Making Teddy

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HISTORY This Week: Nixon Does Whatever It Takes to Win in ’68 Sep 16, 2024

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This is a brand-new episode from HISTORY This Week, available wherever you listen to podcasts!

September 16, 1968. Richard Nixon isn't exactly seen as a comedian. But tonight, he's trying to change that by appearing on Laugh-In, a TV show similar to Saturday Night Live. Nixon needs every vote he can get in the 1968 election, facing off against Hubert Humphrey, the vice president who became the Democratic nominee after Lyndon Johnson withdrew from the ticket.

Nixon's Laugh-In appearance is a surprise, but soon, he'll pull off a move that no one would ever expect. How did back-channel dealings, unattended teleprompters, and Oval Office shouting matches turn this election into an all-time drama? And what do recently uncovered conversations reveal about how far Nixon was willing to go to secure victory?

Special thanks to David Farber, professor of history at the University of Kansas and author of Chicago ‘68; Lawrence O’Donnell, host of The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC and author of Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics; and Luke Nichter, professor of history at Chapman University and author of The Year That Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968.

To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com

HISTORY This Week is returning this Monday, 9/16! Sep 12, 2024

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HISTORY This week is about to return! We'll be back with new episodes this Monday, September 16th. In the meantime, listen to our trailer for Season 5, and follow HISTORY This Week wherever you get your podcasts.

To stay updated: historythisweekpodcast.com

Episode 5: The Conservationist Aug 24, 2023

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Roosevelt uses his executive powers as president to create the National Parks, preserving thousands of acres of US land. As his term draws to a close, he regrets his vow not to seek a second term, and sets out to run for president again as the leader of his own Bull Moose Party.

Episode 4: The People’s President Aug 17, 2023

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At 42, Roosevelt becomes the youngest US president in history. Breaking with the interests of his own class, he takes on the “robber barons" of the railroad, coal and oil industries to establish and protect workers’ rights.

Episode 3: The Rough Rider Aug 10, 2023

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As war breaks out with Spain, Roosevelt heads to Cuba with his cavalry, a newly-minted band called the Rough Riders. He returns a hero – and a celebrity – and runs for Governor of New York.

Episode 2: The Strenuous Life Aug 03, 2023

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After his wife and mother both die on a single day, Teddy Roosevelt thinks his life is over. He escapes to the Dakota Badlands and the hardscrabble ranching life of the frontier. But the lure of politics brings him back to New York, where he’s determined to root out corruption as the new Commissioner of the Police Department.

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