A new podcast called Landslide traces the roots of America's current culture war back through the political campaigns of Ronald Raegan, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford.
The series, produced by Nuanced Tales in partnership with WFAE, and distributed by the NPR Network, begins with an examination of the career of Michigander Gerald Ford. During his presidential campaign and early days in office, Ford was office described as "dependable, good natured, and well liked."
"The image that formed was of 'Gerald Ford The Bumbler,'" Bradford said. "That maybe he wasn't all that smart. Maybe he wasn't smart enough for the job."
That public image, in combination with his decision to pardon Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal, made way for a viable challenger within the party: Ronald Reagan.
"Ronald Reagan is a conservative. And he's part of this growing faction that's been empowered by using Richard Nixon's use of the Southern strategy of people who are socially conservative, they're culturally conservative, they're opposed to civil rights and women's rights," Bradford said. "And Reagan is their candidate. And Reagan enters the race specifically pledging to change the Republican Party."
The political rhetoric pervasive throughout this era, Bradford said, helps to explain today's ongoing culture war.
"You look at the rhetoric we see, the sort of conspiracy theories that are being evoked," Bradford said. "You can start to understand that people have been absorbing that information for 50 years."
Hear the full conversation with Ben Bradford on the Stateside podcast.
[Get Stateside on your phone: subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or YouTube Music today.]
