of the state. During his Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Governor Hogan addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back just over one week to our Reagan Forum with Former Attorney General Bill Barr. This wasn’t just a regular Reagan Forum – it was also our first Reagan Book Club event, a membership program which connects like-minded individuals with exclusive reading materials, impactful experiences with world-class authors, and a passionate community to cultivate meaningful connections and thoughtful discussions about the history, state and direction of our nation. Bill Barr came to the Reagan Library to discuss his new book, One Damn Thing After Another, his candid memoir which takes readers behind the scenes during seminal moments of the 1990s, from the LA riots to Pan Am 103, to 30 years later while facing an unrelenting barrage of issues, such as Russiagate, the COVID outbreak, civil unrest, the impeachments, and the 2020 election fallout.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back a week to April 21, 2022 for our in-person event with American politician and former CIA clandestine officer who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 23rd congressional district from 2015 to 2021, William Hurd. Congressman Hurd came to the Reagan Library to discuss his latest book, “American Reboot: An Idealist’s Guide to Getting Big Things Done,” a bold political playbook for America rooted in the timeless ideals of bipartisanship, inclusivity, and democratic values.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back only a few days to April 19, 2022 for our in-person event with United States Senator Tim Scott, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Tim Scott grew up in a poor, single parent household in South Carolina. But after graduating college and building his own successful small business, Tim Scott developed his mission statement he still lives by today – to positively affect the lives of a billion people. He current serves as the Senator from South Carolina after first being appointed to the position by Governor Nikki Haley in 2013 and then winning his seat in a special election in 2014. He was elected to a full term in 2016.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back only a week to April 6, 2022 for our in-person event with Kristi Noem, the Governor of South Dakota, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Kristi Noem has served as the 33rd governor of South Dakota since 2019, and is the state’s first female governor. In addition to serving as Governor, Kristi Noem is a wife, lifelong rancher, and small business owner. Despite all of this, she says that her greatest accomplishment is raising her three children.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just a few days to April 4, 2022 for our in-person event with Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Previously, Amy Coney Barrett served as a law clerk for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit from 1997 to 1998, and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1998 Term. After two years in private law practice in Washington, D.C., she became a law professor, joining the faculty of Notre Dame Law School in 2002. She was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2017. During the event at the Reagan Library she sat on stage in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Board Chairman Fred Ryan.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back two months to our Reaganism Podcast with Former Congressman and Senator of Missouri, Jim Talent. In this episode of Reaganism, Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim and Senator Talent discuss the 2021 report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The discussion touches on China's trade practices as well as their activities in the Xinjiang and Hong Kong regions.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to March 7, 2022 for our in-person event with United States Senator Tom Cotton, who was the Foundation’s sixth speaker in its Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Tom Cotton is the United States Senator from Arkansas. He previously served as a lawyer, leaving law because of the September 11th attacks on our country and joining the military. He served nearly five years on active duty in the United States Army as an Infantry Officer. Senator Cotton served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne and in Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team. Between his two combat tours, he served with The Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present American journalist and political commentator John Avlon, who joined us at the Reagan Library virtually on February 28, 2022, to discuss his newest book, Lincoln and the Fight for Peace which is a revelatory history of Abraham Lincoln’s plan to secure a just and lasting peace after the Civil War — a vision that inspired future presidents as well as the world’s most famous peacemakers, including Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a story of war and peace, race and reconciliation.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Speaker Gingrich is well-known as the architect of the “Contract with America” that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994, creating the first conservative majority in the House in 40 years. He is also recognized internationally as an expert on world history, military issues, and international affairs, as he is the longest-serving teacher of the Joint War Fighting course for Major Generals.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we’re going to break from our normal format to honor President and Mrs. Reagan on what would have been their 70th wedding anniversary on March 4, 2022. 70 years prior, on March 4, 1952, Ronald Reagan wed Nancy Davis at the Little Brown Church in the Valley near Los Angeles, California. Their only wedding guests were their best man and maid of honor, married couple William Holden and his wife, Brenda. It’s been said that Romeo had his Juliet, Antony had his Cleopatra. Prince Edward had his Wallis, and Ronald Reagan had his beloved Nancy. Charlton Heston once said theirs was “probably the greatest love affair in the history of the American Presidency.”

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present Craig Shirley, the author of four bestsellers on President Ronald Reagan, including “Rendezvous with Destiny” and “Reagan’s Revolution.” On this visit to the Reagan Library, Craig launched his latest book, “April 1945: The Hinge of History,” which is the long-awaited follow-up to the widely praised December 1941. In April 1945, Craig combines engaging anecdotes with deft research to look at the several events which changed the face of the world forever: the sudden death of President Roosevelt followed by Harry S. Truman’s rise to office; Adolph Hitler’s suicide; and the horrific discoveries of Dachau and Auschwitz. During his visit, Craig sat down with Reagan Foundation Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller to discuss his book.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back two weeks to February 7, 2022 for our in-person event with Peggy Noonan, who was the Foundation’s seventh speaker in its Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. As speech writer and special assistant, Peggy Noonan crafted for Ronald Reagan some of the most memorable addresses of his Presidency. From his unforgettable speech before the “boys of Pointe du Hoc” at Normandy in 1984 to mark the 40th anniversary of D-Day, to his soothing and soaring words that moved a nation forward following the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, Peggy displayed a mastery of her craft. As such, it is of no surprise to anyone that in her years since, as a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. She’s also currently a Trustee for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. During her Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Peggy addressed additional critical issu

February 6, 2022 marked the 111th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Wilson Reagan. He used to love to joke that each birthday was the anniversary of his 39th birthday, so 2022 would have marked the 72nd anniversary of his 39th birthday! Since President Reagan’s passing on June 5, 2004, the Reagan Foundation has worked with United States Marine Corps Camp Pendleton to hold a birthday celebration on February 6th of each year to honor the life and legacy of our nation’s 40th president. Each year the program includes live musical entertainment from the 1st Marine Division Band, an honor guard, a rifle guard, and the official laying of the White House Presidential Wreath on President Reagan’s gravesite. Keynote speakers in prior years have included Rudy Giuliani, Elizabeth Dole, James Baker, and Sam Donaldson. In this week’s A Reagan Forum podcast, we listen in to the ceremony held on February 6, 2022 with keynote speaker Peggy Noonan.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just a few days to January 31, 2022 for our in-person event with FBI Director Christopher Wray. Director Wray spoke at the Reagan Library as part of the Library’s special exhibition, FBI: From Al Capone to Al Qaeda, which covers the history of the storied agency from inception to its modern-day efforts to fight domestic terrorism in the United States.

This week’s Reagan Forum Podcast goes back to last month’s Reagan National Defense Forum, for our 4th panel of the day, entitled Defense in the Digital Age: US Cyber Capabilities and the Future of Warfare. The panel included Representative Mike Gallagher, Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations for the US Navy, Dr. Alex Karp, Cofounder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, and General Paul Nakasone, Commander of the United States Cyber Command. The panel was moderated by New York Times reporter Julian Barnes.

This week’s Reagan Forum Podcast will be a little different, as we will spend it by honoring the expansion of the Reagan Library Peace Through Strength Pavilion.

In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we go back one month to our 2021 Reagan National Defense Forum. But rather than share one of the panel discussions, as we’ve been previously doing, this podcast is going to focus on our annual Peace Through Strength Award ceremony. Presented at each Reagan National Defense Forum since 2013, the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Award recognizes those who have applied, with constant purpose, a strategy to strengthen our armed forces, support our military men and women striving around the world, reinforce our nation’s defense systems and safeguard the lives and interests of the American people.