Letter from America: The Reagan Years (1981-1988)

BBC Radio 4

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Society & Culture

Ronald Reagan’s presidency, from Reagonomics and the invasion of Grenada in his first term, to the Iran-contra scandal and reconciliation with Soviet leader Mihail Gorbachev in his second. A fascinating social, cultural and political history of American life, through the words of British-American journalist and broadcaster, Alistair Cooke (1908 – 2004).

09/12/1988

Gorbachev's perilous experiment

Misgivings over Gorbachev's liberalisation proposals as observers fear further splits from satellite nations. This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to 1989. It was restored by the BBC in 2014.

14 min
02/12/1988

Yasser Arafat's speech at the UN, 1988

Yasser Arafat's speech at the UN, the denial of his visa by US secretary of state George Schultz, and the view that Palestinians are moving towards reconciliation with Israel.

14 min
25/11/1988

Fears over US deficit

The economy will be the first challenge facing the new president when his term starts in January. This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to 1989. It was restored by the BBC in 2014.

14 min
18/11/1988

A dirty campaign

Slander and innuendo are nothing new in campaigning - but the rhetoric will soon be erased. This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to 1989. It was restored by the BBC in 2014.

14 min
11/11/1988

The 1988 presidential election

An overview of the ballot paper in the 1988 presidential elections, George Bush's "inevitable" victory, and the issues that proved most important for voting Americans.We apologize for the abrupt end to this audio, this occurred when the episode was originally recorded for the archive.

14 min
04/11/1988

George H W Bush vs Michael Dukakis

A review of George H W Bush and Michael Dukakis' presidential campaigns, key values and demographics, and predicted performances before the 1988 elections.

28 min
28/10/1988

The Bess Myerson trial begins

The 1988 trial of Bess Myerson, the former Miss America and head of consumer affairs to New York City, accused of tax fraud and bribing a judge.

14 min
21/10/1988

Baseball and politics in 1988

With the 1988 presidential race and World Series drawing to a close, Alistair Cooke looks at the baseball metaphors used by George H W Bush and Michael Dukakis in their campaigns.

14 min

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Ronald Reagan’s presidency, from Reagonomics and the invasion of Grenada in his first term, to the Iran-contra scandal and reconciliation with Soviet leader Mihail Gorbachev in his second. A fascinating social, cultural and political history of American life, through the words of British-American journalist and broadcaster, Alistair Cooke (1908 – 2004).