Word to LIve by & Reagan Forum

Well, now that we’re into football playoff season, we have the perfect opportunity to focus on Ronald Reagan’s love for football. His experience in high school on the gridiron helped him audition for radio. Let's let him tell the story.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Speaker Gingrich is well known as the architect of the “Contract with America” that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994, creating the first conservative majority in the House in 40 years. He is also recognized internationally as an expert on world history, military issues, and international affairs, as he...

Forty years ago in January 1984, our 40th President delivered an address to the nation and other countries on the status of US-Soviet relations. Things weren’t too rosy then – recall that Andropov was still in power, unapologetic about the massacre of KAL 007, or anything else. Until Gorbachev came into office in March 1985, that’s early in his second term as president, working with the Soviets wa...

Over the last month we have shared with you two of our keynotes at last month’s Reagan National Defense Forum. We shared with you the Forum’s keynote address with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, as well as the fireside chat with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we are going to share the Forum’s final panel, which celebrated the Forum’s 10th anniversary. T...

Today’s subject? The President’s diplomatic efforts with China in 1984. Yes, in those years, there were positive diplomatic efforts. In fact, the administration developed a relationship with Ziyang who was a reformer, in office from 1980 to 1987. Shortly after George Shultz became Secretary of State, he completed an initiative with Ziyang in August 1982, that arranged for acceptance of a joint US-...

For the last nine months, we have been bringing you programming as part of our Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. exhibit. Now that the exhibit is almost over, we wanted to share some of the most memorable interviews we’ve held with survivors and their family members over the past year. Each one is unique in its own way – told by survivors of many different camps in Europe and Indonesia, survi...

Throughout Ronald Reagan's presidency, the subject of Cuba was frequently raised. In frustration, on one occasion, the president asked, “When’s the last time you heard someone swimming TO Cuba?” But long before he sat in the Oval Office, President Reagan commented on a documentary that had been crafted on Cuba, in order to bring attention to the idea of false reporting and an effort to cover the t...

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we back to our in-person event with Nechama Birnbaum, who shares with us the story of her grandmother and her time in Auschwitz in Nechama’s latest book, The Redhead of Auschwitz: A True Story. During this program, Nechama sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller to discuss The Redhead of Auschwitz whic...

So just imagine. You’re the president, it’s late in December 1983. You’ve delivered your evil empire speech in March putting the Soviets on notice… you’ve learned by detailed intelligence reports that the communists and Fidel Castro are expanding their efforts in the Caribbean along with infiltrating the island of Grenada….you’ve announced your Strategic Defense Initiative in March which was renam...

Two weeks ago we came to you with our Reagan National Defense Forum keynote address with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Today we will share our fireside chat with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. This was the Defense Forum’s first time hosting the Secretary of Commerce and we were honored to host her. Under Secretary Raimondo’s leadership, the Department of Commerce has intensified its emp...

Do you remember Spacelab? Or perhaps the question should be, what do you recall about Spacelab? In case you’re a little foggy on this one, here’s a little history: during the development of the Space Shuttle in the 1970’s, NASA recognized the need for a facility to allow scientists to conduct experiments on the Shuttle while in orbit. So under a cooperative agreement with NASA, the European Space...

As part of our Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. exhibit, the Reagan Foundation has been hosting authors whose books cover the atrocities of the holocaust, mainly told through survivor’s eyes. In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we back to our in-person event with Richard Hurowitz for a different look at the Holocaust – this time to focus on heroics rather than despair – for Richard’s latest...

Today, we are witnessing the emergence of hatred targeted at numerous religious groups. It defies logic, since the basis of all religion is love, isn’t it? Ronald Reagan, a man of private yet devout faith, respected all religions and this time of the year, honored the celebration of Hanukkah. He deeply revered the lighting of the Menorah. And he empathized with Soviet Refusniks who were prohibited...

On December 1 and 2, 2023, the Reagan Foundation and Institute held its annual Reagan National Defense Forum, one of our nation’s premier gatherings for defense and national security experts. In an era where the threats to our national security are increasing in number and complexity, the Reagan National Defense Forum allows senior leaders from the defense community to come together with viewpoint...

Family – well, it’s the center of all our activities this time of year, the reason for the season, so to speak. And to Ronald Reagan, incredibly important. So following in the tradition established in 1972 by President Richard Nixon, he proclaimed National Family Week which occurs near Thanksgiving. In 1981, Ronald Reagan wrote as he proclaimed National Family Week: The family is the basic unit of...

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our in-person event with Oren Schneider, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, for his recent book The Apprentice of Buchenwald: The True Story of the Teenage Boy who Sabotaged Hitler’s War Machine, a true story of inner strength, resourcefulness and optimism. Of his grandfather’s life in the concentration camps, Elie Wiesel’s son once said, “Being...

Because of the war in the Middle East, we thought it would be a good idea to devote today’s podcast to Israel, focusing on the radio addresses written by Ronald Reagan before entering the Oval Office. So remember, he wrote these, on a yellow pad, without the oversight of a foreign policy advisor, without a secretary of defense or secretary of state or national security advisor hanging over his sho...

It’s November and, of course, the month to celebrate Thanksgiving. From all of us at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, we wish you and your family the happiest and healthiest of Thanksgivings. In this week’s A Reagan Forum Podcast, we’re going to go back to 2018’s “Words to Live By” podcast featuring President Reagan’s thoughts and messages to the American people on thanksgi...

Now this might seem an odd pairing…Israel and Thanksgiving. But, as of this writing, the war in the Middle East rages. While in America, we are focused on Thanksgiving celebrations, we cannot overlook the terrible pain, suffering, and yes, terror the residents of the Middle East are enduring. Therefore, in this podcast, we’ll cover the President’s position on Israel briefly, and then we’ll close i...

Last week was Veterans Day – a day to honor our nation’s military veterans. Commemorating this day on November 11th each year not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but also helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good....

Forty years ago, President and Mrs. Reagan made an historic trip to Japan and South Korea. The President’s last stop was to Camp Liberty Bell, which was less than a mile from North Korean guns. Yes, they were quite near the DMZ. They attended an open air church service and the president wrote in his diary, that they were entertained by a choir of little Korean orphan girls. You might be surprised...

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present Bret Baier - a number one bestselling author and award-winning anchor of Fox News Channel’s Special Report with Bret Baier. Bret had previously spoken at the Reagan Library four times, the last time in 2019 for his book, Three Days at the Brink: FDR’s Daring Gamble to Win WWII which was part of his Three Days series. This time Bret came to discuss his lat...

In today’s podcast we honor our veterans and in the president’s messages to veterans, we’ll cover peace through strength. Going through our archives, both Citizen, Governor and President Reagan delivered many addresses saluting those who serve our country. Today we’ve chosen two – the first he delivered in August 1980 to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The theme was Peace because, in candidate Ronal...

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back just over a week to our October 21, 2023  in-person program with top rated Talk radio host and bestselling author Mark Levin for a conversation on his latest book, The Democrat Party Hates America. While at the Reagan Library, Mark was joined in conversation by Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio to discuss what Mark calls...

After the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, the President said in his autobiography that the “price we had to pay was so great, the tragedy at the barracks so enormous, and the virulent problems of Lebanon were so intractable, that it wasn’t possible to continue with the policy that had put our marines in without taking a second look at it. As President, he had very few choices and none of...