Presidential Chronicles

Presidential Chronicles: Series Pause (after Volume VIII) - August 2026

Announcing a pause in the series. More videos will come to this channel in the future, after the writing of Volume IX, which will focus on the lives of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, and Bill Clinton.I also introduce the focus of my next book, "Profiles in Courage: Presidential Edition."For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

Gerald Ford #12: A Very Busy Retirement (1977-2006); Topics covered include: Inaugural of Jimmy Carter as President, Ford's retirement including his many lucrative business activities, Betty Ford's addiction and treatment, the establishment and success of the Betty Ford Center for addiction treatment, Ford's memoirs ("A Time to Heal"), Ronald Reagan pursues Ford to be his vice presidential candidate in 1980 (eventually declined), Ford's charity work, attending the funeral for Anwar Sadat, perspectives from Ford on some of his successors, Ford's death and burial, Ford's own perspective on his legacy, and Ford receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2001

Key people include: Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford, Susan Ford, Elizabeth Taylor, Johnny Cash, Liza Minelli, Mickey Mantle, Chevy Chase, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan , Walter Cronkite, Anwar Sadat, Richard Nixon, Thomas DeFrank, Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, and John Kennedy

For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

Gerald Ford #11: Running for His Own Term (1975-1976); Topics covered include: 1976 presidential election, Ford vs. Ronald Reagan in the Republican Primary, Bicentennial Celebration, Jimmy Carter wins the Democratic nomination, Ford wins the Republican nomination, Swine flu outbreak at Fort Dix and response, Fall campaign, Ford's gaffe re: Soviet domination of Eastern Europe in the second debate with Carter, roundtable interviews with Joe Garagiola, Carter wins the 1976 election, and some reflection on the reasons for Ford's loss including his pardon of Richard Nixon

Key people include: Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller, Donald Rumsfeld, James Schlessinger, Dick Cheney, William Colby, George H.W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, Omar Torrijos, Thomas Jefferson, Queen Elizabeth, Jimmy Carter, Richard Schweiker, Bob Dole, Bob Teeter, Max Frankel, Joe Garagiola, Betty Ford, and Richard Nixon

For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

Gerald Ford #10: End of the Vietnam War, the Mayaguez Incident, and the Helsinki Accords (1975-1976); Topics covered include: Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge, Congress refuses military aid for South Vietnam, South Vietnam falls to North Vietnam, evacuation of Americans and South Vietnamese allies via helicopter from the U.S. embassy, Vietnam refugee crisis, capture of the SS Mayaguez and the response of the Ford administration including the rescue of the crew, negotiating of the Sinai Accords between Egypt and Israel, Ford signs the Helsinki Accords and the importance of the Helsinki Accords, two assassination attempts on President Ford's life, and comedians make fun of Ford as a klutz

Key people include: Richard Nixon, Nguyen Van Thieu, Frederick Weyard, Jacob Javits, Henry Kissinger, Anwar Sadat, Betty Ford, Yitzhak Rabin, Lech Walesa, Lynette Squeaky Fromme, Sarah Jane Moore, Mao Tse-tung, Deng Xiaoping, and Chevy Chase

For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

Gerald Ford #9: Stagflation, CIA in Crisis, and New York City Going Bankrupt (1975); Topics covered include: Stagflation (high inflation and high unemployment), first State of the Union Address, Cabinet changes, Rockefeller Commission investigating the CIA, the Church Committee, and Ford's response to New York City seeking a Federal bailout ("The New York Daily News": "Ford to City: Drop Dead")

Key people include: Ed Levi, Carla Hills, William Coleman, Nelson Rockefeller, Seymour Hersh, Frank Church, Jack Marsh, Hugh Carey, and Abraham Beane

For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

Gerald Ford #8: Beginning to Govern: "Whip Inflation Now" to a Soviet Summit (1974); Topics covered include: Economic challenges, Ford introduces his "Whip Inflation Now" (WIN) initiative, changes to the White House operating model, Betty Ford gets cancer and has a mastectomy, Betty's recovery, the Fords get a dog (Liberty), changes for the Ford children, Susan Ford's high school prom in the White House, Ford visits Nixon in the hospital, Republicans suffer big setbacks in the 1974 midterm elections, Ford's Summit with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev at Vladivostok including personal detente, the economy falls into recession, Nelson Rockefeller is confirmed as Vice President, and end of year reflections

Key people include: Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Al Haig, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Betty Ford, David Kennerly, Mike Ford, Gayle (Brumbaugh) Ford, Jack Ford, Steven Ford, Susan Ford, Pat Nixon, Leonid Brezhnev, Henry Kissinger, and Nelson Rockefeller

For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

Gerald Ford #7: Ford Pardons Nixon (1974); Topics covered include: Beginning of Ford's presidency including initial organization and meetings, initial speech to Congress, changes from the Nixon administration, debates about what to do with Nixon's papers and tapes plus many questions about a possible pardon for Nixon, negotiations with the Nixon team, Ford makes the decision to issue to pardon, Ford announces the Nixon pardon, strong national reaction to the Nixon pardon, and Ford testifies to Congress about the Nixon pardon including denying there was any deal of a pardon in exchange for his resignation

Key people include: Richard Nixon, Jerald terHorst, Alexander Haig, Bob Hartmann, Henry Kissinger, Jack Marsh, Phil Buchen, Betty Ford, George Meaney, King Hussein (Jordan), George H.W. Bush, Nelson Rockefeller, Leon Jaworski, Benton Becker, Ron Ziegler, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Elizabeth Holtzman

For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

Gerald Ford #6: Zigzagging through the Vice Presidency (1973-1974); Topics covered include: Ford's service as Vice President of the United States, challenges balancing his desire to support President Richard Nixon while not getting too close to the Watergate scandal, plenty of travel for Ford, the collapse of the Nixon presidency, Ford prepares to take over the presidency, discussions with Al Haig about a possible pardon for Nixon and then reiterating that Ford was making no commitment regarding a pardon or anything else, Nixon announcing his resignation, the Fords escort the Nixons from the White House to the helicopter that will fly them away, Ford takes his oath of office and delivers his remarks, including "Our long national nightmare is over."

Key people include: Richard Nixon, Bob Hartmann, Paul Miklich, Jack Marsh, Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, Richard Vander Veen, John Dean, Bob Haldeman, Alexander Haig, Betty Ford, Bryce Harlow, Ray Price, Phil Buchen, Warren Burger, and Nelson Rockefeller

For more information on the "Presidential Chronicles" series, please visit https://www.presidentialchronicles.com/

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/

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/