Beyond the Oval Office: The Secret World of Former Presidents

The President Will See You Now: A Story of Loyalty, Love, and Letting Go

What happens to a president after the power is gone? For Ronald Reagan, the answer is one of the most poignant stories in American history. In this episode of Bahr's History Hits, we explore The President Will See You Now by Peggy Grande — the intimate account of a young staffer who worked alongside Reagan through his post-presidential years and witnessed firsthand his long battle with Alzheimer's disease. This one isn't about politics. It's about loyalty, dignity, and what it means to stay by someone's side when the world has moved on. Reagan letter https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/ronald-reagan/reagans-letter-announcing-his-alzheimers-diagnosis

The General's Dog: A Special Episode

Special episode alert! My 8-year-old son Steven is taking over Bahr's History Hits — and he's brought his favorite book with him. George Washington and the General's Dog tells the remarkable true story of a small act of kindness in the middle of a very big war. Steven gives us his expert review, rates the book, and drops some genuine wisdom. Fair warning: he might be a better co-host than me.

Beyond the Oval Office: The Secret World of Former Presidents

Only a handful of people have ever held the most powerful job in the world—and that shared experience bonds them in ways nothing else can. Today we're pulling back the curtain on the Presidents Club: the relationships, rivalries, and behind-the-scenes partnerships that former presidents have formed across party lines and across history. From Nixon's rehabilitation to the Bush-Clinton bromance, this is the side of the presidency the history books rarely tell. Based on The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy.

The Preacher & the Presidents

He preached the gospel to an estimated 215 million people in person. He knelt in prayer with presidents in the Oval Office. He took midnight phone calls from Lyndon Johnson, who was drowning in Vietnam and needed someone to talk to who didn't want anything from him. He walked the corridors of the White House for more than fifty years — and paid a real price for it when Richard Nixon's lies unraveled on tape and took a piece of Graham's reputation with them. In this episode, host Michael Bahr digs into The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy — a remarkable, meticulously researched account of the most unusual relationship in modern American political history. What does it cost a man of God to walk that close to power? Where did Graham get it right — and where did he get it badly wrong? And what did he never stop believing, through all of it, was the only thing that truly mattered? This episode ends with an invitation. Come ready to hear it. History is cool. Let's open the book.

The Forgotten War that Forged A Nation

They called it the forgotten war. But the War of 1812 shaped the United States in ways Americans still feel today. In this bonus episode, host Michael Bahr — drawing on Walter R. Borneman's gripping narrative history 1812: The War That Forged a Nation — breaks down the conflict that nearly broke the young American republic. From the burning of Washington D.C. to the Battle of New Orleans, from British impressment on the high seas to the birth of the Star-Spangled Banner, this is the story of a nation that refused to back down. Why did the U.S. go to war with Britain again so soon after independence? Who actually won — and does the answer depend on who you ask? Tune in and find out. History is cool. This one's for Ruby.