In this podcast for fans of presidential history, John Dickerson of Slate’s Political Gabfest revisits a moment from the American carnival of politics. Hear about the grand speeches, emergency strategies, baby kissing, and backstabbing that make each presidential cycle so fascinating. Part of the Panoply Network.
September 10, 1965 the President established the norm of being "disaster responder in chief."
38 Min
Oct 4, 2017
A surprising moment of bipartisan deal-making and what can be learned from the 1990's.
43 Min
Sep 20, 2017
This episode of Whistlestop revisits September 25, 1919 and the collapse of grand speeches for peace delivered by President Wilson.
42 Min
Aug 9, 2017
This episode of Whistlestop revisits July 1979 when President Carter prepared to cut a number of his cabinet members free and start afresh.
This episode of Whistlestop travels back to November 3, 1968 as President Johnson attempts to end the bombing in Vietnam.
This episode of Whistlestop revisits an era of mischievous accounting by first lady Mary Todd Lincoln and the work of a leaker who helped distract the press.
This episode of Whistlestop revisits Sunday September 8, 1974 when President Ford announced his pardon of Richard Nixon.
This episode of Whistlestop travels back to October 5, 1986 when an American plane went down as it was carrying arms to "Contra" guerrillas fighting the communist regime in Nicaragua.
Visit February 1971 when President Nixon asks his Chief of Staff if they can record conversations in the Oval Office for posterity.
This episode of Whistlestop travels to June 11, 1962 when President Kennedy receives an honorary degree from Yale University.
This episode of Whistlestop revisits October 15, 1969 and the divisive words of then Vice President Spiro Agnew.
This Whistlestop travels back to January 7, 1953 and the introduction of the Bricker Amendment.
John Dickerson visits March 15, 1913 when President Woodrow Wilson convened the very first presidential press conference.
This Whistlestop visits April 24, 1952 when President Truman's executive powers are challenged by the courts.
June 13, 1968, How the U.S. Government Filled the Seat Chief Justice Earl Warren Left Behind
June 13, 1968, How the U.S. Government Filled the Seat Chief Justice Earl Warren Left Behind
Host John Dickerson visits January 11, 2017 and also the campaign season of Gerald R. Ford and Nelson Rockefeller.
Whistlestop takes a journey to 1829 and the inauguration of President Andrew Jackson, the people's President.
Host John Dickerson visits May 24, 1946 and President Harry S. Truman's challenges to labor bosses and his action-hero-style presidency.
Host John Dickerson introduces the new podcast season of campaign curiosities focused on the accomplishments and shortcomings of Presidents past.
This Whistlestop travels back to the October surprise of the Presidential campaign in 1964.
Lies, blame and competitive advantage – a reexamination of the Carter-Reagan Debategate scandal.
With this Whistlestop John Dickerson revisits August 10, 1975 and the candor of Betty Ford.
First stop is November 10, 2007, host John Dickerson outlines Barack Obama's ascension to the Presidency.
John Dickerson tells the tale of the 1960's battle of Barry Goldwater versus Fact Magazine
John Dickerson is live on the road in New York and San Francisco sharing snipets and highlights from the newly published Whistlestop book.
One thing Jefferson and Hamilton could agree on: they hated James Callender. The scandalmonger journalist uncovered the first two great sex scandals of the early Republic and helped Jefferson win the election of 1800.
In a shocker, the GOP nominates a businessman who only the year before had been a registered Democrat. John Dickerson explains how the affable Indiana utility executive rose to clinch the nomination at the last minute.
In 1968, Alabama governor George Wallace appealed to segregationists and blue collar workers during his presidential bid as a third-party candidate.
In 1964, despite the efforts of many establishment Republicans, Sen. Barry Goldwater clinched the GOP nomination for president.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about campaign history, John Dickerson explains how Ronald Reagan almost became Gerald Ford’s vice president and vice-versa.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about campaign history, John Dickerson explains how retail politics won the day in the 2000 Republican primary in New Hampshire.
After a meteoric rise to the top of the polls, Howard Dean’s presidential bid fizzled in 2004, following his infamous televised speech. On this ep., John Dickerson explains why the seeds of the campaign’s demise were present from its very beginning.
John Dickerson remembers the election of 1840, when both Whigs and Democrats turned out record numbers of voters by appealing to the raw emotions of their followers.
John Dickerson remembers the presidential campaign of 1988, when George Bush’s handlers worked from a playbook known as “The Hazards of Duke” to spin Michael Dukakis as soft on crime, weak on defense, and generally out of touch.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about campaign history, John Dickerson tells the story of JFK’s masterful counterattack in his 1960 primary campaign, in which he turned the criticism of his faith into one of his greatest strengths.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about campaign history, John Dickerson remembers Mario Cuomo’s excruciatingly long and drawn-out process of public indecision about whether to enter the presidential race in 1992.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about campaign history, John Dickerson remembers the 1992 presidential debate, in which candidate Bill Clinton convinced Americans that he really cared…about them.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about campaign history, John Dickerson explains why 1976 ushered in the kind of presidential debates we see today.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about campaign history, political correspondent John Dickerson compares the presidential ambitions of two ego-driven billionaires.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson concludes the tale of the 1980 Democratic primary fight between challenger Ted Kennedy and incumbent President Jimmy Carter.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson remembers when Ted Kennedy challenged incumbent President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination in 1980.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson revisits Bill Clinton's rise and fall and rise during the 1992 Democratic primary.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson explains how Harry Truman pulled off an improbable victory over Thomas Dewey in the election of 1948.
In this episode of Slate's podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson examines George McGovern's hasty selection of a vice-presidential running mate during the 1972 campaign. Dickerson describes how...
In this episode of Slate's bite-sized podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson offers up Part Two in his look at Ronald Reagan's rise to power in the conservative movement. As detailed in our...
Thumbing his nose at both courtesy and convention, Ronald Reagan challenged incumbent Gerald Ford for the GOP presidential nomination in 1976.
In this episode of Slate's bite-sized podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson brings us a disturbingly familiar story of personal correspondence coming back to haunt the early favorite. No, he's not talkin
In this episode of Slate's bite-sized podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson tells the salacious tale of the love child that nearly cost Grover Cleveland the 1884 election.
In this episode of Slate's bite-sized podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson recounts part two of the acrimonious fight between Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for the 1952 Republic
In this episode of Slate's bite-sized podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson remembers the acrimonious fight between Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for the 1952 Republican presiden
John Dickerson remembers the tears that washed away the presidential ambitions of Edmund Muskie, Democratic senator from Maine, in 1972.
In this episode of Slate's bite-sized podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson recounts the election of 1840, during which a candidate took to the trail for the very first time.
In this episode of Slate's bite-sized podcast about presidential campaign history, chief political correspondent John Dickerson recalls Michigan Gov. George Romney's 1967 listening tour of America's most disadvantaged neighborhoods.
