A Reagan Forum Podcast

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marking the first major conflict in Europe since World War II, the United States can no longer be assured of a peaceful continent across the Atlantic. During the 2022 Reagan National Defense Forum’s 4th panel of the day, a panel moderated by FOX News Channel’s Jennifer Griffin and comprised of Senator Joni Ernst, Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes, Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman, and Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth looked at how an engaged United States and a reinvigorated NATO represent the best path for peace and stability in Europe.

In last month’s December 15th podcast, we shared our 2022 Reagan National Defense Forum’s Keynote Address. In January’s podcasts we will share four additional panels with you. As previously shared, the Reagan National Defense Forum has quickly become one of our nation’s premier gatherings for defense and national security experts. The Defense Forum brings together leaders from across the political spectrum and key stakeholders in the defense community, including Members of Congress, current and former Administrations officials, senior military leadership, industry executives, technology innovators, and thought leaders. Their mission is to review and assess policies that strengthen America’s national defense in the context of the global threat environment. In this year’s fireside chat, United States Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines joined Andrea Mitchell of NBC News for a moderated discussion about the pressing security issues facing the United States. Director Haines provided her unique perspective on a multitude of national security matters, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, the protests in Iran and China, and North Korean nuclear tests. She highlighted the role the intelligence community plays in keeping America safe.

As we sit between Christmas and New Year’s, we take time to reflect on the year past and the year ahead. From all of us at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, we wish you and your family the happiest and healthiest of holiday seasons. In this week’s A Reagan Forum Podcast, we’re going to go listen to some of our “Best Of Ronald Reagan” podcasts to help keep you in the holiday spirit. We’re going to start with the best of his remarks around holidays.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast, we go 1 ½ weeks to December 13, 2022 for our in-person event with Peter Thiel who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Peter Thiel is an entrepreneur and investor. He cofounded PayPal, led it as CEO, and took it public; he made the first outside investment in Facebook, where he serves as a director; and he cofounded Palantir Technologies, where he serves as chairman. He is a partner at Founders Fund, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has funded companies including SpaceX and Airbnb. During his Time for Choosing Speech at the Reagan Library, Peter Thiel addressed additional critical issues facing the future of the Republican Party.

In 2022, we were reminded of the fragility of peace. As we continue to follow the tragic events in Ukraine and keep our eye on a tenuous peace in the Indo-Pacific, Americans must remember the resolve and moral clarity of President Reagan, who explained, “We stand against totalitarianism, particularly imperialistic expansionist totalitarianism. We are for democracy and human rights.” During this year’s Reagan National Defense Forum our panels addressed how to rebuild and maintain the peace, and how we would do well to remember that a strong U.S. military is the best guarantor for that peace—and for freedom. Just like last year, this year’s Defense Forum’s keynote address was delivered by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Lloyd Austin.

President Reagan once said, “We of today must choose how we will respond to the Holocaust. Let us tell the world that we will struggle against the darker side of human nature; that with God's help, goodness will prevail and those who lost their lives will not be forgotten.” Here, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, we’re working to ensure that their lives won’t be forgotten. Just one month ago we held an event to announce our upcoming exhibition, Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away. During this program we heard the moving testimony of two Auschwitz survivors, as well as received the first artifact that is a part of this extraordinary exhibition – a German WWII Train Car – the type used during the Holocaust to transport goods – and people – to Auschwitz. This very touching program began with the arrival of that train car – which was led by a procession of combat veterans on motorcycles.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back one month to November 10, 2022 for our in-person event with former Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland for his new book, The Envoy: Mastering the Art of Diplomacy with Trump and the World. In 2018, Gordon Sondland, the Founder and CEO of Provenance Hotels, was appointed to serve as the 20th U.S. Ambassador to the European Union by President Donald Trump. He was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in June 2018 and served as Ambassador to the E.U. until February 2020. As Ambassador, Gordon Sondland was one of the highest-ranking U.S. officials in Europe and his portfolio included trade, energy, national security, defense, agriculture and several other files.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to our in-person event on November 17th with former Vice President Mike Pence for a program on his newest book, So Help Me God, an inside story of the Trump Administration by its second-highest ranking official and of a profound faith that has guided him throughout his life. Mike Pence served as the 48th Vice President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, as the 50th Governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017, and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013. Fun fact: when he was sworn in as our nation’s Vice President, he did so with President Reagan’s mother’s bible, which the Reagan Library loaned to him for the occasion.

Last week was Veterans Day – a day to honor our nation’s military veterans. Commemorating this day on November 11th each year not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but also helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. In this week’s Reagan Forum Podcast we go back on week to the Reagan Library’s Veterans Day Program, which included an honor guard, live music, and keynote remarks by US Army Veteran Brad Taylor. Brad Taylor served for 21 years, retiring as a Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel, with his final assignment as the Assistant Professor of Military Science at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He is now the New York Times bestselling author of his Pike Logan series; with more than 15 installments and more than 3 million copies sold.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just three days to our virtual event on November 7th with one of America’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, Steve Case. Mr. Case joined us to discuss his latest book, The Rise of the Rest, which shows how the new generation of American business leaders is taking shape in cities across our heartland.

It’s November, and, of course, November is the month to celebrate Thanksgiving. And from all of us at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, we wish you and your family the happiest and healthiest of Thanksgivings later this month. In this week’s A Reagan Forum Podcast, we’re going to go back to 2018’s “Words to Live By” podcast featuring President Reagan’s thoughts and messages to the American people on Thanksgiving.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to October 18, 2022 for our in-person event with New York Times bestselling author Raymond Arroyo for his new family book, The Wise Men Who Found Christmas. During this program, Mr. Arroyo sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch to discuss The Wise Men Who Found Christmas, which is a thrilling, visual adventure capturing the wonder of the Christmas season. Based on new historical evidence, The Wise Men Who Found Christmas is the miraculous, untold tale of three seekers who followed a star and found themselves in the middle of the greatest story ever told.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to October 14, 2022 for our in-person event with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley for her new book, If You Want Something Done: Leadership Lessons from Bold Women, a book which celebrates the world’s most iconic women leaders woven among stories from her own childhood and political career. Nikki Haley is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Nations for two years, from January 2017 to January 2019. During this program she sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Executive Director John Heubusch to discuss If You Want Something Done.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back just one week to October 3, 2022 for our in-person event with legendary sports executive Dick Ebersol for his new book, From Saturday Night to Sunday Night: My Forty Years of Laughter, Tears and Touchdowns in TV. From Saturday Night to Sunday Night is a memoir by the legendary television executive. Mr. Ebersol co-created Saturday Night Live with Lorne Michaels, created Friday Night Videos with Vince McMahon to bring professional wrestling to network TV, took over NBC Sports, created Sunday Night Football, which is still the #1 primetime show in America, and was responsible for Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta. During our event, Dick Ebersol sat down to discuss his book in conversation with his son, Charlie, an American television and film producer and director.

In this week’s Reagan Forum podcast we go back two weeks to September 20, 2022 for our in-person event with Doug Ducey, the Governor of Arizona, who was a speaker in the Reagan Foundation’s Time for Choosing Speaker Series, a new forum for leading voices in the conservative movement. Within Arizona, Governor Ducey has eliminated overburdensome regulations, fostered the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs, and reformed taxes every year he’s been in office. He has also positioned Arizona as a national leader in school choice and civics education. He is a former businessman and CEO of Cold Stone Creamery who today also serves as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.