Tariffs (thread 3), Episode 17: From Buchanan to Trump: How a Forgotten Nationalist Foretold the Tariff Turn

Tariffs (thread 3), Episode 17: From Buchanan to Trump: How a Forgotten Nationalist Foretold the Tariff Turn

If you liked the series, here’s a quick wrap: Pat Buchanan basically saw the backlash to globalization coming long before it was trendy. He mixed culture wars with industrial anger and helped invent the language modern populists use today. It’s a weird mix of prophet and provocateur — he wanted a long-term nationalist economic plan, not the showmanship of tweets and sudden tariffs. Either way, his fingerprints are all over today’s debates about sovereignty, trade, and who gets to control the economy.

Tariffs (thread 3), Episode 16: Ross Perot’s Charts: The Man Who Saw NAFTA’s Fallout Coming

Remember Ross Perot? He wasn’t just the loud guy with the giant charts; he was one of the first to warn that free trade could hollow out towns and jobs, and he said it with spreadsheets instead of slogans. His blend of technocratic anger and plain-speaking populism helps explain why today’s tariff fights feel both familiar and messy — part policy debate, part long-delayed political payback. Listen, the man didn’t get everything right, but he sure spotted a trend early.

Tariffs (thread 3), Episode 15: Reagan's Trade Paradox: Free-Market Saint, Surprise Protectionist

This episode peels back the myth of Reagan as a pure free-market hero and shows the messy, pragmatic side: tariffs, quotas, and handshakes with uneasy allies when American factories faltered. It’s a friendly, clear look at how fear of decline, Cold War strategy, and a faith in capitalism shaped his trade moves — the contradictions are oddly human and kind of fascinating.

Tariffs (thread 3), Episode 13: Truman vs. Tariff Chaos: What He'd Say About Today's Trade Wars

Imagine Harry Truman watching today's tariff tweets and policy U-turns: he'd be furious. He came from a generation that saw trade collapse and democracies fall, so to him tariffs were a dangerous geopolitical tool, not campaign fodder. Truman trusted steady leadership, alliances, and institutions; he'd see modern tariff chaos as a real threat to the postwar order we built — not just to businesses, but to democracy itself.

Iran (thread 10), Episode 9: Goldwater’s Grit: How He’d Handle Modern Iran

Imagine your bluntest, no-nonsense friend dropped into a modern foreign policy debate — that’s Barry Goldwater here. He’d see Iran as a direct challenge to American strength and insist on big, unmistakable responses rather than cautious hedging. This piece walks through how Goldwater’s Cold War instincts — deterrence, overwhelming force, and disdain for ambiguity — would shape his view on Iran’s proxies, the Strait of Hormuz, and nuclear ambitions. Casual, direct, and a little unnerving, it’s a look at why some foreign policy arguments still sound a lot like him: strong words, stronger actions.