Word to LIve by & Reagan Forum

A Reagan Forum – Gary Sinise

In this week's Reagan Forum, we go back to March 7, 2019, to our conversation with Gary Sinise.

Words To Live By – Broadcasting Freedom

The title of this podcast is broadcasting freedom. So, just how does a country go about doing just that? When Ronald Reagan was running for the presidency in March 1980, before he ever sat in the Oval Office, he said, “we must use our neglected ability at communications – Radio Free Europe, the Voice of Liberty, The Voice of America to call attention to the power of freedom” and the true spirit of democracy. While America had been criticized for their efforts to broadcast the truth about communism, the Soviets maintained a broadcasting radio network in 84 languages, 2000 hours a week. Moments after his inauguration, President Reagan authorized our international communications agency to increase its efforts in every way, shape and form. By late 1981, right after the declaration of the martial law in Poland in December 1981, U.S.-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Europe expanded their radio broadcasts. These broadcasts continued during the martial law. In order to get radios to them, they were smuggled in ingenious ways, hidden in lard or other products. The imprisoned Solidarity workers in Poland listened regularly and said they could receive all stations despite the Soviets effort to jam the radio signal. And those who were imprisoned said these broadcasts sustained them, buoyed their spirits, and helped them remain strong.

Let’s go back and remind ourselves about Voice of America which began during WWII.

A Reagan Forum – Tommy Lasorda

In this week's Reagan Forum, we go back to August 2019, when we hosted a conversation with Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda.

After a brief career as a left-handed pitcher, Tommy Lasorda became one of the most enthusiastic and successful managers in baseball history. Lasorda, who has been with the Dodgers for 65 years, led the team to two world championships, four National League titles and eight division titles in 20 years as manager of the team. Following his retirement as manager, Lasorda became a special advisor to the chairman of the Dodgers. One of his most memorable accomplishments was managing the United States to its first-ever gold medal in baseball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Words To Live By – Massacre on Korean Airline Flight 007

On August 31^st, 1983, mid-afternoon Washington time, a Korean Airlines 747, Flight 007, en route from New York to Seoul, disappeared from air traffic control radar screens in the Far East. It took air traffic controllers and American intelligence agencies several hours to piece together what had happened. By 10:30 pm Eastern time, the unthinkable had occurred; the Soviets had shot the civilian airplane out of the sky. 60 Americans, including an American Congressman, were among the 269 passengers. Over the next few weeks, the President had plenty to say.

A Reagan Forum – Donald Rumsfeld

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we look back to May 21, 2013 when we hosted Donald Rumsfeld, who, over the course of his life served as a Member of Congress, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, White House Chief of Staff, Secretary of Defense twice -- the only such example in U.S. history -- and literally a dozen or more important federal advisory roles. Sometime in the 1960s, Donald Rumsfeld began collecting pithy, compelling and often humorous observations about leadership, business and life, gathering them on three-by-five cards and storing them in a shoebox. As his career skyrocketed over time, what started out as scribblings in a shoebox eventually migrated their way to memos, grew sizably and have been distributed widely in one format or another to those who have had the privilege to work with him over the years. In 2013 they were captured in a book, entitled Rumsfeld’s Rules and organized in such a way that they will prove to be priceless pointers to everyone looking to lead in life, from college graduates to business leaders to aspiring public servants. During his remarks at the Reagan Library he discussed those rules.

Words To Live By – Republican National Convention Acceptance Speech

Today, we’re looking at the historic re-nomination and acceptance speech of President Reagan and Vice President George HW Bush in August 1984, 41 years ago. In light of our current political season, we thought it might be valuable to hear a sitting president recount his promises, citing his accomplishments with honesty and candor. To set the scene, it was the first time a Republican National Convention was held in Texas! Reagan carried the endorsement of 2,233 of the 2,235 delegates to the Dallas convention. He was beyond a lock, having no serious competition in the primaries.

A Reagan Forum – Condoleezza Rice

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we look back to July 14, 2009 when Condoleezza Rice addressed our audience. It was less than seven months after serving our nation as the 66^th Secretary of State, the first African-American woman to ever serve in this position. Her speech was the most-attended Reagan Forum in the Library’s 18-year history. Condoleezza Rice actually has many things in common with President Reagan. Like the president, she began her political aspirations with the Democratic Party before switching her party registration, and loyalty, to the Republican Party. And, like the President, her unwavering commitment to freedom and democracy and liberty over tyranny led her to an influential position in government, critical in our nation instituting change. During President Reagan’s administration, Condoleezza Rice served as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as an arms control and foreign policy specialist. She begins her remarks at the Reagan Library by stating that standing up for democracy is the proposition she wants to defend.

Words To Live By – Israel and the Middle East

In August, the President always made an effort to spend time at Rancho del Cielo in Santa Barbara. Just because he was on vacation, did not mean his Presidential responsibilities were put on hold, because the work continued. He drafted and delivered many radio addresses from the Ranch and this one in particular stands out on the subject of the Middle East. Recall that in August 1983, the conflict in the Middle East, specifically in Lebanon had become so intense, a multi-national peacekeeping force had been sent to attempt to stabilize the conflict. And 5 years later, in 1988, here’s the President’s analysis of the Middle East.

A Reagan Forum - Eva’s Promise

On a train to Auschwitz, 17-year-old Heinz Geiringer told his sister Eva that he hid the paintings and poetry he created during his time in hiding beneath the attic floorboards. Heinz made Eva promise if he should die in the camps, she would retrieve the artwork. Eva survived the camps, and Heinz did not.  After the war, Eva became the posthumous stepsister of Anne when her mother married Anne’s father. Heinz’s story sits in the shadow of the better-known DIARY OF ANNE FRANK. Director Steve McCarthy and Producer Susan Kerner created a documentary, called “Eva’s Promise” to introduce the world to Heinz and to share his sister’s efforts to find and share his remarkable legacy. They came to the Reagan Library on August 8, 2023 to screen the film and then share their thoughts about the project.

A Reagan Forum – Bob Ballard

Just this summer, in June of 2023, tragedy struck when the Titan Submersible, on its way to explore the Titanic, imploded under the ocean, immediately killing all of those on board. One of the first authorities to discuss the matter was Dr. Robert Ballard, the man responsible for discovering the Titanic in 1985. With his name back in the news, we thought it might be fun in this week’s Reagan Forum podcast to dust off our program with Dr. Ballard from 2017. So please enjoy this podcast, which originally broadcast on April 19, 2018.