They say if you can’t say nothin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all—but I reckon if you say somethin’ nice enough times with enough flags behind you, folks’ll start thinkin’ it’s gospel. In this episode, we ride into the Reagan years—where the cowboy president smiled, waved, and gutted half a century’s worth of labor protections in the name of “freedom.”
We break down how Reagan’s folksy charm helped repackage corporate power as common sense, and how a Hollywood union man turned politician came to declare that the most terrifying words in the English language were, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Funny thing is… he was the government. And he helped plenty—just not the people doin’ the work.
Further Reading:
McCartin, Joseph A. Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strike that Changed America. Oxford University Press, 2011.
Essential reading on how Reagan’s firing of the PATCO strikers marked a turning point in labor suppression.
Phillips-Fein, Kim. Invisible Hands: The Businessmen’s Crusade Against the New Deal. W. W. Norton, 2009.
Explores the long campaign by wealthy elites to dismantle New Deal protections—culminating in Reagan’s presidency.
Kruse, Kevin M. One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America. Basic Books, 2015.
Offers important context on how Reagan fused free-market ideology with religious rhetoric.
Wilentz, Sean. The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974–2008. Harper Perennial, 2008.
A comprehensive examination of Reagan's rise and long-lasting influence on American politics.
Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. Harper Perennial, 2005.
Chapters on the Reagan years offer a bottom-up view of his economic policies’ impact on working-class Americans.
The Reagan Library Archives – Presidential papers and speeches
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov
