American Society is now deeply split along ideological and cultural lines. When did this polarization intensify?

One among several key turning points occurred in 1987 when President Ronald Reagan nominated Robert Bork for a seat on the Supreme Court. Bork’s controversial statements about American society and the law provoked intense opposition. Senators rejected the nomination.

Many of the issues raised in that Senate hearing are familiar to us today. Robert Bork was an influential promoter of culture wars over identities,, values, and ideologies, and he championed the Unitary Executive Theory that justifies enormous presidential power.

Can Netflix’s recent film, The House of Dynamite and other movies like it influence public opinion regarding nuclear warfare? The historical record from the 1950s until recent times shows that sometimes this cinema does have an impact. The films also reflect public concerns at the time they were produced.

This discussion begins with an examination of two movies that influenced Ronald Reagan’s thinking about nuclear warfare, The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Day After. The podcast then explores the influence of other films produced during the Cold War, including On the Beach, The Mouse That Roared, Fail Safe, and Dr. Strangelove. Finally, explains why films about nuclear onflict have made a comeback in recent years.

Public opinion polls show President Trump’s approval rating has slipped substantially since his second inauguration. Do those results indicate vulnerability? If the trend line continues, could President Trump begin to lose his grip on the reins of political power?

Despite this evidence, discussions in the national media contain little speculation about declining influence. Instead, the national media report on the expansion of Trump’s influence in American life.

Will this state of affairs continue? Perhaps. Or perhaps not.

There are some intriguing similarities between Trump’s situation and that of Joseph McCarthy. Senator McCarthy seemed invincible in the early 1950s, but later, in a matter of months, he quickly fell from grace. McCarthy’s record demonstrates that political power can erode quickly when political conditions change and leaders overreach.