BOB DOLE : The Life that Brought Him There
Randal Wallace Presents : Bob Dole The Life that Brought Him There We begin our second season on Bob Dole's life and career, by traveling back in time to the battlefield of Italy in World War 2. A story that will begin with Bob Dole gravely wounded on a battlefield in Italy, and end on the threshold of the 1996 Campaign for President. It is truly one of America's greatest stories. Over the next three seasons we will tell his story and the story of the rise of the modern Republican Party. It will be the final story of National leadership for the generation of people who built the American Century. For all the attention a new generation of Republican leaders would garner, it was in fact, Bob Dole, so often in the shadow of the giants of his age, from Nixon to Reagan to Bush, and who would largely be forgotten in the coming era of Gingrich , Clinton, and the second George W. Bush, who actually led the Republican Party out of the political wilderness and back to power in both houses of Congress, even as his own efforts to win the Presidency would fall short. In our second of three seasons, we will look back at Bob Dole's life from his tragic injury, to the eve of his Presidential Campaign in 1996. In these episodes, we will see one of the most remarkable stories of resilience, faith, and willpower, in all of American history. We invite you to come along with us on a wild ride through the high points and low moments of modern American History, in an effort to show the citizens of today that we are an amazing and resilient nation. Our Podcasts are separated by individual Documentary style titles. -- Season 1 : Bridging the Political Gap episodes 1 -11 --- Season 2 : Lessons in Leadership : --- The GIANTS of the Senate and Joe Biden episodes 14 - 16 ---- World War 2 Episodes 17 - 20 --- General MacArthur You're Fired Episodes 21 - 23 ---- A Celebration of the life of George Shultz episodes 26 - 28 ---- November 1963 : The end of the Age of Innocence episode 29 --- Season 3 ----The Johnson Treatment episodes 32 - 39 ---- Upheaval 1968 episodes 40 - 50 ---- Season 4: Richard Nixon 1968 -1971 The Man Who Saved the Union episodes 51 -67 ----- Season 5 Richard Nixon 1972 The Foundation of Peace episodes 71 - 96 -----1973 Ten Days in January 97 - 100 -- Season 6 Richard Nixon 1973 : Enemies at the Gate 101 - 125 ---- Season 7 Richard Nixon 1974 Through the Fire 126 - 147 ---- Season 8 Richard Nixon 1974 - 1994 The Fall and the Re-Rise of Richard Nixon. 148 - 174 plus bonus materials --- Season 9 Gerald Ford Beyond Watergate 175 -190 -- Season 10 John Jenrette. & Jimmy Carter too 191 - 224 -- Season 11 George H.W. Bush : The Leadership Lessons 225 - 250 --- Season 12: Mayor Hirsch 253 - 259, George H.W. Bush : The Sweep of History 260 - 285, Season 13 George H.W. Bush The Gulf War, The Coup, Clarence Thomas & the Cold War's End 286 - 318, Season 14 George H. W. Bush 1992 The Changing of the Guard 319 - 363 Season 15 Bob Dole 1993 - 1995 The Last Man Standing 364 - 402, Special Season 16 The Great American Authors 403 - 419 , Season Seventeen Bob Dole The Life that Brought him there 420 - (FAIR USE NOTICE : This presentation contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The use of this footage is for educational and historical commentary. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material.)
Episodes
Here is a little bit about our coming book projects:
16 Leadership Lessons From the Cold War
By Randal Wallace
What does it really take to lead in moments when history is on the line?
Drawing on five years of research from The Randal Wallace Presents Podcast, 16 Leadership Lessons From the Cold War distills timeless leadership principles from the men and women who shaped the American Century. From President Herbert Hoove...
Bob Dole returns January 20, 2026
Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There — Season Preview
How does a small-town Kansas boy, gravely wounded on an Italian battlefield, rise to become one of the most powerful and respected figures in American politics?
This season of Bob Dole: The Life That Brought Him There traces the extraordinary journey of Bob Dole from the moment his life was forever changed in World War II through...
In this landmark season finale, The Great American Authors brings its sweeping literary and political journey to a powerful close by spotlighting a remarkable group of leaders who turned to fiction to tell their stories — Jimmy Carter, Marilyn Quayle, Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton, and James Patterson — and by sharing major news from our own host, Randal Wallace.
We begin with President Jimmy Carter’s The Hornet’s Nest, ...
In this episode of Great American Authors, we take an unforgettable look at two astonishing works born from the tumultuous aftermath of Nixon-era Washington — The Canfield Decision by Spiro T. Agnew and The Company by John Ehrlichman.
Today, The Canfield Decision enjoys a surprisingly warm reception online, with roughly 87% of readers awarding it three to five stars on Goodreads and similar platforms. But that wasn’t a...
This episode is a tribute to a great actor, Gene Hackman, who decided to retire from the silver screen and write novels. He wrote five of them and all got some level of acclaim. They were :
- “Wake of the Perdido Star” with Daniel Lenihan (1999)
- “Justice for None” with Daniel Lenihan (2004)
- “Escape from Andersonville” with Daniel Lenihan (2008)
- “Payback at Morning Peak” (2011)
- “Pursuit” (2013)
While this episode i...
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026!!!
Last year ws a year of extremes but overall we saw our show expand to include a new local broadcast and we completed several projects we hope to bring you in this coming year of 2026. Please join us here for another exciting year at "Randal Wallace Presents" , "The Richard Nixon Experience" and " Grand Strand Politics"
Here is what is on tap for next years:
BOB D...
This episode of our podcast is a tribute for a giant figure in the history of North Carolina. Governor Jim Hunt served for 16 years and he led the way in education reform in our region of the country. The modern North Carolina owes much to his leadership in the state.
It also is a tribute to one of the great reporter of our time, journalist Peter Arnett. He had a distinctive voice that you recognized from the moment h...
Happy New Year 2026!!
In this episode we say farewell to many iconic figures on the national scene, and here locally where we record this show.
Sadly, we had so many passings in 2025 we are having to divide the New Year show in half this year. This episode we look back at the many people we lost this year.
This episode is especially dedicated to a good friend from my college days at Lander University, who was also my ...
Ernest Hemingway's life was a testament to his belief in living authentically and drawing from rich, personal experience for his writing. His three primary homes in
Key West, Havana, and Ketchum were more than just residences; they were essential backdrops and sources of inspiration for his work, each intrinsically linked to his lifestyle and creativity. Unifying these locales, and a symbol of his deep...
In this epsode we examine the mythology around the life of Ernest Hemingway. How it has shaped his place in american Literature. We follow him from war to Key west, to Havana, Cuba.
Then we travel out west as the Castro Government takes control of Cuba and the ongoing bad blood between the American Government and Castro make it impossible for Hemingway to return to his beloved home in Cuba. We see Hemingway sink into ...
This episode is the first of three episodes that centers on the biggest star in all of American Literature, the great Ernest Hemingway.
Ernest Hemingway's writing tips center on a minimalist style, a disciplined work ethic, and his famous "Iceberg Theory" (or theory of omission), which suggests that the deeper meaning of a story should be implied rather than explicitly stated.
Here are his cor...
Two Great authors and one inspirational city are the focus of this episode.
Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis's writing advice, often delivered directly to his students or in letters, focused on the practicalities of a writing life and the raw discipline required. Some of his most memorable guidance includes the reminder that "real writers" are unstoppable and the emphasis that writing is simply hard work.
...
This episode gathers some great advice from the best authors of our current time. It is a fun episode.
The collective writing advice from these authors emphasizes core principles of discipline, clarity, honesty, and reader engagement, while acknowledging that individual processes can vary (e.g., plotters vs. "pantsers").
Common and Diverse Themes
- Discipline and Consistency: King, Mosley, and Oates all stre...
Pat Conroy’s writing tips focus on using personal experience to craft honest, passionate prose. His advice emphasizes deep exploration of one's inner world, dedicated hard work, and the importance of reading widely.
On finding your subject
- Write to understand your own life. Conroy wrote to make sense of his own story and invited readers to join him in the journey. He believed a writer's "central agon...
James Bond meets Harry Potter in this episode of our series. Two favorites of mine from across the pond in this special edition.
Ian Fleming's writing tips emphasize speed, research, clarity, and sensory detail to keep the reader engaged and "turn over the page". He wrote primarily for "pleasure and money," aiming to create compelling thrillers rather than "Literature with a capital ...
In this episode we look back at the man who can lay claim to having written the longest sentence in American Literature. He also wrote the story, "A Rose For Emily" which is a play that our host, Randal Wallace, once played the part of Homer Barron, the unfortunate beau of Ms. Emily, who they would later find dead in her bed years after he disappeared.
William Faulkner offered extensive advice on writ...
In this episode we examine the life and work of two authors who actually knew each other and corresponded as they wrote their literary masterpieces.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
From a modern perspective, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing tips emphasize the importance of deep psychological exploration, moral complexity, and meticulous craft. His advice challenges writers to move beyond simple storytelling and engage with the m...
These three writers all wrote just one novel of renown but they were gargantuan titles. We celebrate their impact on American Literature in this episode.
Harper Lee offered several writing tips centered on persistence, humility, and the importance of craft over reward. She emphasized a love for language and a dedication to writing for oneself.
Key Writing Tips from Harper Lee
- Develop a thick hid...
This episode looks at two literary giants and includes their writing tips. It also features the only writer in our entire series our host, Randal Wallace, actually met, Maya Angelou. Mrs. Morrison was at the time of her passing, America's only living Nobel Laureate for writing. This is an inspiring episode for any aspiring authors and for everyone else too.
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison advised writers to embrace t...
This episode looks at three giants of American Literature who all wrote about the struggles of forgotten America. One of them, Mark Twain, is considered the Father of American Literature.
John Steinbeck is known for sharing six practical writing tips in a letter to a friend in 1962. These rules prioritize flow, discipline, and authenticity over immediate perfection:
- Focus on the daily work: Write one pag...
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