This is a story podcast documenting the alternate history of the U.S. and the world from 1963 to 1985, in a world where John F. Kennedy survives and the great u...
Episode 20 (Season 2, Episode 10): Click to Play! After all the political infighting, the 1972 Presidential race finally comes down to the clash of the titans: Ronald Reagan on the Republican side vs. Robert F. Kennedy on the Democratic side. The main issues are peace, rapport with the Soviets, and an end to the Cold War. But with the political winds constantly shifting and the X factor of anti-busing racist Governor George Wallace in the mix (yet again), nothing can be counted on. The fate of the world hangs in the balance as two ultra-charismatic candidates battle it out for the heart and soul of America, and possibly the fate of the human species. Length: 21:59 Show Notes For This Episode Next Episode: Date Uncertain; Early 2022
-------- Â
22:00
Episode 19: Come to Jesus
As the 1972 primary season heats up, California Governor Ronald Reagan has his sights set on the White House, but he has to slay numerous dragons before he gets there: Richard Nixon, George Wallace and the sitting President of the United States, George Romney, not to mention the Democratic heir-apparent, Robert Kennedy. Will Nixon run? How will Wallace, running an insurgent racist campaign from the sidelines, affect the race? Who is bugging who, and why? Will the explosive matter of busing in Boston be the decisive issue? A long chain of political intrigues and scandals leads up to a fateful White House meeting that may decide the election--and America's future. Length: 28:48 Show Notes For This Episode Next Episode: December 5, 2021
-------- Â
28:49
Episode 18: The Atlanta Doctor
Lawrence McEnery, an emergency room doctor from Atlanta and passionate advocate for the ferociously anti-Communist John Birch Society, begins his career and life trajectory with an air crash in 1956, a political awakening in the early 1960s and eventually nascent aspirations for public office. A chance meeting with Ronald Reagan in an L.A. hotel room launches his political career. McEnery's anti-Communist fervor and his unlikely involvement with the rock band Refraction (discussed in Episode 13) inject new uncertainty into the political landscape for the upcoming 1972 Presidential election, and the future of American politics. Length: 24:02 Show Notes For This Episode Next Episode: November 21, 2021
-------- Â
24:03
Episode 17: Summit
In the aftermath of the nuclear war scare, President George Romney decides his highest calling--and his key to reelection in 1972--is to make peace with the Russians and end the Cold War. But will Soviet leader Shelepin play ball? As the clock ticks down to major political shenanigans at home, and both Senators Ronald Reagan and Robert Kennedy position themselves for the game, Romney throws the dice on a high-stakes summit in Oslo with Shelepin to discuss a comprehensive peace treaty. It could be a new dawn for humanity...or another craven trick by the Stalinist Soviet leader. Length: 22:10 Show Notes For This Episode Next Episode: November 7, 2021
-------- Â
22:11
Episode 16: War Scare
Soviet leader Alexander Shelepin backs a bold move by Warsaw Pact forces to take over East Berlin as a final solution to the Communist bloc's long-simmering dispute with the West over the city. The move takes U.S. President George Romney by surprise, but immediately sets up the tensest moment of the entire Cold War. The world goes to the brink of nuclear annihilation, even closer than the Cuban Missile Crisis. All of humanity awaits a single decision, made by one man in a small chapel in the West Wing of the White House: will Romney launch the missiles or won't he? Length: 22:17 Show Notes For This Episode Next Episode: October 24, 2021
This is a story podcast documenting the alternate history of the U.S. and the world from 1963 to 1985, in a world where John F. Kennedy survives and the great upheavals of the time take a different path than they did in real life.
South Africa