Show Notes
Biographer David McCullough looks at some of the most difficult decisions President Truman made during his time in the White House, and Washington Post polling manager Scott Clement examines the biggest polling failure in presidential history.
More from Presidential
Jason Rezaian knows the cost of free speech. He spent 544 days in an Iranian prison for simply being a journalist. The world is witnessing the erosion of democratic values. The Freedom Desk video podcast is about what comes next in the global fight for free expression. Every week, Jason talks to one leading voice about freedoms gained, freedoms lost, who's trying to take it from us, and how we take it back. First episode is out now.
This is the second of two special “Presidential” podcast episodes released in advance of the presidential election on Nov. 5. The episodes examine how the candidates, former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, could make history if they win. This episode focuses on the history and precedent surrounding Trump’s run, as a former president hoping to retake the office.
“Presidential” host Lillian Cunningham talks with Sharon McMahon, the creator behind Instagram’s @SharonSaysSo, about women’s ongoing fight for more political power — examining the arc of progress since 1920, when women across the nation first voted for president. They guide listeners through women’s initial efforts to gain the right to vote and explore why the pace of further progress has been slower than expected over the past century. They also discuss the changes that are likely (and unlikely) to happen if Harris does become the first woman to win the White House. McMahon is the host of “Here’s Where It Gets Interesting” and author of “The Small and the Mighty.” In addition to creating “Presidential,” Cunningham is the host of several other Washington Post podcasts, including “Field Trip”—which explores the past, present and future of America’s national parks. Want to keep in touch? You can follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her mailing list. Archival audio in this episode is courtesy of the Library of Congress, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and News Radio KDKA. Special thanks to the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute.
Ava Wallace, sports reporter at The Washington Post, is in France to report on the Summer Games — and eat a lot of croissants. Join her through the entire run of the games, for several episodes a week as she captures the highs, the lows and the Paris of it all, along with other Post colleagues.
Every 19th of October, Grenadians mark a somber anniversary: the 1983 execution of the country’s former prime minister and revolutionary leader, Maurice Bishop, and others who died alongside him. The people of this Caribbean nation still have no closure 40 years later. The remains of Bishop and his supporters were never returned to their family members and are missing to this day.