Featured Content / Listening to the Presidency

Listening to the Presidency

Candid, unscripted glimpses of American presidents

Explore audio recordings along with contextual materials from several presidential administrations. Miller Center scholars have selected and edited each recording to help visitors gain insights into the presidency.  

 

You can filter Listening to the Presidency conversations by president, topic, and keyword.  
Richard Nixon campaigning
Secret White House tapes

Hear conversations from the secret White House tapes. The Presidential Recordings Program lets users listen in on presidents and their advisers at critical historical moments.
Madeline Albright portrait
Oral histories

Review key excerpts from the Presidential Oral History Program as senior decision-makers reflect on their time in the White House.
LBJ at his desk
Sample conversation

President Johnson asks his mentor, Senator Richard B. “Dick” Russell Jr. [D–Georgia], for advice on the Vietnam War. “It’s the damned worst mess I ever saw,” Russell declares. 
President
Conversation Topics
President Jimmy Carter sitting across from White House aides in a budget meeting.
Jimmy Carter
'A Different Type of President'
Stuart Eizenstat
President Jimmy Carter and Zbigniew Brzezinski sitting at a table.
Jimmy Carter
'Carter's Inner Strength'
Zbigniew Brzezinski
President Carter holds a press conference
Jimmy Carter
'The Washington Environment'
Jimmy Carter
Iranians storming the US embassy
Jimmy Carter
'Gnawing Away at Your Guts'
Jimmy Carter
President Jimmy Carter next to helicopter
Jimmy Carter
'An Attitude of Piety'
Jimmy Carter
President Ronald Reagan standing at the center of a group photo at the G-7 Summit in Williamsburg, Virginia
Ronald Reagan
'Free Trade and Fair Trade'
Ronald W. Reagan | Malcolm Fraser
President Ronald Reagan and Israel prime minister Menachem Begin standing on the South Lawn during a state visit.
Ronald Reagan
A 'Call That I Have Resisted Making'
Ronald W. Reagan | Menachem Begin
President Reagan meeting with Congress on the invasion of Grenada in the Cabinet Room.
Ronald Reagan
'We Regret Very Much the Embarrassment'
Ronald W. Reagan | Margaret Thatcher
President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain walking at Camp David.
Ronald Reagan
'That Terrible Bomb Attack'
Ronald W. Reagan | Margaret Thatcher
President Ronald Reagan and Mexican president Miguel de la Madrid outside the White House during a visit.
Ronald Reagan
'Very Good Friends with Common Interests'
Ronald W. Reagan | Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado
President Ronald Reagan meeting with Martin Anderson in the Oval Office.
Ronald Reagan
'Warmly Ruthless'
Martin Anderson
President Ronald Reagan meets with Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger in the Oval Office.
Ronald Reagan
'You Could Have Said Yes'
Caspar Weinberger