Ronald Reagan, Tom Clancy, and Storytelling with Benjamin Griffin

Modern presidents both influence and are influenced by books, movies, and television; with no commander in chief is that more clear than with Ronald Reagan. Dr. Benjamin Griffin, chief of the Military History Division at the United States Military Academy, has researched and written the definitive book about the 40th president's interactions with Tom Clancy and other authors, Hollywood films, and other pop culture: Reagan's War Stories: A Cold War Presidency.

In this chat, David Priess and Griffin discuss Tom Clancy's influence on an entire generation, how books with clear moral narratives informed Reagan's childhood, the influence of Whittaker Chambers on Reagan's iconic "A Time for Choosing" speech in 1964, the rich relationship between Reagan and Clancy, the outsized impact of Clancy's first two books, and the complicated notion of presidential "vision."

Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.

Among the works mentioned in this episode:

The book The Hunt for Red October by Tom ClancyThe book The Third Word War by Sir John HackettThe book Red Storm Rising by Tom ClancyThe book Subregional Security Cooperation in the Third World by William TowThe book That Printer of Udell's by Harold Bell WrightThe film High NoonThe John Carter of Mars books by Edgar Rice BurroughsThe book Witness by Whittaker ChambersThe book Darkness at Noon by Arthur KoestlerThe book The Bourne Identity by Robert LudlumThe film All the President's MenThe film Apocalypse NowThe film The Deer HunterThe film PattonThe film Back to the FutureThe TV movie The Day AfterThe movie The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)The book Euromissiles by Susan ColbournThe book The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.