November 22, 2025 • 31 mins
OneLegupAlex Reflects on the Life of JFK With Kennedy Scholar Scott Badler Powered By Podmatch 11-22-25
Find out more at Scott's website (https://www.scottbadler.net/)
Find out more at Scott's website (https://www.scottbadler.net/)
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's sixty two years since President JFK was assassinated.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
And for this reminder, every November twenty second, I want
to take you back to an audio cut I had
heard from JFK at an event in nineteen sixty. This
is not Ai, This is not AI. But listen to
what he said about the press and members of an administration
not covering up and telling the truth.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
And no official of my administration, whether his rank is
high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words
here to night as an excuse to sense of the news,
to stifle dessent, to cover up our mistakes, or to
withhold from the press, from the public the facts they
deserve to know.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
And how about that?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
You go, and then you watched the documentary featuring the
Parkland doctors, and my goodness, my goodness, looks like there
was a lot of covering up. There was a lot
of this information by our own government surrounding the Kennedy assassination.
(01:15):
So not only did they dishonor President Kennedy, but they
dishonored his wishes. And someone who is a Kennedy scholar
and has really written about the younger JFK.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
If I'm not mistaken. It's Scott Bler.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Scott, thanks so much for joining my podcast to commemorate
and remember this anniversary this year.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Thank you, Thank you for inviting me, Alex.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
So we connected through pod match, which I'm very appreciative
as well. So tell us what your intrigue is with
the younger JFK and we'll lead into what happened sixty
two years ago.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
Okay, Yeah, it is a kind of a sad day,
but in a way, I think my book can make
people a little bit a little more positive about President Kennedy,
about his younger life. You know, I just decided that
it would be There's you know, thousands of books on
President Kennedy and his presidency when he was a senator,
(02:11):
hundreds of more books on the whole Kennedy family, but
you know, they focus on you know, his presidency. You
know a lot of them, of course, focused on the assassination.
I just thought it would be interesting to really focus
on his young wife. So my book goes from age
eighteen to twenty nine, and those are really the kind
of the formative experiences he goes through that really transform
(02:34):
him and turns him into the legendary and iconic JFK.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
We all know.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
And so in those years, obviously he has his brothers
and by the way, RFK Senior celebrate one hundred years
ago was born. Whi's probably crazy thing about that too,
But how did his siblings shape him and his and
of course his dad.
Speaker 5 (02:55):
Yeah, well certainly there was the sibling rivalry with his
brother Joe, Joe Junior, who was a couple of years older.
And you know, the father had always groomed Joe to
be you know, president of the United States and Jack
was the second son. And you know, they went to
(03:16):
the same high school, Choke Prep, in Connecticut, and it
was a tough time for Jack because Joe was sort
of the start of the school. He won the Harvard
Award as the combining the best athlete and the best student,
and Jack felt like he could never keep up with
his older brother. So, feeling he couldn't keep up with
(03:36):
his older brother, he decided to just lays around. So
he just you know, did mischief and didn't work hard,
got lousy grades, feeling like he couldn't compete with his brother.
But that changed later on. You know, he actually went
to some therapy and realized, you know, opting out of
any competition with his brother wasn't getting him anywhere. And
I think from the age of sort of eighteen on
(03:59):
he became his own man, charged his own course. So
the real evolution taking place there. And regarding the father,
the father was someone who, you know, put a lot
of pressure on his sons to win at all costs,
well not the win it all costs, but always win.
Speaker 6 (04:16):
So if they came back from a raised sailboall race
or something I finish second or third, he would really
you know, rail him out because in his view, second
place was for losers.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
And you said, you picked this time frame, but in
this timeframe specifically, could you tell you know, it is
a political family, there's no doubt about it. Could you
tell he had that hunger for politics at that early age.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
You know, he mentions it in a few sides, you know,
he's eighteen or nineteen, but I don't think there was
you know, at that age eighteen nineteen it was sort
of in the back of his mind, and you know,
he was the second son, so it was like, let
Joe do what he wants to do first.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
But later on, you know, I could say, certainly when
he's writing his thesis, for Harvard that turned into a book.
He's certainly thinking about, you know, a diplomatic career, a
political career. So by the age of certainly, like twenty
twenty one, twenty two, he's certainly thinking about political career.
(05:23):
I mean, that's one reason he joined the Navy. At
that point it was important. He realized to you know,
be in the armed forces. It wouldn't look good if
he kind of avoided going in the navy, so he
he took special measures. They first they declined to put
him in the navy because of his you know, bad health,
bad back, but he got used his connections to get
(05:44):
in the navy.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
So at that point, you know, he was thinking.
Speaker 5 (05:47):
About a political career in his early twenties.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
And you say he's rebellious, I mean, we all kind
of knew as an adult he was rebellious as well.
So did he Were there any patterns he carried from
that era you're covering in your book into the White
House if you will, hmm.
Speaker 5 (06:07):
You know, he did certain things that were a little rebellious,
like for example, he was a p T boat skipper,
as you probably know, and in order to you know.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
After a patrol was done for the for the night.
He would.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
In order to he would he would raise his boat
as fast as he could pass the other p T
boats to get back to the dock so they could
refuel first. And you know, he wanted to give his
men more rests, so there was a you know, he
had something good in mind for his men.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
But the problem was.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
That you know, you're going full speed and then you
know you put in reverse, bad things can happen. So
he he ran into a dock there, the fuel shed,
and that was kind of a problem. So he had
the name Crashed Kennedy after that. So that short is
a certain kind of rebellious side to him.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
You know, I did not know this, but looking at
your rundown, I.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Always thought JFK's back pain happened later on, But you're
saying this was early on that he had dealt with
the chronic illnesses.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Is what you're writing here.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Yeah, they go, it goes all the way back, you
could even say, back to a certain way. Age three,
he had scarlet fever and they actually thought he was
gonna die. But boy, you know, investigating this, I couldn't
believe how illness was just something that was you know,
happened throughout his you know, entire life, you know, and
when he was at Choked Preparatory School, you know, he
(07:32):
broke the record for the most days spent in the infirmary.
You know, he had this autoimmune disease, and you know,
he'd lose weight, he'd get hives, get fatigued. You know,
he had terrible stomach aches. He had celiac disease, so
he was in and out of the Mayo clinic, and
(07:52):
you know, the back problems were exacerbated after he took
I think he took a stick heid in nineteen thirty seven,
which had a good effect in terms of giving him
energy so it could go on this trip to Europe
and also serve in the navy. But there's some evidence
that shows that also can lead to destroying the cartilage
(08:13):
in his back. So a very sad, you know, effect
of the steroid at that point, you know, not.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yet too biblical, but we talk about the lost years
of Christ. I almost feel like you're covering the last
years here of JFK. Do you feel like you're doing
that and providing that service of filling in the gaps
if you will, I think so, you.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
Know, you know, I want people to know about his
young life, which to me is fascinating. You know, there's
so much happened there that, you know, the pt one
or nine instance, the first, first and only sort of
love of his life, his travels through Europe on the
eve of World War Two, going through Germany and Russia,
and you know, advising his father to change.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
His stance on.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Being an isolation, you know, and finally running for Congress
and that was a very difficult campaign, but you know
he survived that and won. So really a lot happened
that he wrote a book, Why England Slept, So a
lot happened in these these eleven years that I think
a lot of people don't know about. People know, he
wrote Profiles and Courage, but he also wrote you know,
(09:21):
Why England Slapt, which turned out to be a best seller.
I have a little caveat to that that was the best seller.
His father helped that along by buying a couple thousand
copies himself.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Oh wow, Well, you know, I also know his father
was very you know, he pushed him into politics, and
Joe Kennedy was that shadow over him. Did you find
the younger JFK wanting to break out of a shadow
and just being his own I know you mentioned he
was forging his own path, but it seemed like it
was almost impossible with the dad liked that.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
I think he certainly did. I mean, take a look
at age. You know, he's twenty two and and he's
actually in California. He's auditing classes at Stanford, and his
father comes to visit and tells him he's going to
resign as ambassador to England and that he wants JFK
(10:16):
to write his uh, write some memos, write some stories
in the press that would help to rehabilitate his reputation
because JFK was not an isolationist, he was not an
a piezer like his father was. And I think JFK
breaks out of his you know, just trying to please
his father by giving his father very good and sound advice,
(10:38):
telling him he should no longer be in a peaser.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
And you know, a few weeks after he told his
father that, his.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
Father changed his mind and bat the Lenley's program that
provided you know, supplies military supplies and food supplies.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
To the Allies.
Speaker 5 (10:52):
So I think by that time he had pretty much
you know, broken out of being in his father's mold.
And doing what his father wanted to do versus his father,
you know, you know, held the key strings to his
political campaign. So there's there's given take there. You know,
he holds the money. You have to kind of listen
to that and be aware that his father has the
(11:15):
money behind the campaign.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
You know, I'm thinking of a movie my dad actually
took me to, which was JFK Years of Lightning, a
nineteen sixty five film based on all of the footage
with him and his brother in the Oval office of
RFK was turning.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
John.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I mean, I don't if you got a chance to
watch that movie JFK Years of Lightning.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Dave Drums.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It was just such an inside look at the Kennedy
family in the White House. It was fascinating stuff actually
by Gregory Peck.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah, yeah, so definitely worth watching.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And I feel like you're you're sort of highlighting all
of the before that. But but if you're interested that,
that's what I want to point you to. You know,
I noticed that you took this on because you also
lived in Boston, and I have to ask you then,
did you ever pass the compound or obviously being in Boston,
they are they are the family up there. They're the
(12:10):
Kennedy up there, right, So I'm sure that led to
the intrigue year.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
Well I've passed by the compound and I've you know,
been in Cape Cod, been in Hyennas. You know, I'm
not trying to name drop or anything. I've ever seen JFK.
Junior and Martha's Vineyard. You know, I would go to
Harvard just for you know, I was interested in all
the public events they had there, and they had a
number involving the Kennedys, so you know, Senator Ted Kennedy
(12:35):
would be involved in some discussions there, some events, and
then also i'd go to the Kennedy Library also they
had some public programs and you know you'd run into
you know, Robert Kennedy's children or you know, I said
hello to Ethel Kennedy. So you know, not that I
was friends with any of them, but you know, I
you know, chatted, you know, briefly with a few of them.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
I met Patrick Kennedy to the one that lost his leg,
that Kennedy, and then Eunice Kennedy Trivers. So I've been
I've been a couple of them as well. They're quite
the family.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Scott I have to say that this is so fascinating,
but it also shows how American prior in America, if
you will, he had by by serving, right, So he
loved this country from the very beginning.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
It seems like, yeah, I think that's true. And you know,
he wanted to serve.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
You know, he was also kind of looking out for
his political future, but he certainly, you know, wanted to
serve his country. And he felt if you know, he
didn't serve in a military way, he wouldn't be serving
his country. And then you know, he you know, his
father taught him early on that you know, you don't
need money, so make some sort of contribution to the country.
(13:49):
So I think political service was something that was instilled
in them from the very beginning. And you know, politics
was the way that he went, and his brothers went
and his you know, sisters did other things too.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Being that this is the anniversary coming up this weekend,
did research into the assassinations.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
So lead you to the younger years?
Speaker 2 (14:14):
No, so this was totally separate, right, So you just
wanted to sort of, as I said, filled the gaps
from earlier, right, And the other thing about JFK that
I was going to say, was he, Uh, well, I
don't know all about him.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
That's why I have you on.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
So what else did you write about that maybe our
audience may not know about JFK in the younger years.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
You know, it's often said that JFK wouldn't have been
president if it wasn't for PT. One oh nine and
p T one o nine. For your listeners who perhaps
don't know, was a situation during World War Two where
you know, JFK was the skipper of that boat. These
are these fast patrol pots.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
They had.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
You know, missiles on them, torpedoes, and so JFK had
this is he was never in a battle before previous
to this particular battle. You know, he'd come back after
patrol and these Japanese airplanes floatplanes would see his boat
(15:20):
and they try and drop bombs at them.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Well, he had and the problem.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Was he had all three engines going, so there was
this sort of phosphorescence that was indicating where the boat was.
So you know, jfkme in a calculation that it would
be better to if he wasn't going somewhere he was
just idling to just keep one engine going.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
So it was something that came.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Up when this one battle of his career, the Battle
of Blackets Straight, and they went out to see if
they could intercept a Japanese convoy. And at one point
he receives a radio communication that says there are Japanese
ships in the area, Japanese destroyers, but he doesn't put
(16:03):
all three engines on, so.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
It only has one engine in gear. The other two
are idling.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
And when the Japanese destroyer came at two thirty two,
he tried to you know, throttle up and get out
of the way, but with only one engine.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
It wasn't possible.
Speaker 5 (16:17):
So I think that's something some new information that recently
came out. You know, also that he you know, his
men weren't kind of alert. So he was a hero
before the crash, I mean a hero. He was, you know,
not a good skipper before the crash, and a hero afterwards.
When he came back after his men were saved, he
(16:38):
notably said, they're either going to court martial me or
give me a medal, And as you know, they gave
him a medal because he was incredibly heroic in save
helping to save his men. I think I think actually
guilt played a certain part in that you know, two
of his crew men were killed when the destroyer slammed
(16:59):
into the PT one O nine, and you know, perhaps
he thought he'd done a better job beforehand. This might
not have happened, I don't know. But after the crash,
and you know, they gave him another boat, but this
was a this was a torpedo boat. They took off
all the all the torpedoes and they just put all
(17:22):
these big guns on there.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
And you know, I think JFK was still.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
Trying to avenge his his crewmate's death, and he fought
up some sort of crazy plans to to you know,
go in and fight the Japanese. Unfortunately, his second in
command said, you know, those aren't such good ideas. They
end up, you know, kind of telling his men to
just train their guns on a couple of empty Japanese barges.
(17:49):
So I think he always felt kind of guilty about that.
And he never considered himself a war hero. And even
during the campaign of nineteen forty six, you know, his
father impressed upon, you know, the point that you've really
got to, you know, force home this point that you
know you're a war hero.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
And JF. Caterbert felt he was a war hero.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
But he finally decided to give in, and his father
printed something like ten thousand reprints of a story that
was in The New Yorker about his you know, heroic
aspects of the PTA one or nine episode.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
And obviously that was a in a sense of venging
a tragedy in his you know, military life. Anything in
the personal life that maybe we didn't catch on to
that happened.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
In his life between eighteen twenty nine that really shaped
him as well.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Any tragedy because obviously the Kennedy family has not it's
been there's been tragedy after tragedy. Anything happened during his
younger years as well that shaped him.
Speaker 5 (18:49):
Let's see, see, other than the illness, you know, he
had a certain amount of you know, you know it's interesting,
you know you look at his flaws as well as
you know, his his positive qualities. You know, he was
this charismatic person. You know, where do you get charisma?
(19:10):
I don't know, maybe just you know, you either have.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
It or your don't. But you had some flaws.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Also, it's interesting to read about that he was actually
you know, very cheap. You would think that about Kennedy
or they had all this money, but it was something
that he got from his father, and you know, he
was you know, he'd go out with friends, he wouldn't
have a you know, any money with him. They'd have
to loan him money, and he wasn't that good at
paying it back, you know, like his father.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
It wasn't the best quality. But he was certainly a womanizer.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
And like his father, who loved the you know, Hollywood celebrities, actresses,
he went through them, went after them, you know, as
soon as he was you know, twenty years old. And
you know that continued when he was in the White House.
So those are a couple of.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Time me if any patterns like that happened when he
was a kid and he sort of took him into
the White House. So I'm glad you elaborated on that because,
you know, good looking dude. I'm sure he had a
lot of girls tracing after him too, back.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
In the day.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
So the underdog.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Mentality, you know, it's interesting because I remember, you know,
you watch his rise in politics and it felt like.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
There was an underdog, underdog tone to it.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Maybe that's what Americans clung to for him when he
was running, right, there was sort of that mentality all
the way through.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
You know, I was, you know, not around at that
time in a certain way.
Speaker 5 (20:36):
So whether he was the underdog, you know, he you know,
I guess you would say he was the number two son.
So it was the underdog until he sort of surpassed
his brother. And I think that's one of the myths
of the that his brother was groomed to be going
to be groom to be president. But actually, by the
time Joe Junior had died in a plane crash in
(20:57):
nineteen forty five, act had passed him by in so
many ways. And you know, he'd written a book, you know,
he had advised his father, and he was a war hero.
So and actually symbolically he had surpassed his brother in
terms of rank. He was a lieutenant. His older brother
(21:18):
was a lieutenant junior grade. So you know, those are
some things that come to mind.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Let's see what else, Well, let me let me ask
you this, he said, of course, And now I know
why he said what he said about.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Ask not what you can do, what the country knew
for you, what you knew for your country. Look what
he did. He did a lot for his country, even
before the office. And maybe people don't recognize that as
much Scott.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
Well before he became president.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
This backstory may give a lot of insight into who
he was as a president, is what I'm thinking here.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
Yeah, well, you know I've gone over certain things. You
know that he you know, wrote a book that I
think prepared Americans that they would have to get into
the war, and so I think that was a contribution.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
Certainly made a contribution during the war.
Speaker 5 (22:19):
You know, he was a war correspondent, or not a
war correspondent, but he went to the United Nations and
he reported on you know, the the opening of the
United Nations in San Francisco, So it was kind of
sort of everywhere you know, he served. He was writing
his thesis for his Harvard thesis that turned into the book.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
He was also serving as.
Speaker 5 (22:43):
The eyes of his father, who was the ambassador to England,
so he was kind of doing a double task there.
And you know, I think those those travels through Europe
on the evil World War two really informed him and
to certain decisions you know, he made during during his presidency.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
You mentioned that this isn't just an academic historical background.
This is personal for you, and I want to doub
into the personal.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Fascination. As you write for JFK, Where did that begin?
Speaker 5 (23:13):
It starts pretty early at this point. You know, my
first memory of Kennedy has to do with Ashley Nixon.
It's kind of a strange thing to say about an
election day nineteen sixty. I can remember being on the
playground in Los Angeles, California, and I can remember shouting Nixon, Nixon,
(23:38):
Nixon Nixon, which is a strange word for a second
grader to use, but I guess we must have heard
some adults use it. And so that's my first memory
that I can recall. There had to be something else
involved in the Kennedy is with my parents or whatever,
But you know, that's what I remember now. And you know,
I don't remember anything between the election and his assassination.
(24:04):
I can't say I actually remember. I was still pretty
young that they of pigs or you know, the Cuban business,
or you know, the space program or civil rights, and
then you know, of course the assassination happened, and you know,
it was one of those things that was the It
was pretty young, the first time I realized bad things
(24:25):
happened in this world, and you know, the whole world
stopped and you know, whenever you want. You know, the
TV was on, and you know that had quite an
effect on me at some point. And you know, I
noticed in the background seeing his brother, Bobby, and I
think seeing his brother kind of taken charge and you know,
become the key, the key person in the family and
(24:49):
just sort of the seed and seeing the sadness in
Bobby Kennedy's eyes really affected me. So you know, he
became my hero. And you know, until he died, and
you know, followed his in a career, in his personal campaign,
so you know, it sort of continued on from there.
I'm not as obsessed as I once was, but I
(25:10):
still always look on see what's happening with the Kennedy's.
I don't know if you notice that h JFK.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
His grandson is now about is running is it going
to run for Congress?
Speaker 4 (25:19):
And right right.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
What I was going to ask you about that, what's
it mean to have the Kennedy's still involved? I mean,
for all his faults, I think anybody whos agree about
RFK Junior being around still feels like.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
The Kennedy's are around. Now you got the grandson.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Isn't it important to have the Kennedy name still involved
in politics, is what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
You know, I supported it kind of depends on who
it is, you know, I mean RFK Jr. I don't
think that's so important to have around. But and this
his grandson seems like.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
He's only a nutty. He's a little nutty.
Speaker 5 (25:56):
So you know, you know, I mean, there's all these
people in the Kennedy family, and we put them all
in this category of being you know, shining examples of
what a politician should be or you know, it's not
going to happen. And so we'll see about this this
new group. There'll be good ones among them as well
as bad. But you know, I still have came out
(26:20):
there as you you know, makes you think about JFK.
And I think that can only be positive.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
You mentioned your parents, and I feel like the Kennedy
era was just an example of how shining almost the
fifties into.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
The sixties were until sixty two. Did you feel like JFK.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Embodied a certain kind of America that we need to
get back to today.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Yeah, I think there was more.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
It wasn't well, there's never been like a situation we
have now in this country. Where everybody's at everybody's at
their throats. You know, the parties aren't really working together
at all. We had this authoritarian, you know president, so
you know, I think he embodied most of all kind
of this this positism, positivism. You know, I think Reagan
(27:09):
had that too, but you know JFK did it first,
and you know, we really.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
It's great for the morale of the country.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
I mean, you still have to have some substance, which
g AFK certainly did, but just this positivity and this charisma,
you know, this young family. You know something we all
you know, you sort of never get tired of seeing
I never get tired of seeing, you know, new pictures
of JFK. It seems like I look on the internet
(27:40):
and there's some pictures of JFK as a young man
or whatever I've I've never seen before. And you know,
there's a book. It says something that there's a book
coming out. God about every couple of months. I mean,
you mentioned the Bobby Kennedy one, that that's a new one.
So it seems like every there was one in JFK JR.
A couple of months ago. So every couple of months
there's a new book on Kennedy's I guess we still
(28:01):
have that thirst for Camelot, if you will.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
So I have the term one leg up. I do
feel like you have one leg up on the era
that we don't know about so much. So and congratulations
on that.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
And I often ask people who write these biographies what
research you went into this? So what kind of research
go into the JFK bio that you had written about him?
Speaker 4 (28:24):
Yeah? Well I did a lot of traveling, you know.
I went to his.
Speaker 5 (28:28):
Prep school out there, Choked Prep in Connecticut, So wanted
around there, talk with looked in the archives there, talk
with the arcos there, you know, went into the church
there where he where he went to services. You can't
actually get into his room anymore. But then I was
around Cape cod and hyenas, looking in the different you know,
(28:51):
areas that he was involved with there, you know.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
Going by the compound.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
Of course, I spent a lot of time at the
Kennedy Library, which is, you know, in a certain way
I won't say makes it easy, but there has to
be more written about the Kennedys than you know, any
other family. So there's a treasure trove of documents. And
they were also that day letter writer. So JFK wrote
a lot of letters, his father wrote a lot of letters,
and it's kind of great to look at those letters
(29:17):
and clean out some interesting information, some interesting quotes, you know,
and certainly.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
You know there's all these books.
Speaker 5 (29:25):
So I have kind of my own library of Kennedy books,
and you know a lot of it has been made digital.
So through all those resources gave me all the resources
I need.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Well, Scott, I I so appreciate the time that you
had given on this and to show a different side
as we are set to honor and remember sixty two
years later.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
So thank you Scott for your time. Where can we
get buy the book?
Speaker 5 (29:50):
Yeah, Scott Badler dot net. It's also that's my website.
It's also available on Amazon and also had a lot
of bookstores. There was a big story and People magazine
a couple of weeks ago. So we're just starting to
spread with people like you interested in the book. I
think it'll continue to find a lot of readers.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
And one last thing, if you were to advise today's
party that seems to be shifting ever so left, how
do you bring it back to that? JFK. Mittle like
I know he seemed to be a centrist at heart.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
How do we get back there, not only as a country,
but for the Democratic Party because a lot of people
do call themselves JFK Democrats because everything's so different.
Speaker 4 (30:28):
Now.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
Yeah, it's difficult when you have someone on the on
the far right, but I'm hopefully just the you know,
the you know that people kind of settle down and
start to listen to each other a little more. I
think it takes, you know, just listening to the other
side and compromising and remember, you know, we're all in
(30:51):
this country together. We want what's best for the country.
And you know, I think this is just a period
that's gonna you know, wind down and we'll get back
to more of a situation where that you know, different
parties are working with each other.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
I will say here here to that. And on that note, Scott, uh,
congrats on the book launch. Let us know how things
go and if there's any updates you'd like to share
with us along the way, You're always welcome back to.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
The One Network.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
Okay, thanks a lot, Ales.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
And this interview is power powered by pod Match, thanks
to them for Cannam. It was Scott Badler. Thanks again, Scott,
thank you Alex
It's sixty two years since President JFK was assassinated.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
And for this reminder, every November twenty second, I want
to take you back to an audio cut I had
heard from JFK at an event in nineteen sixty. This
is not Ai, This is not AI. But listen to
what he said about the press and members of an administration
not covering up and telling the truth.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
And no official of my administration, whether his rank is
high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words
here to night as an excuse to sense of the news,
to stifle dessent, to cover up our mistakes, or to
withhold from the press, from the public the facts they
deserve to know.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
And how about that?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
You go, and then you watched the documentary featuring the
Parkland doctors, and my goodness, my goodness, looks like there
was a lot of covering up. There was a lot
of this information by our own government surrounding the Kennedy assassination.
(01:15):
So not only did they dishonor President Kennedy, but they
dishonored his wishes. And someone who is a Kennedy scholar
and has really written about the younger JFK.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
If I'm not mistaken. It's Scott Bler.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Scott, thanks so much for joining my podcast to commemorate
and remember this anniversary this year.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Thank you, Thank you for inviting me, Alex.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
So we connected through pod match, which I'm very appreciative
as well. So tell us what your intrigue is with
the younger JFK and we'll lead into what happened sixty
two years ago.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
Okay, Yeah, it is a kind of a sad day,
but in a way, I think my book can make
people a little bit a little more positive about President Kennedy,
about his younger life. You know, I just decided that
it would be There's you know, thousands of books on
President Kennedy and his presidency when he was a senator,
(02:11):
hundreds of more books on the whole Kennedy family, but
you know, they focus on you know, his presidency. You
know a lot of them, of course, focused on the assassination.
I just thought it would be interesting to really focus
on his young wife. So my book goes from age
eighteen to twenty nine, and those are really the kind
of the formative experiences he goes through that really transform
(02:34):
him and turns him into the legendary and iconic JFK.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
We all know.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
And so in those years, obviously he has his brothers
and by the way, RFK Senior celebrate one hundred years
ago was born. Whi's probably crazy thing about that too,
But how did his siblings shape him and his and
of course his dad.
Speaker 5 (02:55):
Yeah, well certainly there was the sibling rivalry with his
brother Joe, Joe Junior, who was a couple of years older.
And you know, the father had always groomed Joe to
be you know, president of the United States and Jack
was the second son. And you know, they went to
(03:16):
the same high school, Choke Prep, in Connecticut, and it
was a tough time for Jack because Joe was sort
of the start of the school. He won the Harvard
Award as the combining the best athlete and the best student,
and Jack felt like he could never keep up with
his older brother. So, feeling he couldn't keep up with
(03:36):
his older brother, he decided to just lays around. So
he just you know, did mischief and didn't work hard,
got lousy grades, feeling like he couldn't compete with his brother.
But that changed later on. You know, he actually went
to some therapy and realized, you know, opting out of
any competition with his brother wasn't getting him anywhere. And
I think from the age of sort of eighteen on
(03:59):
he became his own man, charged his own course. So
the real evolution taking place there. And regarding the father,
the father was someone who, you know, put a lot
of pressure on his sons to win at all costs,
well not the win it all costs, but always win.
Speaker 6 (04:16):
So if they came back from a raised sailboall race
or something I finish second or third, he would really
you know, rail him out because in his view, second
place was for losers.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
And you said, you picked this time frame, but in
this timeframe specifically, could you tell you know, it is
a political family, there's no doubt about it. Could you
tell he had that hunger for politics at that early age.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
You know, he mentions it in a few sides, you know,
he's eighteen or nineteen, but I don't think there was
you know, at that age eighteen nineteen it was sort
of in the back of his mind, and you know,
he was the second son, so it was like, let
Joe do what he wants to do first.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
But later on, you know, I could say, certainly when
he's writing his thesis, for Harvard that turned into a book.
He's certainly thinking about, you know, a diplomatic career, a
political career. So by the age of certainly, like twenty
twenty one, twenty two, he's certainly thinking about political career.
(05:23):
I mean, that's one reason he joined the Navy. At
that point it was important. He realized to you know,
be in the armed forces. It wouldn't look good if
he kind of avoided going in the navy, so he
he took special measures. They first they declined to put
him in the navy because of his you know, bad health,
bad back, but he got used his connections to get
(05:44):
in the navy.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
So at that point, you know, he was thinking.
Speaker 5 (05:47):
About a political career in his early twenties.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
And you say he's rebellious, I mean, we all kind
of knew as an adult he was rebellious as well.
So did he Were there any patterns he carried from
that era you're covering in your book into the White
House if you will, hmm.
Speaker 5 (06:07):
You know, he did certain things that were a little rebellious,
like for example, he was a p T boat skipper,
as you probably know, and in order to you know.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
After a patrol was done for the for the night.
He would.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
In order to he would he would raise his boat
as fast as he could pass the other p T
boats to get back to the dock so they could
refuel first. And you know, he wanted to give his
men more rests, so there was a you know, he
had something good in mind for his men.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
But the problem was.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
That you know, you're going full speed and then you
know you put in reverse, bad things can happen. So
he he ran into a dock there, the fuel shed,
and that was kind of a problem. So he had
the name Crashed Kennedy after that. So that short is
a certain kind of rebellious side to him.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
You know, I did not know this, but looking at
your rundown, I.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Always thought JFK's back pain happened later on, But you're
saying this was early on that he had dealt with
the chronic illnesses.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Is what you're writing here.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Yeah, they go, it goes all the way back, you
could even say, back to a certain way. Age three,
he had scarlet fever and they actually thought he was
gonna die. But boy, you know, investigating this, I couldn't
believe how illness was just something that was you know,
happened throughout his you know, entire life, you know, and
when he was at Choked Preparatory School, you know, he
(07:32):
broke the record for the most days spent in the infirmary.
You know, he had this autoimmune disease, and you know,
he'd lose weight, he'd get hives, get fatigued. You know,
he had terrible stomach aches. He had celiac disease, so
he was in and out of the Mayo clinic, and
(07:52):
you know, the back problems were exacerbated after he took
I think he took a stick heid in nineteen thirty seven,
which had a good effect in terms of giving him
energy so it could go on this trip to Europe
and also serve in the navy. But there's some evidence
that shows that also can lead to destroying the cartilage
(08:13):
in his back. So a very sad, you know, effect
of the steroid at that point, you know, not.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yet too biblical, but we talk about the lost years
of Christ. I almost feel like you're covering the last
years here of JFK. Do you feel like you're doing
that and providing that service of filling in the gaps
if you will, I think so, you.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
Know, you know, I want people to know about his
young life, which to me is fascinating. You know, there's
so much happened there that, you know, the pt one
or nine instance, the first, first and only sort of
love of his life, his travels through Europe on the
eve of World War Two, going through Germany and Russia,
and you know, advising his father to change.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
His stance on.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Being an isolation, you know, and finally running for Congress
and that was a very difficult campaign, but you know
he survived that and won. So really a lot happened
that he wrote a book, Why England Slept, So a
lot happened in these these eleven years that I think
a lot of people don't know about. People know, he
wrote Profiles and Courage, but he also wrote you know,
(09:21):
Why England Slapt, which turned out to be a best seller.
I have a little caveat to that that was the best seller.
His father helped that along by buying a couple thousand
copies himself.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Oh wow, Well, you know, I also know his father
was very you know, he pushed him into politics, and
Joe Kennedy was that shadow over him. Did you find
the younger JFK wanting to break out of a shadow
and just being his own I know you mentioned he
was forging his own path, but it seemed like it
was almost impossible with the dad liked that.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
I think he certainly did. I mean, take a look
at age. You know, he's twenty two and and he's
actually in California. He's auditing classes at Stanford, and his
father comes to visit and tells him he's going to
resign as ambassador to England and that he wants JFK
(10:16):
to write his uh, write some memos, write some stories
in the press that would help to rehabilitate his reputation
because JFK was not an isolationist, he was not an
a piezer like his father was. And I think JFK
breaks out of his you know, just trying to please
his father by giving his father very good and sound advice,
(10:38):
telling him he should no longer be in a peaser.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
And you know, a few weeks after he told his
father that, his.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
Father changed his mind and bat the Lenley's program that
provided you know, supplies military supplies and food supplies.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
To the Allies.
Speaker 5 (10:52):
So I think by that time he had pretty much
you know, broken out of being in his father's mold.
And doing what his father wanted to do versus his father,
you know, you know, held the key strings to his
political campaign. So there's there's given take there. You know,
he holds the money. You have to kind of listen
to that and be aware that his father has the
(11:15):
money behind the campaign.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
You know, I'm thinking of a movie my dad actually
took me to, which was JFK Years of Lightning, a
nineteen sixty five film based on all of the footage
with him and his brother in the Oval office of
RFK was turning.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
John.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I mean, I don't if you got a chance to
watch that movie JFK Years of Lightning.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Dave Drums.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It was just such an inside look at the Kennedy
family in the White House. It was fascinating stuff actually
by Gregory Peck.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah, yeah, so definitely worth watching.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And I feel like you're you're sort of highlighting all
of the before that. But but if you're interested that,
that's what I want to point you to. You know,
I noticed that you took this on because you also
lived in Boston, and I have to ask you then,
did you ever pass the compound or obviously being in Boston,
they are they are the family up there. They're the
(12:10):
Kennedy up there, right, So I'm sure that led to
the intrigue year.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
Well I've passed by the compound and I've you know,
been in Cape Cod, been in Hyennas. You know, I'm
not trying to name drop or anything. I've ever seen JFK.
Junior and Martha's Vineyard. You know, I would go to
Harvard just for you know, I was interested in all
the public events they had there, and they had a
number involving the Kennedys, so you know, Senator Ted Kennedy
(12:35):
would be involved in some discussions there, some events, and
then also i'd go to the Kennedy Library also they
had some public programs and you know you'd run into
you know, Robert Kennedy's children or you know, I said
hello to Ethel Kennedy. So you know, not that I
was friends with any of them, but you know, I
you know, chatted, you know, briefly with a few of them.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
I met Patrick Kennedy to the one that lost his leg,
that Kennedy, and then Eunice Kennedy Trivers. So I've been
I've been a couple of them as well. They're quite
the family.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Scott I have to say that this is so fascinating,
but it also shows how American prior in America, if
you will, he had by by serving, right, So he
loved this country from the very beginning.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
It seems like, yeah, I think that's true. And you know,
he wanted to serve.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
You know, he was also kind of looking out for
his political future, but he certainly, you know, wanted to
serve his country. And he felt if you know, he
didn't serve in a military way, he wouldn't be serving
his country. And then you know, he you know, his
father taught him early on that you know, you don't
need money, so make some sort of contribution to the country.
(13:49):
So I think political service was something that was instilled
in them from the very beginning. And you know, politics
was the way that he went, and his brothers went
and his you know, sisters did other things too.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Being that this is the anniversary coming up this weekend,
did research into the assassinations.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
So lead you to the younger years?
Speaker 2 (14:14):
No, so this was totally separate, right, So you just
wanted to sort of, as I said, filled the gaps
from earlier, right, And the other thing about JFK that
I was going to say, was he, Uh, well, I
don't know all about him.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
That's why I have you on.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
So what else did you write about that maybe our
audience may not know about JFK in the younger years.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
Yeah, I think.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
You know, it's often said that JFK wouldn't have been
president if it wasn't for PT. One oh nine and
p T one o nine. For your listeners who perhaps
don't know, was a situation during World War Two where
you know, JFK was the skipper of that boat. These
are these fast patrol pots.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
They had.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
You know, missiles on them, torpedoes, and so JFK had
this is he was never in a battle before previous
to this particular battle. You know, he'd come back after
patrol and these Japanese airplanes floatplanes would see his boat
(15:20):
and they try and drop bombs at them.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Well, he had and the problem.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Was he had all three engines going, so there was
this sort of phosphorescence that was indicating where the boat was.
So you know, jfkme in a calculation that it would
be better to if he wasn't going somewhere he was
just idling to just keep one engine going.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
So it was something that came.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Up when this one battle of his career, the Battle
of Blackets Straight, and they went out to see if
they could intercept a Japanese convoy. And at one point
he receives a radio communication that says there are Japanese
ships in the area, Japanese destroyers, but he doesn't put
(16:03):
all three engines on, so.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
It only has one engine in gear. The other two
are idling.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
And when the Japanese destroyer came at two thirty two,
he tried to you know, throttle up and get out
of the way, but with only one engine.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
It wasn't possible.
Speaker 5 (16:17):
So I think that's something some new information that recently
came out. You know, also that he you know, his
men weren't kind of alert. So he was a hero
before the crash, I mean a hero. He was, you know,
not a good skipper before the crash, and a hero afterwards.
When he came back after his men were saved, he
(16:38):
notably said, they're either going to court martial me or
give me a medal, And as you know, they gave
him a medal because he was incredibly heroic in save
helping to save his men. I think I think actually
guilt played a certain part in that you know, two
of his crew men were killed when the destroyer slammed
(16:59):
into the PT one O nine, and you know, perhaps
he thought he'd done a better job beforehand. This might
not have happened, I don't know. But after the crash,
and you know, they gave him another boat, but this
was a this was a torpedo boat. They took off
all the all the torpedoes and they just put all
(17:22):
these big guns on there.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
And you know, I think JFK was still.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
Trying to avenge his his crewmate's death, and he fought
up some sort of crazy plans to to you know,
go in and fight the Japanese. Unfortunately, his second in
command said, you know, those aren't such good ideas. They
end up, you know, kind of telling his men to
just train their guns on a couple of empty Japanese barges.
(17:49):
So I think he always felt kind of guilty about that.
And he never considered himself a war hero. And even
during the campaign of nineteen forty six, you know, his
father impressed upon, you know, the point that you've really
got to, you know, force home this point that you
know you're a war hero.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
And JF. Caterbert felt he was a war hero.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
But he finally decided to give in, and his father
printed something like ten thousand reprints of a story that
was in The New Yorker about his you know, heroic
aspects of the PTA one or nine episode.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
And obviously that was a in a sense of venging
a tragedy in his you know, military life. Anything in
the personal life that maybe we didn't catch on to
that happened.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
In his life between eighteen twenty nine that really shaped
him as well.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Any tragedy because obviously the Kennedy family has not it's
been there's been tragedy after tragedy. Anything happened during his
younger years as well that shaped him.
Speaker 5 (18:49):
Let's see, see, other than the illness, you know, he
had a certain amount of you know, you know it's interesting,
you know you look at his flaws as well as
you know, his his positive qualities. You know, he was
this charismatic person. You know, where do you get charisma?
(19:10):
I don't know, maybe just you know, you either have.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
It or your don't. But you had some flaws.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Also, it's interesting to read about that he was actually
you know, very cheap. You would think that about Kennedy
or they had all this money, but it was something
that he got from his father, and you know, he
was you know, he'd go out with friends, he wouldn't
have a you know, any money with him. They'd have
to loan him money, and he wasn't that good at
paying it back, you know, like his father.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
It wasn't the best quality. But he was certainly a womanizer.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
And like his father, who loved the you know, Hollywood celebrities, actresses,
he went through them, went after them, you know, as
soon as he was you know, twenty years old. And
you know that continued when he was in the White House.
So those are a couple of.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Time me if any patterns like that happened when he
was a kid and he sort of took him into
the White House. So I'm glad you elaborated on that because,
you know, good looking dude. I'm sure he had a
lot of girls tracing after him too, back.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
In the day.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
So the underdog.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Mentality, you know, it's interesting because I remember, you know,
you watch his rise in politics and it felt like.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
There was an underdog, underdog tone to it.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Maybe that's what Americans clung to for him when he
was running, right, there was sort of that mentality all
the way through.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
You know, I was, you know, not around at that
time in a certain way.
Speaker 5 (20:36):
So whether he was the underdog, you know, he you know,
I guess you would say he was the number two son.
So it was the underdog until he sort of surpassed
his brother. And I think that's one of the myths
of the that his brother was groomed to be going
to be groom to be president. But actually, by the
time Joe Junior had died in a plane crash in
(20:57):
nineteen forty five, act had passed him by in so
many ways. And you know, he'd written a book, you know,
he had advised his father, and he was a war hero.
So and actually symbolically he had surpassed his brother in
terms of rank. He was a lieutenant. His older brother
(21:18):
was a lieutenant junior grade. So you know, those are
some things that come to mind.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Let's see what else, Well, let me let me ask
you this, he said, of course, And now I know
why he said what he said about.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Ask not what you can do, what the country knew
for you, what you knew for your country. Look what
he did. He did a lot for his country, even
before the office. And maybe people don't recognize that as
much Scott.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
Well before he became president.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
This backstory may give a lot of insight into who
he was as a president, is what I'm thinking here.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
Yeah, well, you know I've gone over certain things. You
know that he you know, wrote a book that I
think prepared Americans that they would have to get into
the war, and so I think that was a contribution.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
Certainly made a contribution during the war.
Speaker 5 (22:19):
You know, he was a war correspondent, or not a
war correspondent, but he went to the United Nations and
he reported on you know, the the opening of the
United Nations in San Francisco, So it was kind of
sort of everywhere you know, he served. He was writing
his thesis for his Harvard thesis that turned into the book.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
He was also serving as.
Speaker 5 (22:43):
The eyes of his father, who was the ambassador to England,
so he was kind of doing a double task there.
And you know, I think those those travels through Europe
on the evil World War two really informed him and
to certain decisions you know, he made during during his presidency.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
You mentioned that this isn't just an academic historical background.
This is personal for you, and I want to doub
into the personal.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Fascination. As you write for JFK, Where did that begin?
Speaker 5 (23:13):
It starts pretty early at this point. You know, my
first memory of Kennedy has to do with Ashley Nixon.
It's kind of a strange thing to say about an
election day nineteen sixty. I can remember being on the
playground in Los Angeles, California, and I can remember shouting Nixon, Nixon,
(23:38):
Nixon Nixon, which is a strange word for a second
grader to use, but I guess we must have heard
some adults use it. And so that's my first memory
that I can recall. There had to be something else
involved in the Kennedy is with my parents or whatever,
But you know, that's what I remember now. And you know,
I don't remember anything between the election and his assassination.
(24:04):
I can't say I actually remember. I was still pretty
young that they of pigs or you know, the Cuban business,
or you know, the space program or civil rights, and
then you know, of course the assassination happened, and you know,
it was one of those things that was the It
was pretty young, the first time I realized bad things
(24:25):
happened in this world, and you know, the whole world
stopped and you know, whenever you want. You know, the
TV was on, and you know that had quite an
effect on me at some point. And you know, I
noticed in the background seeing his brother, Bobby, and I
think seeing his brother kind of taken charge and you know,
become the key, the key person in the family and
(24:49):
just sort of the seed and seeing the sadness in
Bobby Kennedy's eyes really affected me. So you know, he
became my hero. And you know, until he died, and
you know, followed his in a career, in his personal campaign,
so you know, it sort of continued on from there.
I'm not as obsessed as I once was, but I
(25:10):
still always look on see what's happening with the Kennedy's.
I don't know if you notice that h JFK.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
His grandson is now about is running is it going
to run for Congress?
Speaker 4 (25:19):
And right right.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
What I was going to ask you about that, what's
it mean to have the Kennedy's still involved? I mean,
for all his faults, I think anybody whos agree about
RFK Junior being around still feels like.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
The Kennedy's are around. Now you got the grandson.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Isn't it important to have the Kennedy name still involved
in politics, is what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
You know, I supported it kind of depends on who
it is, you know, I mean RFK Jr. I don't
think that's so important to have around. But and this
his grandson seems like.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
He's only a nutty. He's a little nutty.
Speaker 5 (25:56):
So you know, you know, I mean, there's all these
people in the Kennedy family, and we put them all
in this category of being you know, shining examples of
what a politician should be or you know, it's not
going to happen. And so we'll see about this this
new group. There'll be good ones among them as well
as bad. But you know, I still have came out
(26:20):
there as you you know, makes you think about JFK.
And I think that can only be positive.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
You mentioned your parents, and I feel like the Kennedy
era was just an example of how shining almost the
fifties into.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
The sixties were until sixty two. Did you feel like JFK.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Embodied a certain kind of America that we need to
get back to today.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Yeah, I think there was more.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
It wasn't well, there's never been like a situation we
have now in this country. Where everybody's at everybody's at
their throats. You know, the parties aren't really working together
at all. We had this authoritarian, you know president, so
you know, I think he embodied most of all kind
of this this positism, positivism. You know, I think Reagan
(27:09):
had that too, but you know JFK did it first,
and you know, we really.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
It's great for the morale of the country.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
I mean, you still have to have some substance, which
g AFK certainly did, but just this positivity and this charisma,
you know, this young family. You know something we all
you know, you sort of never get tired of seeing
I never get tired of seeing, you know, new pictures
of JFK. It seems like I look on the internet
(27:40):
and there's some pictures of JFK as a young man
or whatever I've I've never seen before. And you know,
there's a book. It says something that there's a book
coming out. God about every couple of months. I mean,
you mentioned the Bobby Kennedy one, that that's a new one.
So it seems like every there was one in JFK JR.
A couple of months ago. So every couple of months
there's a new book on Kennedy's I guess we still
(28:01):
have that thirst for Camelot, if you will.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
So I have the term one leg up. I do
feel like you have one leg up on the era
that we don't know about so much. So and congratulations
on that.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
And I often ask people who write these biographies what
research you went into this? So what kind of research
go into the JFK bio that you had written about him?
Speaker 4 (28:24):
Yeah? Well I did a lot of traveling, you know.
I went to his.
Speaker 5 (28:28):
Prep school out there, Choked Prep in Connecticut, So wanted
around there, talk with looked in the archives there, talk
with the arcos there, you know, went into the church
there where he where he went to services. You can't
actually get into his room anymore. But then I was
around Cape cod and hyenas, looking in the different you know,
(28:51):
areas that he was involved with there, you know.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
Going by the compound.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
Of course, I spent a lot of time at the
Kennedy Library, which is, you know, in a certain way
I won't say makes it easy, but there has to
be more written about the Kennedys than you know, any
other family. So there's a treasure trove of documents. And
they were also that day letter writer. So JFK wrote
a lot of letters, his father wrote a lot of letters,
and it's kind of great to look at those letters
(29:17):
and clean out some interesting information, some interesting quotes, you know,
and certainly.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
You know there's all these books.
Speaker 5 (29:25):
So I have kind of my own library of Kennedy books,
and you know a lot of it has been made digital.
So through all those resources gave me all the resources
I need.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Well, Scott, I I so appreciate the time that you
had given on this and to show a different side
as we are set to honor and remember sixty two
years later.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
So thank you Scott for your time. Where can we
get buy the book?
Speaker 5 (29:50):
Yeah, Scott Badler dot net. It's also that's my website.
It's also available on Amazon and also had a lot
of bookstores. There was a big story and People magazine
a couple of weeks ago. So we're just starting to
spread with people like you interested in the book. I
think it'll continue to find a lot of readers.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
And one last thing, if you were to advise today's
party that seems to be shifting ever so left, how
do you bring it back to that? JFK. Mittle like
I know he seemed to be a centrist at heart.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
How do we get back there, not only as a country,
but for the Democratic Party because a lot of people
do call themselves JFK Democrats because everything's so different.
Speaker 4 (30:28):
Now.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
Yeah, it's difficult when you have someone on the on
the far right, but I'm hopefully just the you know,
the you know that people kind of settle down and
start to listen to each other a little more. I
think it takes, you know, just listening to the other
side and compromising and remember, you know, we're all in
(30:51):
this country together. We want what's best for the country.
And you know, I think this is just a period
that's gonna you know, wind down and we'll get back
to more of a situation where that you know, different
parties are working with each other.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
I will say here here to that. And on that note, Scott, uh,
congrats on the book launch. Let us know how things
go and if there's any updates you'd like to share
with us along the way, You're always welcome back to.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
The One Network.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
Okay, thanks a lot, Ales.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
And this interview is power powered by pod Match, thanks
to them for Cannam. It was Scott Badler. Thanks again, Scott,
thank you Alex
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