Landslide
by NPR
Latest episode
The American Storytelling collection explores the human stories…
The American Storytelling collection explores the human stories…
About this podcast
In the mid-1970s, the Republican Party looked on the verge of self-destruction. Until 1976. A political earthquake: A cutthroat, razor-close, deeply personal battle for the Republican nomination, and the party's identity. It resurrected the GOP, remade it as a conservative party, and pulled the country sharply to the right. Landslide is the story of the closest presidential primary race in American history, what followed, and how it reshaped the political parties — opening the partisan rifts that divide us today. Hosted by award-winning public radio journalist Ben Bradford.
Episodes
- The American Storytelling collection explores the human stories behind the political headlines · 3 min · Season 1 Episode 19Politics is the human story behind the headlines: our hopes, disagreements, choices and visions for what comes next. This fall, the American Storytelling Collection brings…
- The Speaker · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 18Nancy Pelosi never intended to run for office — but in 1987, a twist of fate thrust her into San Francisco’s political arena. In Congress, she seized power and became one of the…
- Are we doomed? · 38 min · Season 1 Episode 17Historically, societies fall. Civilizations collapse. But is that what’s happening now in the United States? With the help of historians, a former CIA-funded researcher on…
- Introducing the American Storytelling collection · 2 min · Season 1 Episode 16What does it mean to be an American? There’s no one way. At NPR, we think of the American identity as a story - one that's always being rewritten by the people who live it. The…
- Engines of Outrage Pt. 4 · 29 min · Season 1 Episode 15How does the internet work to polarize us on an individual level? As tech and media companies, battle for online engagement, they feed their users — they feed us — content that…
- Engines of Outrage Pt. 3 · 31 min · Season 1 Episode 14Librarians in Ukraine. Rural newspapers. A tweak to social media algorithms. The infrastructure of a political campaign. All of these offer lessons about how to beat back…
- Engines of Outrage Pt. 2 · 30 min · Season 1 Episode 13In the early 2000s, key tech companies made a series of choices that shaped the future of the internet. They "gave away"" their products "for free." From an initial tweak to…
- Engines of Outrage Pt. 1 · 32 min · Season 1 Episode 12Just a few decades ago most people used — and trusted — the same news sources. Now, Americans are siloed in separate ecosystems, consuming conflicting depictions of reality…
- The Exoneration of Richard Nixon · 21 min · Season 1 Episode 11If the new Supreme Court decision, Trump v. U.S., had applied back in 1974, could President Richard Nixon have been prosecuted for Watergate? Or, would this decision shield Nixon…
- When Money Became Speech · 18 min · Season 1 Episode 10After Watergate, both parties cracked down on political spending with a new, strict campaign finance law. But instead of money in politics shrinking, it exploded. In this bonus…
- New Right TV · 24 min · Season 1 Episode 9Before Fox News, the grassroots conservative activists known as "the New Right" spent decades attempting — and failing — to launch their own television news channel. In this…
- Making Abortion Partisan · 21 min · Season 1 Episode 8Even in the years after Roe vs. Wade, the issue of abortion did not divide the political parties — or most Americans. But as Reagan, the New Right, and the Christian Right took…
- Landslide · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 7Four years later. Jimmy Carter is now an embattled president, unpopular and facing a tough primary challenge. Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan storms to the Republican nomination, while…
- Outsider · 37 min · Season 1 Episode 6Bruised after the primaries, the unpopular Ford looks headed for a blowout defeat in the 1976 general election. But his campaign adopts a clever strategy, and Carter struggles in…
- Ordinary Man · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 5An unexpected contender ambushes the Democratic field. The one-term Georgia governor Jimmy Carter has planned a campaign of military precision for the Democratic nomination. With…
- Shootout · 40 min · Season 1 Episode 4With the primaries over, the nomination hangs in the hands of a few remaining "unbound" delegates. Ford and Reagan scramble to win them over, as the battle to lead the Republican…
- The New Right · 41 min · Season 1 Episode 3The 1976 Republican primary looks finished. After a string of losses to Ford, Reagan's aides prepare to concede. But a network of right-wing groups has quietly organized…
- Lightweight · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 2The idea that Ronald Reagan can win is laughable. "Suicidal," writes the New York Times. Too extreme, too gaffe-prone, too unserious a candidate, the faded former actor has no…
- Trust · 40 min · Season 1 Episode 1Gerald Ford had planned to retire. But in the days and weeks after Watergate, the new president looks to rebuild Americans' collapsing trust in their government. His attempts to…
- Introducing Landslide · 2 minWhen President Richard Nixon resigns in disgrace, three unlikely candidates emerge to fill the vacuum: Gerald Ford, savvy veteran of partisan wars. Ronald Reagan, fringe…
