Ronald Reagan’s presidency, from Reagonomics and the invasion of Grenada in his first term, to the Iran-contra scandal and reconciliation with Soviet leader Mihail Gorbachev in his second in his second. A fascinating social, cultural and political history of American life, through the words of British-American journalist and broadcaster, Alistair Cooke (1908 – 2004).
Episodes available:
Indefinitely 
Fri, 2 Dec 88
Duration:
15 mins
Yasser Arafat's speech at the UN, the denial of his visa by US secretary of state George Schultz, and the view that Palestinians are moving towards reconciliation with Israel.
Fri, 11 Nov 88
Duration:
14 mins
An overview of the ballot paper in the 1988 presidential elections, George Bush's "inevitable" victory, and the issues that proved most important for voting Americans.
Fri, 4 Nov 88
Duration:
28 mins
A review of George H W Bush and Michael Dukakis' presidential campaigns, key values and demographics, and predicted performances before the 1988 elections.
Fri, 28 Oct 88
Duration:
15 mins
The 1988 trial of Bess Myerson, the former Miss America and head of consumer affairs to New York City, accused of tax fraud and bribing a judge.
Fri, 21 Oct 88
Duration:
14 mins
With the 1988 presidential race and World Series drawing to a close, Alistair Cooke looks at the baseball metaphors used by George H W Bush and Michael Dukakis in their campaigns.
Fri, 7 Oct 88
Duration:
14 mins
The polished nature of the Bush vs Dukakis debates, the 'American-style' of Margaret Thatcher's public relations in 1979, and Jimmy Carter's negative review of the 1988 campaign.
Fri, 23 Sep 88
Duration:
14 mins
The impact of Hurricane Gilbert on Jamaica and Central America, and the 1938 hurricane that destroyed a large part of the forests of New England, as discussed by Alistair Cooke.
Fri, 16 Sep 88
Duration:
14 mins
Jimmy Carter's rise to prominence of in 1976, and Michael Dukakis' struggle to establish a new and attractive identity for himself ahead of the 1988 presidential election.
Fri, 2 Sep 88
Duration:
14 mins
Land in the Midwest is damaged by hot weather and forest fires. Sixty major fires still rage across the US while the hot temperatures are causing the greenhouse effect.
Fri, 26 Aug 88
Duration:
28 mins
Alistair Cooke reflects on why George H W Bush may have chosen Dan Quayle as vice-presidential candidate, and the constitutional powers of the vice president's role.
Fri, 19 Aug 88
Duration:
14 mins
President Reagan gives his farewell address at the Republican convention in Kansas. A heat wave, drought and forest fires continue to cause problems across the US.
Fri, 12 Aug 88
Duration:
14 mins
A look at the problems faced by New York's mayor Ed Koch, his weekly interrogation by the public on TV and his attempts to fight drug use and keep New York's beaches clean.
Fri, 5 Aug 88
Duration:
14 mins
As the 1988 election looms closer, day care becomes a prime issue. Alistair Cooke reflects on the unexpected success of the newspaper USA Today, founded in 1982.
Fri, 29 Jul 88
Duration:
15 mins
Alistair Cooke reports on the polluted state of America's waters, coastline and lakes, its effect on the wildlife and the reactions of the public.
Fri, 22 Jul 88
Duration:
15 mins
Michael Dukakis is nominated as the Democrat presidential candidate, but divisions within the party are exposed at the 1988 Democratic convention.
Fri, 15 Jul 88
Duration:
14 mins
Alistair Cooke reflects on protection rackets in 1930s Manhattan, the meaning of indict and remand, and the purpose and history of the US Grand Jury.
Fri, 8 Jul 88
Duration:
15 mins
An Iranian airliner carrying 290 civilians is shot down by US missiles over the Persian Gulf, killing all on board.
Fri, 17 Jun 88
Duration:
15 mins
Cooke recalls the moment when the segregationist George Wallace, Governor of Alabama, attempted to prevent a black student enrolling at the University of Alabama in 1963.
Fri, 20 May 88
Duration:
14 mins
Considered a lame duck since his farewell State of the Union address in January 1988, Cooke muses on the real power of President Reagan who stands down in November 1988.
Fri, 13 May 88
Duration:
14 mins
On hearing of the death of double agent Kim Philby (1912 -1988), Cooke reflects on the influence of forgotten Edwardian spy writer William Le Queux (1864-1927).
Fri, 6 May 88
Duration:
15 mins
As songwriter Irving Berlin turns 100 Alistair Cooke considers why his extraordinary life and unlikely longevity should make us wary of those claiming to have the secret of health.
Fri, 29 Apr 88
Duration:
15 mins
Alistair looks at the background of George H W Bush, the new Republican presidential candidate, and who he might face in the upcoming presidential elections.
Fri, 22 Apr 88
Duration:
14 mins
A tribute to the travel writer and Pulitzer prize-winning columnist renowned for his scoop on the 'ding dong daddy of the D-car line' about a bigamist cable car conductor.
Fri, 18 Mar 88
Duration:
14 mins
Alistair Cooke is in California, where farmers and manufacturers are facing a drought and tougher rules on illegal immigrants and public health.
Fri, 11 Mar 88
Duration:
14 mins
The 1988 presidential primaries are underway, the Democrats are ambivalent about their contenders, and California aims to curb developers in Orange County.
Fri, 4 Mar 88
Duration:
15 mins
On the anniversary of the day Roosevelt closed every bank in America, Alistair Cooke remembers Black Monday, the huge stock market crash of 19th October 1987.
Fri, 12 Feb 88
Duration:
15 mins
What is the caucus system of nominating candidates for public office, and why does everyone believe the lowly Iowa caucus is so important?
Wed, 23 Dec 87
Duration:
15 mins
Divisions within the Democrats both current and at Madison Square Garden in 1924, Anthony Kennedy's appointment to the Supreme Court; and Woody Allen's new son Satchel.
Sun, 13 Dec 87
Duration:
14 mins
The INF treaty signing – not so much an historical event as a television event; ‘Gorby’ mania in the US and Europe.
Fri, 4 Dec 87
Duration:
15 mins
Washington summit for the US and Soviet leaders to sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty treaty limiting medium-range nuclear armaments.
Fri, 27 Nov 87
Duration:
14 mins
Thanksgiving Day past and present, a summing-up of current political situation, and the riots of Cuban prisoners threatened with deportation back to Cuba, discussed.
Fri, 20 Nov 87
Duration:
14 mins
The reports from the investigating committee into the Iran-Contras scandal are finally to be made public, and the new breed of journalist spawned by Watergate.
Fri, 13 Nov 87
Duration:
14 mins
Black Monday, and the need for radical federal deficit cuts.
Fri, 23 Oct 87
Duration:
14 mins
What caused the global stock market to crash on 19th October 1987, how are ordinary people affected, and how does it compare with the Wall Street Crash of October 1929?
Fri, 2 Oct 87
Duration:
15 mins
Three months after admitting his role in the Iran-Contra affair, Alistair Cooke reflects on Colonel Oliver North's brief moment as a popular hero to a minority in the US.
Fri, 18 Sep 87
Duration:
14 mins
President Reagan's nomination of conservative Judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, the highest power in the US, has alarmed liberals and heartened far-right Republicans.
Fri, 4 Sep 87
Duration:
15 mins
Alistair Cooke looks at the origins of Labor Day established in 1894, the diminishing role of trades unions and a cultural change in employment incentives and benefits in the US.
Fri, 10 Jul 87
Duration:
14 mins
Colonel Oliver North gives evidence before the congressional select committee about his role in the sale of arms to Iran, the profits of which funded the Contras in Nicaragua.
Thu, 18 Jun 87
Duration:
15 mins
Health scares, ozone damage and the Americans' fear of dying are reflected on by Alistair Cooke in the 2000th edition of the programme.
Mon, 18 May 87
Duration:
14 mins
The re-emergence of Richard Nixon into public life after the Watergate scandal.
Fri, 3 Apr 87
Duration:
14 mins
The case of US marine Clayton Lonetree accused of espionage in Moscow reminds Cooke of how electronic surveillance was feared at the founding of the UN in 1945.
Fri, 6 Mar 87
Duration:
14 mins
Has President Reagan redeemed himself in the eyes of the public after taking responsibility for the arms for hostages deal made with Iran?
Fri, 21 Nov 86
Duration:
14 mins
America reacts to revelations of a US arms for hostages deal with Iran. Arbitrageur Ivan Boesky admits insider trading on Wall Street and is fined $100 million.
Fri, 17 Oct 86
Duration:
14 mins
President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev's disarmament summit in Reykjavik ends in failure after Reagan's refusal to abandon the Strategic Defence Initiative.
Fri, 1 Aug 86
Duration:
15 mins
A tribute to politician and diplomat Averell Harriman, former US Ambassador, Governor of New York and a leading official in the Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy administrations.
Fri, 4 Jul 86
Duration:
15 mins
Alistair Cooke looks at how Americans now celebrate Independence Day; and the current debates on immigration policy at the time of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty.
Fri, 23 May 86
Duration:
14 mins
Alistair Cooke on the political aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, differences in its reporting, and what lessons Gorbachev and Reagan can learn from the disaster.
Fri, 25 Apr 86
Duration:
14 mins
Alistair Cooke on the aftermath of the US air raid on Libya of 15th April 1986, and the demands of pianist Vladimir Horowitz during his first visit to the USSR.
Sun, 13 Apr 86
Duration:
14 mins
When religion clashes with real-life fixtures, which wins? Does watching violent television or film lead to real acts of violence?
Sun, 9 Feb 86
Duration:
14 mins
Which hand holds the US purse strings, is it the president’s, or that of Congress?
Fri, 31 Jan 86
Duration:
14 mins
Alistair Cooke reflects on the life and death of Christa McAuliffe, the first civilian astronaut who was killed in the space shuttle Challenger disaster on 28th January 1986.
Fri, 27 Sep 85
Duration:
15 mins
The aftermath of the 1985 earthquake in Mexico, the Canadian concern over the sulphur emissions from power plants in the American Mid-West, and the threat of hurricane Gloria.
Fri, 20 Sep 85
Duration:
14 mins
The 40th anniversary of the United Nations, the history of the organisation, and the security arrangements for the 1985 meeting of the Security Council in New York.
Fri, 6 Sep 85
Duration:
14 mins
Hurricane Elena's path of destruction along the Florida coast, and the proposed raise in the legal drinking age from 18 or 19 to 21 in all but fifteen states.
Fri, 30 Aug 85
Duration:
15 mins
The defeat of Kevin Curren by Boris Becker at the 1985 Wimbledon tennis tournament, and the controversy surrounding the new home of the US tennis championship at Flushing Meadows.
Fri, 16 Aug 85
Duration:
15 mins
The 40th anniversary of the surrender of the Japanese at the end of the Second World War, the devastating hurricane in Galveston, Texas, and a profile of General Douglas MacArthur.
Fri, 2 Aug 85
Duration:
14 mins
A profile of Francis Perkins, the first woman cabinet officer in America, and columnist William Safire's grim evaluation of President Reagan's plan for the mounting US deficit.
Fri, 18 Jan 85
Duration:
14 mins
The falling value of the British pound in comparison to the US dollar, and the death of Lindsay Wellington, the former head of the BBC in North America.
Fri, 9 Nov 84
Duration:
14 mins
The achievements of George Gallup, inventor of the Gallup poll, a method of measuring public opinion, and responsible for revolutionary change in the democratic process.
Fri, 2 Nov 84
Duration:
15 mins
In the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination, Cooke looks at the increased personal security for public figures over the years and the role of bodyguards.
Fri, 12 Oct 84
Duration:
14 mins
1984 Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale questions President Reagan's age suitability in a televised election debate.
Fri, 5 Oct 84
Duration:
14 mins
Alistair Cooke looks at mafia involvement in alcohol during prohibition, cattle during World War II and in the heroin trade, as an international ring of gangsters is arrested.
Fri, 31 Aug 84
Duration:
15 mins
The life of Alfred Knopf, publisher of, among others, Thomas Mann and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and according to Cooke "simply the best publisher of the twentieth century".
Fri, 20 Jul 84
Duration:
15 mins
The dramatic 1940 Republican Convention where outsider Wendell Wilkie beat the favourite, and the advantages to reporters of live television coverage of conventions.
Fri, 29 Jun 84
Duration:
14 mins
The Reverend Jesse Jackson meets Fidel Castro in Cuba and negotiates the release of 22 US prisoners from Cuban jails, much to the embarrassment of the Reagan administration.
Fri, 30 Mar 84
Duration:
14 mins
Cooke visits San Francisco, where he spent his honeymoon during the Alcatraz mutiny of 1946, and the destination of a recent visit by French President Mitterrand.
Fri, 24 Feb 84
Duration:
15 mins
Alistair Cooke examines the Indian roots of some American vocabulary and the variations between some American words and their English usage.
Sun, 1 Jan 84
Duration:
14 mins
Opinion polls reveal the American public's fears over inflation, unemployment, the corporate and governmental use of new technology and an imminent nuclear war with the USSR.
Fri, 23 Dec 83
Duration:
15 mins
The American contributions to NORAID, a fund set up to fund arms and provide financial assistance to IRA members in jail, and the aftermath of the Harrods bombing.
Fri, 25 Nov 83
Duration:
14 mins
The Day After, a television movie depicting the effect of a nuclear attack on Kansas City, and the anticipation of and reaction to the first screening of it in November 1983.
Fri, 11 Nov 83
Duration:
14 mins
Rosa Parks' refusal to recognise segregation, the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955, and the passing of a bill to recognise Martin Luther King Jnr. Day as a national holiday.
Fri, 21 Oct 83
Duration:
14 mins
A profile of Nobel Prize winning scientist Barbara McClintock, and her biological and biochemical research that lead to an advanced understanding of the behaviour of genes.
Fri, 7 Oct 83
Duration:
14 mins
The end of a boycott against Aeroflot after the shooting down of Korean flight 007, the absence of Andrei Gromyko at the UN, and the plan to install US missiles in West Germany.
Fri, 9 Sep 83
Duration:
14 mins
The shooting down of Korean Airlines flight 007 by the Russian military, the escalating Soviet presence in Scandinavia, and questions over the ability of Uri Andropov to command.
Fri, 12 Aug 83
Duration:
15 mins
The difficulty in legislating against home video taping, the arrest of New York yankee Dave Winfield for killing a seagull, and the marital aspirations of American women in 1983.
Fri, 29 Jul 83
Duration:
15 mins
Public opposition to an increased military presence in El Salvador and Nicaragua, the manoeuvres of American troops in Honduras, and the US desire for peace at any price.
Fri, 22 Jul 83
Duration:
15 mins
A switch from Democrat to Republican in the southern states, the gender gap in the support of President Reagan, and the rise in government spending on social programs.
Fri, 10 Jun 83
Duration:
14 mins
Margaret Thatcher's dedication to the 'special relationship' between Britain and America, and journalist James "Scotty" Reston's correct prediction on Thatcher's re-election.
Fri, 11 Mar 83
Duration:
15 mins
Press coverage of Queen Elizabeth's sightseeing tour of California is dwarfed by that of Pope John Paul II's visit to Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
Fri, 4 Mar 83
Duration:
15 mins
The 50th anniversary of the financial crisis of 1933 that caused President Roosevelt to demand that all of the banks across the United States close their doors.
Fri, 17 Dec 82
Duration:
15 mins
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which forced foreign automobile manufacturers to build their models for export to America in America, with American parts and labour.
Fri, 8 Oct 82
Duration:
14 mins
The complex rules and tactics of American football, and how a pay dispute led to the 1982 strike by the players of the National Football League, as discussed by Alistair Cooke.
Fri, 14 May 82
Duration:
15 mins
The continuation of the Falklands war, confusion over the BBC's status as a publicly owned corporation, and easing of the censorship on military reporting since the Vietnam War.
Fri, 9 Apr 82
Duration:
14 mins
The Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands, the escalating nuclear arms race between America and Russia, and the re-emergence of the battleship as a weapon of war.
Fri, 19 Mar 82
Duration:
14 mins
Saint Patrick's Day 1982, Mayor Ed Koch's ability to appeal to the various facets of New York society, and Ronald Reagan's clarification of his views on Northern Ireland.
Fri, 12 Feb 82
Duration:
14 mins
President Truman's morning walks around Washington, a recollection of the World's Fair in Brussels in 1958, and the death of pioneering plastic surgeon Doctor Arthur Barsky.
Fri, 29 Jan 82
Duration:
15 mins
The 100th anniversary of the birth of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the origin of the New Deal, and FDR's political turnaround on the size of the welfare state.
Fri, 1 Jan 82
Duration:
14 mins
President Reagan's Middle Eastern concerns, the view of Poland as a Russian satellite nation, and an assessment of what news is vital to everyone but not important to some.
Fri, 9 Oct 81
Duration:
14 mins
President Sadat of Egypt is killed in a year in which assassination attempts have been made on political figures including Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Queen Elizabeth II.
Fri, 7 Aug 81
Duration:
14 mins
The 1981 Major League Baseball strike comes to an end, while a strike by air traffic controllers threatens to continue.
Fri, 3 Apr 81
Duration:
14 mins
President Reagan survives an assassination attempt by John Hinckley on 30th March 1981, leading to a debate on the stricter control of handguns.
Thu, 22 Jan 81
Duration:
14 mins
As the new President Reagan's inauguration takes place, the Iran hostage crisis comes to an end with the release of 52 US hostages in Iran, after 444 days in captivity.
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