When unemployment and inflation began to rise side by side in the 1970s, nobody knew what to do. Economic theory suggested it should have been impossible, and yet the numbers couldn't be denied. Stanford Historian Jennifer Burns, author of Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative, discusses how American presidents of the 70's tried and failed to curb stagflation, what led Carter to Paul Volcker, and how Volcker's medicine may have saved the economy, but doomed Carter's pregnancy in the process.

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It's commonly accepted wisdom that presidents are less effective in their second terms, when the term limits of the 22nd amendment turn them into Lame Ducks who cannot be elected to office a third time.

But what if that common wisdom is wrong?

Former NYU economics professor William Silber, author of The Power of Nothing to Lose: The Hail Mary Effect in Politics, War and Business, argues that lame ducks only appear less effective because, with nothing left to lose, they pursue goals that are more ambitious and more difficult. And nothing-to-lose, gamble-it-all-on-the-win behavior can also be seen in presidential campaigns when candidates trail badly in the polls or fear a defeat will end their careers.

With two former presidents on the ballet this fall, Silber forecasts what to expect from the campaigns and potential administrations of the contendors.

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When Jimmy Carter won the presidency, his Democratic party held a 61-37 majority in the Senate and a 292-143 majority in the House. Why then, with such a clear governing majority, were his relations with Congress so poor, and his agenda so challenged?

Jonathan Alter, a long-time journalist and author of numerous books on the presidency, including His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life, discusses how Carter's outsider status and a healthy heaping of luck swept him to the presidency, but betrayed him in the White House.

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"The erosion of confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and political fabric of the nation," - Jimmy Carter, July 15, 1979

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Jimmy Carter may have been the luckiest presidential candidate and unluckiest president in American history. Chasing the presidency after Watergate and the pardon of Nixon had crushed American faith in its leaders, Carter's outsider message was the right note at the right time. But once in office, a combination of economic headwinds and international disasters doomed his administration. From Plains, Georgia, to the White House and back, follow along as Carter navigates southern politics and national disenchantment to try and set the nation on a path for the future.

Bibliography
1. His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life – Jonathan Alter
2. Gerald Ford – Douglas Brinkley
3. Ronald Reagan: The life – H.W. Brands
4. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon Meacham
5. The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House – John F. Harris

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From 1953 to 1969, the Supreme Court was a vanguard of progressive change for the United States. But then came Tricky Dick.
Michael Bobelian, author of Battle For The Marble Palace: Abe Fortas, Lyndon Johnson, Earl Warren, Richard Nixon and the Forging of the Modern Supreme Court, discusses how presidential candidate Richard Nixon and senate conservatives blocked LBJ's efforts to cement a progressive court for years to come and, in 3 short years, transformed the once liberal bastion into a conservative bulwark, forever changing how justices are nominated and confirmed in the United States.

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A 24-year career in Congress crested at a tumultuous time for Gerald Ford. He was the GOP leader of the house during the Nixon administration, then Nixon's VP, then the president who had to heal the country after Watergate. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum director Brook Clement discusses the crucible Ford walked as a national leader.

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"Our long national nightmare is over." - Gerald Ford, August 9, 1974

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Gerald Ford is the only person in American history to reach the vice presidency and the presidency without being elected to either. Despite this, he was a popular president - for 1 month. But then he pardoned Nixon, and it was all downhill from there. Follow along as Ford rides his athletic gifts from Grand Rapids to The University of Michigan and eventually Yale, serves his country in World War 2, then embarks on a quest to become Speaker of the House, only to discover the presidency instead. Once there, he'll grapple with the legacy of Watergate, and a bedeviling rise in unemployment and inflation that threatened to send the country's economy over the cliff.

Bibliography
1. Gerald Ford – Douglas Brinkley
2. Richard Nixon: The Life – John Farrell
3. Ronald Reagan: The life – H.W. Brands
4. The Vietnam War – Ken Burns (documentary)
5. Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush – Jon Meacham
6. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream – Doris Kearns Goodwin
7. Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency – Mark K Updegrove
8. His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life – Jonathan Alter

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It didn't take long for Richard Nixon to earn the nickname "Tricky Dick," but was he really any more tricky than the typical politician? You bet he was!

John Farrell, a long-time journalist and author of numerous books on political leaders, including Richard Nixon, The Life, discusses the many campaigns of Richard Nixon, from the red scare tactics that swept him to office, to the southern strategy that changed America's political map forever.

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