Political Leaders

Andrew Young

Bill Thompson

Was the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s a social or political movement? It was, but it was also a religious or spiritual movement, says former Congressman and UN Ambassador Andrew Young.

In a 1994 book called A Way Out of No Way, Young, a confidant of Martin Luther King jr., a former preacher, former Atlanta mayor, told his own story against the backdrop of the movement that he was a key part of.

So here now, from 1994, Andrew Young:

Ambassador Andrew Young will be 89 next month.

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Rosa Parks

Ann Richards

Bill Thompson
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel

In the summer of 1988 leaders of the Democratic party invited Texas State Treasurer Ann Richards to deliver a prime-time address at the Democratic National Convention.

Richards delivered. all right, in a big way, targeting Republican presidential nominee George H.W. Bush, who had just spent eight years as Ronald Reagan’s vice president. Richards delivered a takedown line that has lived forever: “He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

I met Ann Richards in the fall of 1989 when she had just launched her campaign for governor of Texas.

So here now from 1989 Ann Richards.

Ann Richards won the election for governor in 1990, but served just one term.

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She died in 2006 at age 73.

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Bob Dole

Egil Krogh

Bill Thompson
Egil “Bud” Krogh

Next Monday, December 21, marks the 50th anniversary of a very strange day in White House history.

It was on December 21, 1970 that the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, showed up unannounced at the White House gate, asking for a personal meeting with President Richard M.Nixon.

The man who put that meeting together that day was Nixon aide Egil “Bud” Krogh. Officially, Krogh was head of the White House special investigations unit, later colloquially known as the “Plumbers” – it was the unit assembled to plug leaks of information from the Nixon White House.

In 1994, krogh wrote a book about that famous 1970 meeting. And that’s when I met him.

So here now, from 1994, Egil “Bud” Krogh.

Egil “Bud” Krogh eventually was implicated in the Watergate scandal, and served a short prisoin sentence for his role in it.

He died earlier this year, at age 80.

Bob Dole

Bill Thompson

Tomorrow is the presidential election. It’s been a tough campaign, with not a lot of humor.

But politicians, and their constituents, need a good sense of humor. In 1998, Bob Dole, the unsuccessful GOP nominee in 1996, compiled a book of presidential and political humor.

Now, Dole himself was hardly known for his comic genius. But when I interviewed him in 1998, I found out how funny even conservative Republicans can be.

So here now, from 1998, Bob Dole.

Bob Dole is 97.

He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal iun 2017.

Jimmy Carter

Bill Thompson
Jimmy Carter with Bill’s daughters Jennifer (left) and Krystal

Next week is our presidential election, so I thought it appropriate today to hear from one of our former presidents.

I first met Jimmy Carter in 1987, and interviewed him several times over the years, including this conversation, from 1993.

Mr. Carter had just written a book for young people, about peace, and war. I brought both of my daughters, ages 11 and 13, with me that day to meet our 39th president.

And as you’re about to hear, it’s very apparent why this very good man has been a force for peace for decades.,

So here now, from 1993, Jimmy Carter.

Former president Jimmt Carter turned 96 on October 1st. And despite various health challenges, he remains very active in a number of Pursuits.

Robert Bork

Bill Thompson
Robert Bork with Ronald Reagan 1987

As the U.S. Senate moved closer to confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, we’re reminded that not all nominees have such an easy ride.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan nominated appeals court judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. But after a contentious hearing, the Senate rejected Bork’s nomination. And now, in fact, his name has become virtually synonymous with ignominious defeat, as in “he got borked.”

One of the several times I interviewed him was in 1991, not long after David Souter was confirmed to a seat on the high court. As you’ll hear in this interview.

So here now, from 1990 oh, Robert Bork.

Robert Bork retired from his seat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1988 and resumed his teaching career.

Bork died in 2012. He was 85.

Geraldine Ferraro

Bill Thompson

Tonight, October 7th, Senator Kamala Harris will meet Vice President Mike Pence in their one and only debate of the 2020 election campaign.

Photo: Univ of Texas-Arlington News Service Photograph Collection

Harris is the first woman of color on a major party presidential ticket, and she is only the third woman ever nominated by a major party for vice president.

The first, in 1984, was Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, who was chosen by Democrat Walter Mondale to be his running mate.

Her one and only debate performance was against then-incumbent Vice President George H.W. Bush.

I met Gerladine Ferraro in 1998. The book she had just written was about the strong women who shaped her life, not least of whom was her own mother.

Sp here now, from 1998, Geraldine Ferraro:

Geraldinme Ferraro died in 2011 at the age of 75.

Roger Ailes

Bill Thompson

Tomorrow night, September 29th, is the first debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

So today on Now I’ve Heard Everything, I wanted to revisit an interview I did over 30 years ago with a man who played a key role in the 1984 presidential debates between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale.

Years before he became head of Fox News — way before there even was a Fox News — Roger Ailes was a media consultant. Most prominent among his many clients, perhaps, was President Ronald Reagan. Ailes was an adviser to the President in his 1984 reelection bid, and was indrectly responsible for one of that campaign’s most memorable, and decisive, moments.

I met Roger Ailes in the fall of 1987. He’d written a book to help coach people in the art of public speaking and dealing with the media. The book promised to reveal the “secrets of the master communicators.”

So here now, from 1987, Roger Ailes:

Roger Ailes went on to become CEO of the fledgling Fox News in 1996. He held that post until 2016 when allegations of sexual harassment forced him out.

Roger Ailes died in 2017, three days after his 77th birthday.

Kazimierz Wierzbicki

Bill Thompson

In the US, we take labor unions for granted. To many, it seems like they have always been around.

But in 1980, labor unions in countries under the grip of the Soviet Union we’re totally hostile to labor unions. That’s why it made huge news 40 years ago this week, when workers in the Gdansk shipyards of Poland formed a labor union called solidarity.

With the implicit blessing of the communist government.

And Solidarity was not limited to shipyard workers. Teachers and other educators also wanted in on the movement, and that’s where Kazimierz Wierzbicki comes in. He was one of the early organizers of those educators.

I met him in early 1982, some weeks after the government Pride meekly to crack down on solidarity.

Now, a note: my tape archive can be sometimes maddeningly incomplete. What you’re about to hear is not my full interview, but a shortened, edited version that ran on the air in 1982. Somehow, I have lost the original, unedited interview. That’s why this episode is a little shorter than usual.

But here now, from 1982, Kazimierz Wierzbicki.

Barry Goldwater

Bill Thompson

Last week Democrats nominated Joe Biden for president. This week, Republicans will renominate Donald Trump, for a second term.

Let’s go back 56 years, to July1964, when the GOP nominated Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater.

And, much like this year’s Democrats, many 1964 Republicans had serious doubts about Goldwater, who many saw as much too extreme. And Goldwater himself didn’t help much, with his acceptance speech.

Goldwater was trounced in the election that fall, by income LyndonBut Goldwater remained in the senate for many years, Helping shape the conservative policies of the GOP.

When I met him in 1988, the country was in the midst of the George H.W. Bush vs Michael Dukakis race. And as you’re about to hear, Goldwater had some very specific ideas about that contest.

So, here now, from 1988, Barry Goldwater.

Barry Goldwater died in 1998. He was 89.