Episodes

Did you know that a young Princess Elizabeth once spent time with a twenty-something John F. Kennedy? Or that Richard Nixon hoped to marry one of his daughters into the British royal family? In this episode, I speak with best...

Before he became the indispensable man of the American founding, George Washington was a young officer fighting for survival in the wilderness, battling the French, navigating deadly frontier politics, and learning the hard l...

How should Americans evaluate presidential candidates when it comes to nuclear weapons? In this episode, Dr. Anthony Eames, Director of Scholarly Initiatives at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, returns...

What does the First Lady actually do —and how did the role become so influential? Our host Richard Lim sits down with Anita McBride—former Chief of Staff to Laura Bush, Executive-in-Residence at American University’s School o...

How have American presidents managed the most destructive weapons ever created? In this episode, Dr. Anthony Eames, Director of Scholarly Initiatives at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, joins me to exa...

What if today’s leading voices took a fresh look at the lives of America’s presidents and first ladies—searching for lessons that still speak to the challenges we face now? That’s the idea behind In Pursuit , a new initiative...

What American president would take a demotion and become a congressman after leaving the White House? The answer is John Quincy Adams. In this episode, we interview Bob Crawford, bassist for The Avett Brothers, about his new ...

President Trump has ordered strikes on Iran. In this episode, scholar Randall Fowler discusses how we got to this critical moment. He examines the history of U.S.–Iran relations — from the 1953 coup and the 1979 Islamic Revol...

On January 3, 2026, the United States captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, ending his corrupt reign over the South American country. What led President Donald Trump to order this dramatic intervention? Franklin Camarg...

FDR is often ranked by historians as one of the two or three greatest presidents. In recent years, he sometimes lands at the top spot. In this episode, Professor David T. Beito explores whether that ranking is deserved. FDR: ...

If J.D. Vance gets elected to the White House in 2028, he will be the first president in over a century to have facial hair. In this episode, Theodore Pappas discusses the surprising history of hair and the American presidenc...

Richard shares an update on his book project. https://www.richardmlim.com JOIN PREMIUM Listen ad-free for only $5/month at www.bit.ly/TAPpremium FOLLOW US www.linktr.ee/thisamericanpresident CREDITS Host: Richard Lim Producer...

Why is there evil in the world? How do you stop it? In this episode, No Spin News host Bill O'Reilly discusses his new book about the most evil people in all of history. CONFRONTING EVIL: ASSESSING THE WORST OF THE WORST http...

Some of the biggest myths in American history center around the lives of the presidents. In this episode, historian Larry Schweikart tackles some of the biggest misperceptions about America's chief executives. A PATRIOT'S HIS...

“His single minded mission was to elevate the United States as a leading world power… he was dedicated to the ideal of American greatness.” That is how today's guest, Bret Baier, describes President Theodore Roosevelt in his ...

In this episode, we interview Allen Estrin, the co-founder and executive director of Prager University, about the life of Charlie Kirk and about Estrin's new book on the presidents of the United States. THE HONEST BOOK OF PRE...

It's both the famous vacation spot in the world, and the site of some of the most earthshaking events in modern history. It is Camp David. On this episode, former chaplain and historian at Camp David, Charles Ferguson, explai...

He was the brilliant engineer and humanitarian who saved millions of lives during World War I, revolutionized the American economy, and was elected the 31st president of the United States. And yet, this same man left office w...

Almost every American president has sworn on the Bible to faithfully execute their duties and uphold the Constitution. But what did our presidents actually think about the Bible? Historian Carl J. Richard has just written a b...

Herbert Hoover was a revolutionary figure in American politics -- for many, he represented a new era, in which experts and engineers would dominate the highest levels of government. Upon Hoover's election to the presidency in...

April 2025 will be remembered as the month when President Donald Trump declared war against the entire world -- a trade war to be exact. Whatever one thinks about his decision, it was a bold move that few chief executives wou...

Few presidents entered office more distrusted than America's 21st chief executive, Chester A. Arthur. But one American, Julia Sand, believed that he could rise to the occasion. What ensued was one of the most surprising and u...

A president in cognitive decline. A beleaguered Vice President. A party in shambles. An ex-president on the verge of the greatest political comeback in American history. And a lot of cat and dog memes. The 2024 presidential e...

Herbert Hoover emerged from World War I with a reputation as the greatest living humanitarian. He would spend the 1920s applying his brilliance and organizational abilities to transforming the American economy. In this episod...