In the mid-1970s, the Republican Party looked on the verge of self-destruction. Until 1976. A political earthquake: A cutthroat, razor-close, deeply personal battle for the Republican nomination, and the party's identity. It resurrected the GOP, remade it as a conservative party, and pulled the country sharply to the right. Landslide is the story of the closest presidential primary race in American history, what followed, and how it reshaped the political parties — opening the partisan rifts that divide us today. Hosted by award-winning public radio journalist Ben Bradford.
Latest episodes
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3 min
The American Storytelling collection explores the human stories behind the political headlines
Politics is the human story behind the headlines: our hopes, disagreements, choices and visions for what comes next. This fall, the American Storytelling Collection brings together…
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42 min
The Speaker
Nancy Pelosi never intended to run for office — but in 1987, a twist of fate thrust her into San Francisco’s political arena. In Congress, she seized power and became one of the mo…
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38 min
Are we doomed?
Historically, societies fall. Civilizations collapse. But is that what’s happening now in the United States? With the help of historians, a former CIA-funded researcher on politica…
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2 min
Introducing the American Storytelling collection
What does it mean to be an American? There’s no one way. At NPR, we think of the American identity as a story - one that's always being rewritten by the people who live it. The Ame…
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29 min
Engines of Outrage Pt. 4
How does the internet work to polarize us on an individual level?As tech and media companies, battle for online engagement, they feed their users — they feed us — content that will…
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31 min
Engines of Outrage Pt. 3
Librarians in Ukraine. Rural newspapers. A tweak to social media algorithms. The infrastructure of a political campaign. All of these offer lessons about how to beat back misinform…
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30 min
Engines of Outrage Pt. 2
In the early 2000s, key tech companies made a series of choices that shaped the future of the internet. They "gave away"" their products "for free." From an initial tweak to Facebo…
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32 min
Engines of Outrage Pt. 1
Just a few decades ago most people used — and trusted — the same news sources. Now, Americans are siloed in separate ecosystems, consuming conflicting depictions of reality. Misinf…
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21 min
The Exoneration of Richard Nixon
If the new Supreme Court decision, Trump v. U.S., had applied back in 1974, could President Richard Nixon have been prosecuted for Watergate? Or, would this decision shield Nixon f…
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18 min
When Money Became Speech
After Watergate, both parties cracked down on political spending with a new, strict campaign finance law. But instead of money in politics shrinking, it exploded. In this bonus epi…
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24 min
New Right TV
Before Fox News, the grassroots conservative activists known as "the New Right" spent decades attempting — and failing — to launch their own television news channel. In this bonus…
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21 min
Making Abortion Partisan
Even in the years after Roe vs. Wade, the issue of abortion did not divide the political parties — or most Americans. But as Reagan, the New Right, and the Christian Right took con…
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51 min
Landslide
Four years later. Jimmy Carter is now an embattled president, unpopular and facing a tough primary challenge. Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan storms to the Republican nomination, while wo…
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37 min
Outsider
Bruised after the primaries, the unpopular Ford looks headed for a blowout defeat in the 1976 general election. But his campaign adopts a clever strategy, and Carter struggles in t…
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42 min
Ordinary Man
An unexpected contender ambushes the Democratic field. The one-term Georgia governor Jimmy Carter has planned a campaign of military precision for the Democratic nomination. With a…
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40 min
Shootout
With the primaries over, the nomination hangs in the hands of a few remaining "unbound" delegates. Ford and Reagan scramble to win them over, as the battle to lead the Republican P…
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41 min
The New Right
The 1976 Republican primary looks finished. After a string of losses to Ford, Reagan's aides prepare to concede. But a network of right-wing groups has quietly organized, drumming…
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42 min
Lightweight
The idea that Ronald Reagan can win is laughable. "Suicidal," writes the New York Times. Too extreme, too gaffe-prone, too unserious a candidate, the faded former actor has no chan…
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40 min
Trust
Gerald Ford had planned to retire. But in the days and weeks after Watergate, the new president looks to rebuild Americans' collapsing trust in their government. His attempts to co…
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2 min
Introducing Landslide
When President Richard Nixon resigns in disgrace, three unlikely candidates emerge to fill the vacuum: Gerald Ford, savvy veteran of partisan wars. Ronald Reagan, fringe reactionar…