RONALD REAGAN PART TEN: First Term Cold War Moves
From My History Can Beat Up Your Politics by Bruce Carlson
April 27, 2026 · 57 min
About this episode
The episode examines Ronald Reagan's first term in relation to the Cold War and the effectiveness of his policies during that period.
A TV show affects Reagan deeply. The question is often asked if Reagan won the Cold War. Usually, the only period examined is Reagan's second term. But if one looks at Reagan's first term, we see a perhaps unproductive stance and an unpopular hawkish stance that terrified many Americans and some allies, and was not helping to thaw the cold. Had the Presidency ended in 4 years, no significant progress could have been claimed. Yet one could aslo say Reagan was building a strategy while his adversaries had aging and sometimes ill leadership, and a few light moves were made. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Bruce Carlson
Topics covered
- Cold War
- Reagan's presidency
- U.S. foreign policy
- political strategy
- historical analysis
Keywords
- Reagan
- Cold War
- first term
- U.S. politics
- foreign policy
- historical context
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