We gathered at the Reagan Library on June 5, 2024, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of President Reagan. The day was a meaningful opportunity to reflect on our 40th President’s legacy and its enduring impact to this day and beyond. In today’s Reagan Forum Podcast, we focus on the first panel from our June 5^th event – Leadership at Home: Morning in America. The panel was moderated by veteran journalist Ann Compton – who covered President Reagan at the White House. She sat down in discussion with Andy Card who served as Special Assistant to President Reagan and, of course, later as Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush, Influential economist Dr. Art Laffer who served as a member of President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board, and Stephen Moore, the widely read economic advisor and commentator, who served in the Reagan administration Office of Management and Budget. During the hour-long panel, they discussed President Reagan and his economic policies, how they impacted America in the 1980s, and how they’re still relevant today.

On May 29, 2024, the Reagan Foundation hosted a virtual event with Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Carlos Lozada for a discussion of his latest book, The Washington Book, which explores how people in power reveal themselves through their books and writings and, in so doing, illuminates the personal, political, and cultural conflicts driving Washington and the nation. It explores the construction of personal identity, the delusions of leadership, and that mix of subservience and ambition that can define a life in politics. During the program, Carlos sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present our Memorial Day Commemoration held at the Reagan Library just three days ago.  Each year the Reagan Library holds a special program that honors the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. This year, we were honored to have as our keynote Michael Blassie’s sister, United States Air Force Colonel Patricia Blassie (retired). Our program also included a flyover, a Color Guard, live music, and remarks by Gold Star Family Member Tony Cordero.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present Ed O’Keefe, the CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, for his latest book, The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President. During this virtual event, Ed sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Education and Program Officer Richard Schroeder to discuss his book.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present three co-authors – Anita McBride, Diana Carlin, and Nancy Kegan Smith – who joined us at the Reagan Library on May 8, 2024, to discuss their new book, Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Making Women. The discussion surrounded their groundbreaking book, showcasing the evolutionary role of the First Lady and its historical importance in the American presidency. They shine a light on the influential women who broke barriers and made a mark on our country and, at times, our world, during their tenures in the White House. Anita McBride's White House service spans two decades and three presidential administrations. She served as director of White House Personnel under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and as director of the U.S. Speaker's Bureau at the United States Information Agency. She then served as assistant to President George W. Bush and chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush. Diana Carlin co-founded the First Ladies Association for Research and Education. Nancy Kegan Smith is the retired Director of the Presidential Materials Division at the National Archives and Records Administration. She is vice president of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education. During their visit, the three co-authors sat down with the Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO Dave Trulio to discuss their book.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present our Reaganism Podcast on GOP Foreign Policy. During the podcast, Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim sat down with Dr. Matthew Kroenig who serves as the Vice President and Senior Director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council, and with Dan Negrea who serves as the Senior Director of the Freedom and Prosperity Center at the Atlantic Council. They discuss Dr. Kroenig and Mr. Nagrea’s new book, “We Win, They Lose: Republican Foreign Policy and the New Cold War.” This book provides a blueprint for Republican policymakers to engage with and win the great power competition with Communist China.

In this week’s “A Reagan Forum” we present our Reaganism Podcast on AI, Autonomy, and Defense. During the podcast, Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim sat down with Doug Cameron, a reporter who covers the global aerospace and defense industry and the airline sector in The Wall Street Journal’s Chicago bureau. During their conversation, they discussed Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the National Defense Industrial Strategy, emerging technologies, and the future of warfare.

For today’s Reagan Forum podcast, we are going behind the scenes to share some of the inside stories of what we do here at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. The Reagan Library opened on November 4, 1991, but the groundbreaking was held three years earlier, in November 1988. November 21, 2023, marked the 35^th anniversary of the groundbreaking of the Reagan Library and Museum. To commemorate the day, the Foundation put together a video of how the Library was built and why Simi Valley was chosen.

On March 20, 2024, the Reagan Institute held its second annual National Security Innovation Base Summit in Washington, D.C. The event convened prominent thought leaders, current and former public officials, investors, and representatives of the most innovative industry and technology companies to discuss the important issues facing our annual National Security Innovation Base ecosystem. The program also unveiled the second iteration of its groundbreaking National Security Innovation Base Report Card which measures the health, effectiveness, and resilience of this ecosystem and provides recommendations for improvement. The program’s keynote was the Honorable Kathleen Hicks, the 35^th Deputy Secretary of Defense. Following her remarks, she sat down in conversation with Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim.

During his farewell address to the nation on January 11, 1989, President Reagan said, “An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world?” Today, the Reagan Institute’s Center for Civics, Education, and Opportunity stands at the nexus of civics and education policy answering President Reagan’s call for an “informed patriotism” to ensure for a prosperous future for America. Educators and organizations committed to civic learning and engagement often feel hesitant, fearing they'll be labeled political. Meanwhile, parents may wonder about the distinction between active participation and advocacy, and whether their child's teacher is equipped to navigate these waters. To discuss these topics, the Reagan Institute held an online forum on March 13, 2024, specifically to discuss how to foster informed and engaged citizens in today's polarized climate. The panel took a deep dive into the nuances of "active citizenship" versus "activist citizenship," exploring how these concepts intersect and sometimes clash in educational settings.

Just a few days ago, the nation celebrated April Fool’s Day. Although the day has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582 when France switched from the Julian calendar (which begins its new year around April 1 each year) to the Gregorian calendar (which begins its new year on January 1 each year). People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.” Today it’s become a day for pranks, hoaxes, and jokes. And no one loved a good joke more than President Reagan. So we thought we’d spend today’s Reagan Forum podcast celebrating the best of President Reagan and his humor.

On March 8, 2024, the Reagan Foundation hosted a virtual event with bestselling author Craig Shirley. Craig Shirley is the author of four critically praised bestselling books on President Reagan, Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All, Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign that Changed America, Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan, and Reagan Rising: The Decisive Years, 1976-1980. He joined us on March 8 to discuss his latest book on Ronald Reagan, The Search for Reagan: The Appealing Intellectual Conservatism of Ronald Reagan. The new book chronicles what Craig Shirley believes is the untold secret of Reagan's success: strong moral compassion and the vast but underrated intellect of a philosopher-president. "A true leader has a moral, physical, and intellectual presence," Craig said. He continued, “I was in the room with Reagan many, many times. He was always the one person in the room who was the moral, physical, and intellectual leader." During the program, Craig Shirley sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Giller.