Presidential Chronicles

David Fisher
  • 5.0 (2)
  • History
  • Updated Daily

Welcome to Presidential Chronicles, the series of books, podcasts, and videos on American history as seen through the lives of the Presidents of the United States. The stories come from David Fisher's robust yet concise biographies of every American President. Fisher tells the stories of these lives with approx. ten episodes episodes for each President, averaging about 12 minutes in length, with each episode delving into a particular aspect of the President's life, along with an assortment of direct quotations, images, and relevant perspective.

  1. 11h ago

    Episode #410: Gerald Ford #5: The Unelected Path to the Vice Presidency (1972-1973)

    Gerald Ford #5: The Unelected Path to the Vice Presidency (1972-1973); Topics covered include: Richard Nixon, the Watergate scandal, Ford's trip to China, Election of 1972, Spiro Agnew scandal over kickbacks from government contractors when he was Governor of Maryland, Agnew was initially defiant but eventually pled guilty and resigned the vice presidency, Nixon considers candidates to replace Agnew as VP, Ford is nominated for the vice presidency, FBI inquiry into Ford's background, Ford's confirmation hearings, and Ford sworn in as the 40th Vice President of the United States Key people include: Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt, John Mitchell, Bob Haldeman, Chou En-lai, George McGovern, John Dean, Jeb Stuart Magruder, John Ehrlichman, John Connally, Nelson Rockefeller, Ronald Reagan, Carl Albert, Mel Laird, Betty Ford, William Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

  2. 1d ago

    Episode #409: Gerald Ford #4: Minority Leader (1964-1972)

    Gerald Ford #4: Minority Leader (1964-1972); Topics covered include: Election as House Minority Leader, partnering with Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, frustration with the Lyndon Johnson administration over spending and the Vietnam War, election of Richard Nixon in 1968, frustrations with the Nixon administration, attempt to impeach Supreme Court Justice William Douglas, and the prospects for Republicans in 1972 Key people include: Charles Halleck, Bob Dole, Betty Ford, Susan Ford, Everett Dirksen, Lyndon Johnson, Franklin Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Eugene McCarty, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Hubert Humphrey, George Wallace, William Douglas, Meyer Lansky, Abe Fortas, and Andrew Jacobs For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

  3. 2d ago

    Episode #408: Gerald Ford #3: Congressman Ford: A Workhorse not a Show Horse (1949-1964)

    Gerald Ford #3: Congressman Ford: A Workhorse not a Show Horse (1949-1964); Topics covered include: Begins congressional career, joins Appropriations Committee, birth of four children, supports Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon in the 1952 presidential election, consistent supporter of civil rights legislation, move into home in Alexandria, VA, supports Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election, becomes the Chair of the House Republican Caucus, assassination of President John Kennedy, serves on the Warren Commission, and the findings of the Warren Commission Key people include: Harry Truman, Albert Engel, Betty Ford, Mike Ford, Jack Ford, Steven Ford, Susan Ford, Clara Powell, Dwight Eisenhower, Robert Taft, Richard Nixon, John Taber, John Kennedy, Charles Hoeven, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, Lyndon Johnson, Earl Warren, Jacqueline Kennedy, and John Stiles For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

  4. 3d ago

    Episode #407: Gerald Ford #2: Law, War, Politics, and Betty (1941-1948)

    Gerald Ford #2: Law, War, Politics, and Betty (1941-1948); Topics covered include: Starts law firm, U.S. enters World War II, volunteers for Navy, assigned to the USS Monterey, missions in the Pacific Theater against the Japanese, Typhoon Cobra, returns to the U.S., war ends, back to law and community groups in Grand Rapids, meets Betty Bloomer Warren, runs for Congress against incumbent Barney Jonkman, wins the Republican primary, marries Betty, and wins the general election campaign to become a congressman Key people include: Phil Buchen, Franklin Roosevelt, Stuart Ingersoll, Betty Bloomer Warren, Martha Graham, Barney Jonkman, Frank McKay, Harry Truman, Fred Barr, and Betty Ford (now married) For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

  5. 4d ago

    Episode #406: Gerald Ford #1: All American Boy (1913-1941)

    Gerald Ford #1: All American Boy (1913-1941); Topics covered include: Early troubles between Ford's mom and birth father leading to their divorce, Dorothy leaves for Grand Rapids, Michigan, meets and marries Gerald Ford, Fords as a high school football star, meets his biological father, attends University of Michigan to play football, becomes football and boxing coach at Yale, enters Yale Law School, relationship with Phyllis Brown, graduates from Yale Law, and returns to Grand Rapids to start his law practice Key people include: Leslie King, Dorothy King (later Dorothy Ford), Cliff Gettings, Harry Kipke, Arthur Krause, Chuck Bernard, Ducky Pond, Potter Stewart, Byron White, and Phyllis Brown For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

  6. Jul 24

    Episode #405: Richard Nixon #18: Resurrection? (1974-1994)

    Richard Nixon #18: Resurrection? (1974-1994); Topics covered include: Nixon returns to San Clemente after his resignation, Gerald Ford pardons Nixon, Nixon is treated for phlebitis, the Nixon/Frost interviews, Nixon's memoirs, international travel, relationships with successors (Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton), student uprising in Tiananmen Square (China), the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the opening of the Nixon Library and Museum, death of Pat Nixon, and death and funeral of Richard Nixon Key people include: Bud Krogh, Gerald Ford, Benton Becker, Julie Nixon Eisenhower (and family), David Frost, Jimmy Carter, Deng Xiaoping, Ronald Reagan, Tricia Nixon Cox (and family), Katherine Graham, Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, George H.W. Bush, Boris Yeltsin, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Pat Nixon Correction at 15:20. Should be "Library and Museum" not "Library and Memorial." For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

  7. Jul 23

    Episode #404: Richard Nixon #17: Resignation (1973-1974)

    Richard Nixon #17: Resignation (1973-1974); Topics covered include: Resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew, nominates Gerald Ford to replace Agnew as VP, Yom Kippur War in the Middle East, Appeals Court rules Nixon must turn over tapes, the Stennis Plan, the Saturday Night Massacre (firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox), appointment of Leon Jaworski as the new Special Prosecutor, missing tapes, the 18.5 minute gap from the June 20, 1972, tape, charges of excessive use of federal funds to improve Nixon's homes plus tax evasion, more indictments against Nixon staffers, Nixon releases more transcripts but fights additional efforts to the Supreme Court where he loses in a unanimous ruling, trips to the Middle East and the Soviet Union, the Judiciary Committee moves forward with an impeachment inquiry, agrees that the June 23, 1972 tape is impossible to overcome (the "smoking gun"), decides to resign, refuses requests from Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman for pardons for the Watergate defendants, resigns the presidency on August 9, and leaves office that morning Key people include: John Dean, Alexander Butterfield, Spiro Agnew, Elliott Richardson, John Connally, Nelson Rockefeller, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Golda Meir, James Schlessinger, Henry Kissinger, Anwar Sadat, John Stennis, Archibald Cox, William Ruckelshaus, Robert Bork, John Chancellor, Leon Jaworski, Rose Mary Woods, Edward Morgan, Bob Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Chuck Colson, John Mitchell, Joseph Alsop, Leonid Brezhnev, Fred Buzhardt, Alexander Haig, Julie Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford Correction at 3:59. Should be "in favor of the Israelis" not "in favor of the Arabs." For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

  8. Jul 22

    Episode #403: Richard Nixon #16: "Watergate had Become a Bottomless Pit" (1972-1973)

    Richard Nixon #16: "Watergate had Become a Bottomless Pit" (1972-1973); Topics covered include: Newspaper reports on Watergate, Deep Throat, Watergate defendants found guilt, the establishment of the Ervin Committee, John Dean informs President Nixon of his cover-up activities (March 21, 1973 meeting), includes discussion of hush money payments, defendants begin to cooperate with authorities including James McCord, Jeb Magruder, and John Dean, Nixon fires Dean and accepts the resignations of Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, Dean shares all he knows with the Justice Department and the Ervin Committee, Nixon continues to deny involvement or knowledge of the Watergate activities, charges are dismissed against Daniel Ellsberg, Nixon hosts Soviet Prime Leonid Brezhnev for a Summit, Dean testifies for a week - all carried on national television, Alexander Butterfield reveals Nixon's White House taping system, Nixon decides not to destroy the tapes Key people include: Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Mark Felt, Ken Dahlberg, Bernard Barker, John Mitchell, Donald Segretti, Bob Haldeman, John Sirica, Gordon Liddy, James McCord, Sam Ervin, John Dean, Pat Gray, Chuck Colson, Gordon Strahan, Jeb Magruder, Howard Hunt, Herbert Kalmbach, Bud Krogh, John Ehrlichman, Richard Kleindients, Henry Petersen, Elliott Richardson, Archibald Cox, Matthew Byrne, Daniel Ellsberg, Leonid Brezhnev, Tricia Nixon, Howard Baker, Alexander Butterfield, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and David Frost For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

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About

Welcome to Presidential Chronicles, the series of books, podcasts, and videos on American history as seen through the lives of the Presidents of the United States. The stories come from David Fisher's robust yet concise biographies of every American President. Fisher tells the stories of these lives with approx. ten episodes episodes for each President, averaging about 12 minutes in length, with each episode delving into a particular aspect of the President's life, along with an assortment of direct quotations, images, and relevant perspective.

Information

  • Creator
    David Fisher
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    410
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © David Fisher
  • Show Website
    Presidential Chronicles