"a Reagan Forum" Podcast

In this week's Reagan Forum, we go back to August 2019, when we hosted a conversation with Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda. After a brief career as a left-handed pitcher, Tommy Lasorda became one of the most enthusiastic and successful managers in baseball history. Lasorda, who has been with the Dodgers for 65 years, led the team to two world championships, four National League titles and eight division titles in 20 years as manager of the team. Following his retirement as manager, Lasorda became a special advisor to the chairman of the Dodgers. One of his most memorable accomplishments was managing the United States to its first-ever gold medal in baseball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we look back to May 21, 2013 when we hosted Donald Rumsfeld, who, over the course of his life served as a Member of Congress, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, White House Chief of Staff, Secretary of Defense twice -- the only such example in U.S. history -- and literally a dozen or more important federal advisory roles. Sometime in the 1960s, Donald Rumsfeld began collecting pithy, compelling and often humorous observations about leadership, business and life, gathering them on three-by-five cards and storing them in a shoebox. As his career skyrocketed over time, what started out as scribblings in a shoebox eventually migrated their way to memos, grew sizably and have been distributed widely in one format or another to those who have had the privilege to work with him over the years. In 2013 they were captured in a book, entitled Rumsfeld’s Rules and organized in such a way that they will prove to be priceless pointers to everyone looking to lead in life, from college graduates to bus

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we look back to July 14, 2009 when Condoleezza Rice addressed our audience. It was less than seven months after serving our nation as the 66th Secretary of State, the first African-American woman to ever serve in this position. Her speech was the most-attended Reagan Forum in the Library’s 18-year history. Condoleezza Rice actually has many things in common with President Reagan. Like the president, she began her political aspirations with the Democratic Party before switching her party registration, and loyalty, to the Republican Party. And, like the President, her unwavering commitment to freedom and democracy and liberty over tyranny led her to an influential position in government, critical in our nation instituting change. During President Reagan’s administration, Condoleezza Rice served as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as an arms control and foreign policy specialist. She begins her remarks at the Reagan Library by stating that stand

On a train to Auschwitz, 17-year-old Heinz Geiringer told his sister Eva that he hid the paintings and poetry he created during his time in hiding beneath the attic floorboards. Heinz made Eva promise if he should die in the camps, she would retrieve the artwork. Eva survived the camps, and Heinz did not.  After the war, Eva became the posthumous stepsister of Anne when her mother married Anne’s father. Heinz’s story sits in the shadow of the better-known DIARY OF ANNE FRANK. Director Steve McCarthy and Producer Susan Kerner created a documentary, called “Eva’s Promise” to introduce the world to Heinz and to share his sister’s efforts to find and share his remarkable legacy. They came to the Reagan Library on August 8, 2023 to screen the film and then share their thoughts about the project.

Just this summer, in June of 2023, tragedy struck when the Titan Submersible, on its way to explore the Titanic, imploded under the ocean, immediately killing all of those on board. One of the first authorities to discuss the matter was Dr. Robert Ballard, the man responsible for discovering the Titanic in 1985. With his name back in the news, we thought it might be fun in this week’s Reagan Forum podcast to dust off our program with Dr. Ballard from 2017. So please enjoy this podcast, which originally broadcast on April 19, 2018.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we go back to March 1, 2017 when former United States President George W. Bush came to the Reagan Library to discuss his brand-new book, Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors. President Bush was so moved by the sacrifices of our wounded American warriors, that he began the challenge of capturing and immortalizing their courage on canvas. Through his paintings he was able to take their strength, their dignity, their perseverance and their patriotism, and lift it up for all of us to see on a much deeper and intimate level.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our in-person event with Holocaust Survivor Celina Karp Biniaz and author William Friedricks for Bill’s book, Saved by Schindler: The Life of Celina Karp Biniaz. This event was part of the programing for our current exhibition, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. Celina Karp was just eight years old when the Germans invaded her homeland of Poland in 1939. After spending time with her family in hiding, and then a ghetto, she and her family were sent to a slave labor/concentration camp. Celina even spent several terrifying weeks at Auschwitz where she faced down the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele before ultimately landing on Schindler's list.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to May 24 and May 25, 2023 when the Reagan Institute held their annual Reagan Institute Summit on Education conference, otherwise known as RISE. RISE 2023 examined policy and practice from early childhood through postsecondary education and beyond. The imperative for education reform is even more salient as the United States emerges from the global pandemic and it is important to answer the call to modernize our education system and prepare for the challenges of the 22nd century. The two-day hybrid conference convened a number of thought leaders, current and former administration officials and members of congress, state leaders, students, and educators both in-person and virtually. The featured speaker on May 25 was First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, who spoke on the Future of Education. During her address, Dr. Biden spoke about the Biden-Harris Administration’s work towards bridging the gap between learning and earning. She spoke about the Administ

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to July 4th, 2023, when the Reagan Foundation and Institute unveiled a statue of Sally Ride – the first female American astronaut. Sally Ride’s first flight into space was on June 18, 2023, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. As she is also a California native, we thought it fitting to include her statue at the Reagan Library.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our virtual event with Eva Schloss which was held on June 12 – the birthday of Anne Frank. Eva is the stepsister of Anne. The virtual program covered the legacy of Anne Frank, as well as the promise Eva made to her brother, Heinz, and what she’s doing now to make good on that promise. Eva Schloss is an Austrian-English Holocaust survivor, memoirist and stepdaughter of Otto Frank, the father of Margot and diarist Anne Frank. Eva speaks widely of her family's experiences during the Holocaust and is a participant in the USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive project to record video answers to be used in educational tools.

Marian Kolodziej was on the first transport into Auschwitz on June 14, 1940. He was given number 432. He survived and never spoke of his experience for 50 years. After a serious stroke in 1993, he began rehabilitation by doing pen and ink drawings depicting the experiences he and others endured in the concentration camp. These drawings, in their skeletal detail, are a gripping depiction of the pain, death, and horrors of the camp. While most of the drawings represent the memories of a young man’s hellish experiences in Auschwitz, some tell stories of small acts of kindness and dignity. Marian’s story of survival, of persistence, of life before, during, and after Auschwitz are a testament to the human spirit. Marian’s drawings and art installations, which he called The Labyrinth, fill the large basement of a church near Auschwitz and draw visitors into the horrific reality of the Holocaust. On June 14, 2023, we held a documentary screening for The Labyrinth. Following that screening we were joined in conversat

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back one week to June 15, 2023 for our in-person event with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Mayor Suarez was first elected with a mandate of 86 percent and then re-elected with a mandate of nearly 79 percent. Under his leadership, Miami has cut crime and cut taxes to one of their lowest points in over fifty years, spurring a broad-based economic expansion across Miami. His father, Xavier Suarez, was Miami’s first-ever Cuban-American mayor. During his Time for Choosing speech at the Reagan Library, Mayor Suarez addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our virtual event with bestselling authors Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee for their latest book, The Long March Home, a riveting coming of age tale of friendship, courage and sacrifice set in the true story of WWII, the Bataan Death March, and the life as a POW. This is our third event with Marcus – we’ve previously held events with him for his books A Bright and Blinding Sun and Blaze of Light which were both biographies of war veterans. In The Long March Home, Marcus and Tosca remind readers that freedom isn’t free.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back to our in-person event held on Memorial Day – a day to honor and mourn our service men and women who have died while serving in the United States. Last year, the Reagan Foundation held its first ever program on Memorial Day and the feedback from the community was so positive, that we knew we needed to make it an annual event. This year’s program included live musical entertainment, an honor guard, and remarks by Major Cole Lapierre of the US Marine Corps, Captain Michael Meno, Jr., the Commodore of Naval Construction Group One, and remarks by Gold Star Family Members Melanie House and Michelle Carranza.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we back to our in-person event with bestselling author Larry Loftis, for his book, The Watchmaker’s Daughter. In 1953 Israel’s Parliament unanimously passed the Yad Vashem Law, which established the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, in order to document and record the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust as well as to acknowledge the countless non-Jewish individuals who risked their lives to save Jews. In 1963, Yad Vashem began to award the title “Righteous Among the Nations” which awards non-Jews who risked their lives, liberty or positions to save Jews during the Holocaust. Since that time, over 22,000 rescuers from 44 countries have been acknowledged for their efforts. On December 12, 1967, Corrie Ten Boom was recognized with this award for her efforts in saving nearly 800 Jewish lives during WWII, as well as for her arrest and deportation into the camps, for which not everyone from her family survived. Enter New York Times and internatio

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back just three days to May 22, 2023 for our in-person event with United States Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Senator Capito has served as the Senator of West Virginia since 2014, the first female Senator in West Virginia’s history. When re-elected in 2020, Senator Capito won with the largest margin of victory for a Republican in state history – winning more than 70% of the vote and all 55 counties. During her Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Senator Capito addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we back to March 29, 2023 for our in-person event with New York Times bestselling author Raymond Arroyo for his new family book, The Unexpected Light of Thomas Alva Edison. Raymond Arroyo sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back 10 days to May 1, 2023 for our in-person event with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Glenn Youngkin is an American businessman and politician, currently serving as the 74th governor of Virginia since January 15, 2022. Prior to entering politics, Glenn Youngkin spent 25 years at the private-equity firm the Carlyle Group, where he became co–CEO in 2018. During his Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Governor Youngkin addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we back two weeks to April 17, 2023 for our in-person event with Auschwitz Survivor David Lenga; a program held on Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day. This program was in conjunction with our recently opened exhibition, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. No book, no podcast, nor history lesson can prepare you for the power and impact that this collection of artifacts holds. Speaking specifically about this exhibition opening at the Reagan Library, David Lenga said, “for the holocaust deniers and doubters, this exhibit is a stark reminder that truth cannot be compromised but must be faced head on and defended in every generation.” During this program, David shares his compelling and traumatic story as a German Jew during the darkest days of the Third Reich.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go back one week to April 20, 2023 for our in-person event with Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel. She was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is the second woman ever elected as Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the longest-serving RNC Chair since the Civil War. Under her leadership, the RNC raised record funds, made its largest ever ground game investment, and retired Nancy Pelosi by winning back the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022. Prior to her tenure at the RNC, Chairwoman McDaniel served as the Chair of the Michigan Republican Party. During her Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Chairwoman McDaniel addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.