Letter from America: From Nixon to Carter (1969-1980)

By BBC Radio 4Society & Culture

Letter from America: From Nixon to Carter (1969-1980) episodes

November 29, 1974 TV news coverage, 1974
America's relentless TV news coverage and why we should learn from history that ignorant bliss does not pay off.
14 min
October 18, 1974 Boston busing crisis, 1974
How Judge W Arthur Garrity Jr's enforced busing policy, attempting to desegregate schooling, came up against its greatest challenge in South Boston.
14 min
August 23, 1974 Gerald Ford, the new man in the White House, 1974
Campaign biographies, and some new revelations about President Gerald Ford's past come to light, including the fact he was christened Leslie King Junior.
14 min
August 16, 1974 Nixon's resignation speech, August 1974
Disgraced President Nixon resigns. His resignation speech does not contain any sort of apology for his misconduct.
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.
15 min
August 09, 1974 Nixon's resignation, 1974
Downfall of a president – how Nixon fatally underestimated the power of the people versus the presidential powers he has just been forced to give up.
14 min
June 07, 1974 San Francisco: Detroit of the Pacific?
The skyscrapers that shattered the myth of San Francisco as a special city; and why it's important to understand the Stockholm syndrome in the Patty Hearst kidnap case.
14 min
May 31, 1974 Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington - remembering not just a great jazz musician, but an elegant, articulate man of unassailable natural dignity.
15 min
May 10, 1974 Corruption
Avoiding corruption in politics, the temptations of advertising money, which can turn great actors into salesmen, and Earth Day's unexpected trash problems.
14 min
December 14, 1973 Nixon's tax returns go public
Nixon makes past tax returns public to quell claims of tax evasion - but his minimal returns don't quite add up.
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.
15 min
November 09, 1973 Should Nixon resign?
Why the American policy in the state of Israel is failing to keep the home fires burning; and why an embattled President Nixon has more to fear from friends than foes.
15 min

About Letter from America: From Nixon to Carter (1969-1980)

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From America’s great hope after Nixon’s election victory, to disillusionment after Watergate through to President Carter’s election. A fascinating social, cultural and political history of American…