Curated playlist
Presidency of Ronald Reagan
- Cold WarWhy was the Cold War called a war when the two superpowers never fought each other directly?
- Governors Island SummitThe Governors Island Summit ended early because of an earthquake far away.
- Washington Summit (1987)Reagan and Gorbachev signed a treaty in 1987 that eliminated a whole category of nuclear missiles.
- 1980 United States presidential electionNBC called the 1980 presidential race before West Coast polls had closed.
- Presidency of Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan had been president of the United States for only 69 days when gunfire broke out beside the Washington Hilton Hotel on the 30th of March 1981. The shooter, John Hinckley Jr., hit Reagan, his press secretary James Brady,…
- Reagan DoctrineThe Reagan Doctrine began as a blunt idea that Ronald Reagan put to Richard V. Allen in January 1977. Allen would later serve as his National Security Advisor, but at that point Reagan was not yet president. Reagan called his view of…
- Pan Am Flight 103At 18:58 on the 21st of December 1988, the captain of Pan Am Flight 103 made a routine call to Scottish air traffic control. He said, "Good evening, Scottish. Clipper 103. We are level at 310." The controller answered, "103, you are…
- United States invasion of GrenadaSoldiers invading Grenada in 1983 navigated with tourist maps. Military grid lines had been drawn on them by hand.
- 1986 United States bombing of LibyaThe 1986 U.S. bombing of Libya lasted roughly twelve minutes. France's refusal added 2,800 kilometers to the flight.
- Cold War (1979–1985)Moscow could not tell if NATO's 1983 war game was a real nuclear attack. The exercise was called Able Archer 83.
- Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces TreatyReagan and Gorbachev signed a 1987 treaty to destroy a whole class of nuclear missiles.
- Tear down this wall!Aides called Reagan's Berlin Wall line "unpresidential", but he kept it. He told them, "I think we'll leave it in."
- Iran hostage crisisThe Iran hostage crisis began with a pair of metal cutters hidden beneath a student's chador outside the American embassy in Tehran. The cutters were meant for the chains on the embassy gates, and the date was the 4th of November 1979. The…
- Attempted assassination of Ronald ReaganThe attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan began, on the 30th of March 1981, with a reporter's question outside the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. Mike Putzel of the Associated Press called out "Mr. President" and never finished…
- Geneva Summit (1985)Reagan asked Gorbachev what they would do if aliens invaded. It came up at their 1985 Geneva Summit, by the fireplace.
- Moscow Summit (1988)After the 1988 Moscow Summit, some Soviet history classes were cancelled.
- San Ysidro McDonald's massacreThe San Ysidro McDonald's massacre began at about 3:56 on the afternoon of the 18th of July 1984. A black Mercury Marquis sedan pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant on San Ysidro Boulevard in San Diego, California. Forty-five…