August 22, 2025 • 10 mins
As a U.S. President, Jimmy Carter championed education and renewable energy as keystones of a healthy nation. Outside of office, he helped other nations grow democracy, built afforadable housing with his own hands, nearly eradicated guinea worm disease -- and still found time to teach Sunday school. Learn about Jimmy and Roselynn Carter in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/jimmy-carter.htm
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brainstud a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff. Lauren
Vogelbaum here. American President Jimmy Carter spent only four years
in the White House, but he worked for decades to
build peace, democracy, and a better quality of life for
fellow Americans and people around the world. His presidential stint
(00:24):
was just a jumping off point for a lifelong devotion
to making the world a better place. Our thirty ninth
President was born James Earl Carter Junior in rural Georgia,
to a father, Earl, who was a peanut farmer and businessman,
and a mother, Lillian, who was a registered nurse. They
were a faithful Baptist family. Carter attended public school in Plains,
(00:48):
followed by university study at two Georgia colleges before graduating
from the United States Naval Academy in nineteen forty six.
That same year, he married Rosalind Smith. The two grew
up just a few miles away from each other. They
technically first met when he was three and she was
just one day old, and married once they had both
finished college. The'd go on to have four children together.
(01:13):
During his time with the Navy, Carter served the Atlantic
and Pacific fleets. As a submariner, he achieved the rank
of lieutenant and was assigned to the nuclear submarine program,
and then did graduate work in reactor technology and nuclear physics.
But upon his father's death in nineteen fifty three, Carter
returned to Georgia to run the family farm and its
(01:33):
supply company. Back in Plains, he became active in local
political life, earning a seat in the Georgia Senate by
nineteen sixty two, a running for governor and losing in
nineteen sixty six, then winning in nineteen seventy, all before
announcing his run for president in nineteen seventy four. As
governor of Georgia, Carter was a progressive and a reformer.
(01:55):
He called for an end to segregation in his inaugural
address and increased to the number of black staff members
in the state government. He worked to improve the state
government's wasteful bureaucracy, was pro environment, and pushed for more
funding for schools. Carter entered the White House on January
twentieth of nineteen seventy seven after defeating President Gerald Ford
(02:16):
with campaign slogans like a leader for a change and
not just peanuts. He inherited challenges of the post Vietnam era,
including rising inflation and unemployment. After four years, the Carter
administration had increased the job market by nearly eight million
jobs and decreased the budget deficit, though inflation and interest
(02:38):
rates were still up before the article. This episode is
based on How Stuff Works. Spoke with Sarah B. Snyder,
a historian of US foreign relations and an associate professor
at the School of International Service at American University. She
explained that during his presidency, Carter helped restore quote American
faith in US government that had been eroded during the
(02:59):
Nixon and Forward years. American people came to trust him,
and by extension, came to regain their trust in the
US government. Carter talked more openly than most about his
faith and how it affected his worldview. The focus was
on personal morality and the way that the United States
conducted policies. A. Snyder said it was something he was
(03:22):
very comfortable talking about, and he linked his own faith to,
for example, his support for human rights. Carter's foreign policy
was driven by a commitment to human rights, which he
stated in his inaugural address had to be absolute. Generally,
his administration did take steps to support regimes that advanced
human rights and limit cooperation with abusive ones, though critics
(03:46):
have pointed out that they sometimes overlooked violations and the
interest of forwarding diplomacy and national security. Some of Carter's
important foreign policy achievements included the signing of the Panama
Canal Treaties, which returned control of the canal to Panama
and removed a significant irritant in US relations with the
rest of the Americas. Carter is also known for the
(04:07):
Camp David Accords, in which he helped negotiate a peace
between Israel and Egypt. He also signed the Salt to
Nuclear Limitation Treaty with the Soviet Union, though it never
really went into effect, and established diplomatic relations between the
US and the People's Republic of China. Domestically, the Carter
administration deregulated transportation industries and oil and natural gas prices,
(04:32):
leading to lower costs for both businesses and consumers. He
championed energy security and sustainability and created the Department of
Energy to handle existing suppliers and research new technologies in
wind and solar power. His administration pushed for environmental protection
in other ways, including doubling the size of the national
(04:52):
park system and tripling the wilderness area through conservation programs
and places like Alaska. Carter also chanmed education as a
fundamental right that's essential to democracy, and created the Department
of Education to elevate for the first time, the access
to learning to a federal cabinet level priority. He often
(05:13):
struggled with Congress, but found successes like these and in
other programs like raising the minimum wage, despite his recognized
skillet diplomacy. The final year of Carter's presidency was plagued
by the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran hostage crisis.
This was a situation following the revolution that overthrew the
(05:34):
US backed monarchy in Iran. The Carter administration granted the
deposed king asylum in America for cancer treatment, and in protest,
a group of students took sixty six Americans hostage at
the US embassy in Tehran, demanding the Shah's extradition. The
crisis went on for four hundred and forty four days,
(05:54):
with the final hostages only released on the last day
of Carter's term. Failures to negotiate and to rescue the
hostages became a political liability. It painted Carter as being
weak or indecisive, and thus, despite gains and trust and jobs,
Carter failed to win a second presidential term. Ronald Reagan
(06:17):
defeated him in a landslide victory. Reagan took four hundred
and eighty nine electoral votes to Carter's forty nine, one
of only ten incumbent presidents to fail to be re elected.
Carter left Washington, d c. In nineteen eighty one, but
his national and international humanitarian work was just beginning. Jimmy
and Rosalind Carter established the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia,
(06:40):
in nineteen eighty two in collaboration with Emory University. The
Center is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization dedicated to, in
their words, resolving conflict, promoting democracy, protecting human rights, and
preventing disease and other afflictions. The building itself is coupled
with the library and museum and opened in nineteen eighty six.
(07:03):
During the summer, they host a local farmers market on weekends.
Haustuffworks also spoke with Deanna Kong Gilio, who was at
the time the director of Communications for the Carter Center
and president and Missus Carter's press secretary, As she said,
when they left the White House, they weren't ready to retire.
They were looking for some way to use the influence
(07:23):
they had and continue working on the issues that were
important to them. Since its establishment, the Carter Center has
operated in eighty nations around the world and been a
pioneer on many fronts. Just for one example, their campaign
to eradicate guinea worm disease has produced cases from three
and a half million worldwide in nineteen eighty six to
(07:44):
fewer than one hundred today. It's also observed more than
one hundred and twenty five elections in countries abroad, working
to share knowledge of democratic processes and standards. The former
president was also named a University Distinguished Professor at Emory
in nineteen eighty two, and he spoke at classes and
hosted town halls and luncheons every year since nineteen eighty four.
(08:06):
President and Missus Carter were also known for their involvement
with Habitat for Humanity International, which works to help people build, repair,
and finance affordable housing in the US and beyond. The
image of a former president personally doing construction work changed
the way that people thought about a post presidency and
gave the organization a boost. In two thousand and two,
(08:29):
Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades
of extraordinary humanitarian work, of just one of four American
presidents to receive the honor and the only one cited
for his work outside of office. Carter continued to teach
Sunday school at a Baptist church in Plains up until
he was sidelined by the COVID nineteen pandemic. Hou stuff
(08:50):
Works also spoke with Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity.
He said, it is all about service. He really has
lived his faith in such a con assistant way. Reckford
noted that he had been with Carter in situations with
the most powerful people in the world and with the
least powerful, and found him to be the same person
(09:10):
in all of those situations. One famous story about the
Carter's first trip with Habitat for Humanity sums up the
couple's character. In the volunteer housing, only one bedroom was
available and it had been reserved for the Carters, But
when they learned that a couple had decided to celebrate
honeymooning by volunteering with habitat. The Carters gave the bedroom
(09:32):
to them and slept in the common area with everyone else.
Rosalind Carter passed away in November of twenty twenty three,
and her husband followed her a year later, surrounded by
family in Plains. He was one hundred years old, making
him America's longest live president. Today's episode is based on
(09:54):
the article a Portrait of Jimmy Carter, America's oldest living
President ever on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by Kerry Whitney.
Brainstuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with hostufforks dot
Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts
from iHeartRadio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to brainstud a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff. Lauren
Vogelbaum here. American President Jimmy Carter spent only four years
in the White House, but he worked for decades to
build peace, democracy, and a better quality of life for
fellow Americans and people around the world. His presidential stint
(00:24):
was just a jumping off point for a lifelong devotion
to making the world a better place. Our thirty ninth
President was born James Earl Carter Junior in rural Georgia,
to a father, Earl, who was a peanut farmer and businessman,
and a mother, Lillian, who was a registered nurse. They
were a faithful Baptist family. Carter attended public school in Plains,
(00:48):
followed by university study at two Georgia colleges before graduating
from the United States Naval Academy in nineteen forty six.
That same year, he married Rosalind Smith. The two grew
up just a few miles away from each other. They
technically first met when he was three and she was
just one day old, and married once they had both
finished college. The'd go on to have four children together.
(01:13):
During his time with the Navy, Carter served the Atlantic
and Pacific fleets. As a submariner, he achieved the rank
of lieutenant and was assigned to the nuclear submarine program,
and then did graduate work in reactor technology and nuclear physics.
But upon his father's death in nineteen fifty three, Carter
returned to Georgia to run the family farm and its
(01:33):
supply company. Back in Plains, he became active in local
political life, earning a seat in the Georgia Senate by
nineteen sixty two, a running for governor and losing in
nineteen sixty six, then winning in nineteen seventy, all before
announcing his run for president in nineteen seventy four. As
governor of Georgia, Carter was a progressive and a reformer.
(01:55):
He called for an end to segregation in his inaugural
address and increased to the number of black staff members
in the state government. He worked to improve the state
government's wasteful bureaucracy, was pro environment, and pushed for more
funding for schools. Carter entered the White House on January
twentieth of nineteen seventy seven after defeating President Gerald Ford
(02:16):
with campaign slogans like a leader for a change and
not just peanuts. He inherited challenges of the post Vietnam era,
including rising inflation and unemployment. After four years, the Carter
administration had increased the job market by nearly eight million
jobs and decreased the budget deficit, though inflation and interest
(02:38):
rates were still up before the article. This episode is
based on How Stuff Works. Spoke with Sarah B. Snyder,
a historian of US foreign relations and an associate professor
at the School of International Service at American University. She
explained that during his presidency, Carter helped restore quote American
faith in US government that had been eroded during the
(02:59):
Nixon and Forward years. American people came to trust him,
and by extension, came to regain their trust in the
US government. Carter talked more openly than most about his
faith and how it affected his worldview. The focus was
on personal morality and the way that the United States
conducted policies. A. Snyder said it was something he was
(03:22):
very comfortable talking about, and he linked his own faith to,
for example, his support for human rights. Carter's foreign policy
was driven by a commitment to human rights, which he
stated in his inaugural address had to be absolute. Generally,
his administration did take steps to support regimes that advanced
human rights and limit cooperation with abusive ones, though critics
(03:46):
have pointed out that they sometimes overlooked violations and the
interest of forwarding diplomacy and national security. Some of Carter's
important foreign policy achievements included the signing of the Panama
Canal Treaties, which returned control of the canal to Panama
and removed a significant irritant in US relations with the
rest of the Americas. Carter is also known for the
(04:07):
Camp David Accords, in which he helped negotiate a peace
between Israel and Egypt. He also signed the Salt to
Nuclear Limitation Treaty with the Soviet Union, though it never
really went into effect, and established diplomatic relations between the
US and the People's Republic of China. Domestically, the Carter
administration deregulated transportation industries and oil and natural gas prices,
(04:32):
leading to lower costs for both businesses and consumers. He
championed energy security and sustainability and created the Department of
Energy to handle existing suppliers and research new technologies in
wind and solar power. His administration pushed for environmental protection
in other ways, including doubling the size of the national
(04:52):
park system and tripling the wilderness area through conservation programs
and places like Alaska. Carter also chanmed education as a
fundamental right that's essential to democracy, and created the Department
of Education to elevate for the first time, the access
to learning to a federal cabinet level priority. He often
(05:13):
struggled with Congress, but found successes like these and in
other programs like raising the minimum wage, despite his recognized
skillet diplomacy. The final year of Carter's presidency was plagued
by the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran hostage crisis.
This was a situation following the revolution that overthrew the
(05:34):
US backed monarchy in Iran. The Carter administration granted the
deposed king asylum in America for cancer treatment, and in protest,
a group of students took sixty six Americans hostage at
the US embassy in Tehran, demanding the Shah's extradition. The
crisis went on for four hundred and forty four days,
(05:54):
with the final hostages only released on the last day
of Carter's term. Failures to negotiate and to rescue the
hostages became a political liability. It painted Carter as being
weak or indecisive, and thus, despite gains and trust and jobs,
Carter failed to win a second presidential term. Ronald Reagan
(06:17):
defeated him in a landslide victory. Reagan took four hundred
and eighty nine electoral votes to Carter's forty nine, one
of only ten incumbent presidents to fail to be re elected.
Carter left Washington, d c. In nineteen eighty one, but
his national and international humanitarian work was just beginning. Jimmy
and Rosalind Carter established the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia,
(06:40):
in nineteen eighty two in collaboration with Emory University. The
Center is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization dedicated to, in
their words, resolving conflict, promoting democracy, protecting human rights, and
preventing disease and other afflictions. The building itself is coupled
with the library and museum and opened in nineteen eighty six.
(07:03):
During the summer, they host a local farmers market on weekends.
Haustuffworks also spoke with Deanna Kong Gilio, who was at
the time the director of Communications for the Carter Center
and president and Missus Carter's press secretary, As she said,
when they left the White House, they weren't ready to retire.
They were looking for some way to use the influence
(07:23):
they had and continue working on the issues that were
important to them. Since its establishment, the Carter Center has
operated in eighty nations around the world and been a
pioneer on many fronts. Just for one example, their campaign
to eradicate guinea worm disease has produced cases from three
and a half million worldwide in nineteen eighty six to
(07:44):
fewer than one hundred today. It's also observed more than
one hundred and twenty five elections in countries abroad, working
to share knowledge of democratic processes and standards. The former
president was also named a University Distinguished Professor at Emory
in nineteen eighty two, and he spoke at classes and
hosted town halls and luncheons every year since nineteen eighty four.
(08:06):
President and Missus Carter were also known for their involvement
with Habitat for Humanity International, which works to help people build, repair,
and finance affordable housing in the US and beyond. The
image of a former president personally doing construction work changed
the way that people thought about a post presidency and
gave the organization a boost. In two thousand and two,
(08:29):
Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades
of extraordinary humanitarian work, of just one of four American
presidents to receive the honor and the only one cited
for his work outside of office. Carter continued to teach
Sunday school at a Baptist church in Plains up until
he was sidelined by the COVID nineteen pandemic. Hou stuff
(08:50):
Works also spoke with Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity.
He said, it is all about service. He really has
lived his faith in such a con assistant way. Reckford
noted that he had been with Carter in situations with
the most powerful people in the world and with the
least powerful, and found him to be the same person
(09:10):
in all of those situations. One famous story about the
Carter's first trip with Habitat for Humanity sums up the
couple's character. In the volunteer housing, only one bedroom was
available and it had been reserved for the Carters, But
when they learned that a couple had decided to celebrate
honeymooning by volunteering with habitat. The Carters gave the bedroom
(09:32):
to them and slept in the common area with everyone else.
Rosalind Carter passed away in November of twenty twenty three,
and her husband followed her a year later, surrounded by
family in Plains. He was one hundred years old, making
him America's longest live president. Today's episode is based on
(09:54):
the article a Portrait of Jimmy Carter, America's oldest living
President ever on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by Kerry Whitney.
Brainstuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with hostufforks dot
Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts
from iHeartRadio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
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