We Interrupt This Program: The Regan Assassination Attempt

Welcome back! On "Who Died This Week?" Megan and Lesley talk about the ever so talented and foxy, Robert Redford (1936-2025) (though we have a terrible time remembering his filmography).  

In this latest episode Megan asks, "Where were you when Reagan was shot?" For many Gen X kids, the 1981 assassination attempt marks our first collective news trauma—that shocking moment when regular programming was interrupted and the world seemed to pause.

What began as a routine presidential appearance spiraled into a national crisis when John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots in less than two seconds outside the Washington Hilton. As Reagan lost nearly half his blood volume, Washington descended into constitutional chaos. Secretary of State Alexander Haig's infamous declaration "I'm in control here" revealed dangerous gaps in crisis management, while networks scrambled to report accurate information in an era before instant updates.

Beyond the political dimensions, this episode uncovers the strange, forgotten details that made this event uniquely bizarre. Hinckley's obsession with 18-year-old Jodie Foster dragged the young actress unwillingly into a national nightmare. Nancy Reagan's subsequent turn to astrology for White House scheduling decisions became both fascination and mockery. Meanwhile, Reagan's humor during the crisis—reportedly telling his wife "Honey, I forgot to duck"—transformed his public image into that of an invincible "Teflon Ron."

Most significantly, we explore how this single event catalyzed lasting change across American institutions. The Secret Service rewrote protection protocols, medical teams developed presidential emergency response systems, Congress tightened insanity defense standards, and the Brady Bill eventually introduced meaningful gun control legislation.

Join us for this nostalgic yet substantive dive into a pivotal moment when Gen X kids first witnessed history unfolding in real-time, complete with our personal memories of where we were when the world briefly stood still. If you remember this moment or want to understand how it shaped a generation's consciousness, this episode offers both personal reflection and historical insight that resonates even today.

Transcript

Catching Up and Disney Plans

SPEAKER_06 0:00

I'm Megan Bennett. I'm Leslie Meyer. And this is Gen X Women Are Sick of This Shit. Hi, Leslie.

unknown 0:14

Hi, Megan.

SPEAKER_06 0:15

Hello. Hello, my friend. You're going to Disney World land soon.

SPEAKER_04 0:22

I am. I'm going to the DL. You could do that now that Disney's back on the on the okay list, right? There I just depends on the day. I still support the fact that there are people who make less than minimum wage that need jobs.

unknown 0:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 0:37

So I'm gonna go support those people in their character costumes. I hear that for like a couple of days with my family. Before my daughter moves away with her beloved. That is sad. It is, it is wonderfully happy. It's so happy.

SPEAKER_06 0:56

I can tell you're super happy about it.

SPEAKER_04 0:58

There's like the uh happy like video. I don't know, whatever, when things go viral. And there was one of a small child eating a mother's cooking of some sort. And it was disgusting, and it was obviously disgusting. And the kid was like not happy about it, eating it, and then like throwing up and then smiling and also crying. And the mom was like, Do you like it? And she's like, mm-hmm. Well, like while she's also like gagging and throwing up and crying. I love it so much. So I kind of feel like that. I'm not quite gagging and crying, but you know what I mean? Like so happy.

SPEAKER_06 1:40

And like there are just moments where it's like, oh, we're not gonna these things what happened are like moments where I'm like, oh, we just I feel like you got lucky because you had an extra little window of time that she was living here. And my daughter was like, went to college, gone, boom. Yep, you know, and then we had like the COVID break, right? Where she was back, and she's back. Um, but yeah, like we our kids got so fucked. Yeah, totally. We lost her when she was gone. She was gone, and now we get to go to New York and see her. That's just so awesome. Not we'll do that after you are back, probably from Disney. We'll be then in New York. And then I go to Disney World the next weekend.

SPEAKER_04 2:27

Right. You're whisking her away for a little Halloween trip. Yep. That's right. People probably think we have like money. Millions of dollars. We do not we have debt. That's what we do. It's true. Um, so please don't think that we're wealthy at all. We are not, we are normal, not classy, hustling, hustling the credit card shuffle to make life happen in this day and age. That's true.

SPEAKER_06 2:56

And I went ahead and bought myself an annual pass because I had already bought that trip. I already had a trip, and so I could apply that money towards the annual pass. Oh, smart. And so now it's like, well, shit, now I have to go.

SPEAKER_04 3:08

Well, because then you're wasting it. Right. I can't not go. Yeah. We were near to our um I have no lots. I don't have like a bunch of memberships, but I've had one for the shed, which is nowhere near, but I love aquariums. Yeah. And my daughter was going and I was like, Oh, you just use our membership, and it had expired. And I'm like, Oh, it'll save money if I just renew it. Because Tim and I all go.

unknown 3:29

We haven't been yet.

SPEAKER_04 3:31

However, we did talk about it recently, and I'm like, we could drive up and back in a day because half of the cost of Chicago is spending the fucking night.

SPEAKER_06 3:39

Yeah, but part of the joy is spending the night too, because then you get like a groovy hotel and a nice dinner, but then I haven't saved any money buying my shed membership.

SPEAKER_04 3:50

The point is you can't use it when you're dead.

SPEAKER_06 3:54

You're there, you're here. We're here for experiences.

SPEAKER_04 3:57

That's true. Yes. If you want to go see the fish, you go see the fish. I love those fish. It's I love them so much. I love them so much. I really do love those fish. Oh, Jesus. I love menopause has got her bad. I love my daughter more.

SPEAKER_06 4:12

Uh menopause has caught her in a in its web. How have you been? I'm fine. Yeah, if I cough or like sound nasally, I didn't coming off of a cold, but it was it was just a weird end of summer. I'm so sorry. Stupid.

SPEAKER_04 4:28

Well, and you have to are you around people during the day?

SPEAKER_06 4:31

I'm around more people now than I used to be. Okay. So I think, and you know, you just I've got like all of the middle-aged women health things you can have that just weigh on your immune system. And so yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 4:44

And a shitty diet and you know, propensity to drink and all the you know, all the all the things that are gonna make there's the list propensity for alcohol, yes, middle-aged women things. My immune system sucks.

SPEAKER_06 4:59

Uh so yeah, I think that I'm I'm better now. And the good news is I feel like I got it out of the way. Like it's I sure I'll buy that for a hundred Alex. Sure. It's like throwing throwing your kids in with a bunch of kids that have chicken pox because get it out of the way.

SPEAKER_04 5:14

Yeah, fuck it. They'll be fine.

SPEAKER_06 5:16

It's the fucking fucking. We don't worry about immune immunity and vaccines or anything like that anymore, anyway.

SPEAKER_04 5:22

So I did get my I got my COVID vaccine though.

SPEAKER_06 5:25

Did it hurt like a bitch? No. Okay, so I did, I made the mistake of doing the flu shot and the COVID shot in the same arm. Me too. And yours was fine. Yeah. Like your arm was fine.

SPEAKER_04 5:34

I mean, my next day was sore. Like I literally couldn't lift my arm. Oh no, not that bad. No, no, no, no, no. And I was at like a travel agent training situation, and there was the like, you might have to get a prescription, and I just didn't want to fuck with that. And so I found a CVS really close to where I was. Shoot me those fuckers so fast.

unknown 5:52

Totally free.

SPEAKER_06 5:53

Yeah, that's mine was too totally free. I did, it did hurt like a son of a bitch. And they were like, Hey, you can get the RSV vaccine too. And I will, I absolutely am gonna go get it. But I was like, I don't think I'm on three of these. I'm gonna wait time. I need like, give me a little break, mostly because I'm pretty sure my arm would fall off. It's doing the other to pick it back up and take it with me. Tape it on.

SPEAKER_04 6:16

Straight on we could just link. I had gotten my tetanus a couple days before. I mean that one person. That's a little smaller. Let's just wait until your next ones. And then I was in Ohio and they were like, go now. And I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_06 6:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:28

So I went, so I still have to get my pneumonia, my pneumococcal.

SPEAKER_06 6:31

That's a good one to have too. And the the one that, you know, I think we've talked about it before, like that shingle shot. Oh, yeah. Like I did that series. I mean, that's it sucks. Totally. Oh Jesus, totally. Do not get the shingles. Do not get the shingles. Not good.

SPEAKER_04 6:45

So terrible. I don't know if they are the shingles or shingles, but I love thinking that they're the shingles.

SPEAKER_06 6:52

I think they've got the shingles. The shingles. I think it, yeah, it gives them more personality. Yeah. You know, watch out for those. Don't get the pneumonia. Or as my grandmother would have said, the pneumonia.

SPEAKER_04 7:05

The pee pneumonia. On purpose, which she humorous. I think the pneumonia. Either way, funny, funny. However, let's see how much longer we can like riff off of uh vaccines that we get as we age. I don't know what else is out there. I think you can probably RSV, is that the hand, foot, and mouth one?

SPEAKER_06 7:23

No, that's a respiratory virus.

SPEAKER_04 7:25

Oh, okay. Yes. So it's like pneumonia, but it's a different type of respiratory virus. Pneumonia, what you get when you're just tired of penis. You're like, oh, sorry, I got the pneumonia today.

SPEAKER_05 7:37

Take it off me, husband. I got the penonia.

SPEAKER_04 7:40

But what?

SPEAKER_05 7:40

Yep, it's highly contagious. Watch out. Take it off. You're sleeping in the guest room. I got the pneumonia. I don't know what's wrong with my spouse. They've said they've had the pneumonia all week long.

Life-Changing Moments and Podcast Pivot

SPEAKER_04 7:54

Hilarious in my own mind. Let me just touch my microphone some more. So that are pretty good. Very exciting. Well, it's the pneumonia conversation. I just couldn't help touching my microphone. I love it. Why are we here? What are we here for today? I have no clue. What are we doing? We are having a podcast. Here we are. Fives. We're having a podcast. And we did a little podcast pivot. We were we're picking up like some behind the scenes or like a story, which we did last week with nope, two weeks ago with satanic panic. That's right.

SPEAKER_06 8:33

I was there for that. I had that conversation. I have since then read uh like the Duffer Brothers. Duffer, Duffy, Duffer? Duffer Brothers. Duffer? Producer Tim. This the the dudes that did uh you know the TV show.

SPEAKER_04 8:50

Yes, Duffer. Those guys. Maybe who knows? I'm making this up. Yeah. Matt and Ross.

SPEAKER_06 8:56

Thank you. Yeah. So the Stranger Things guys. Oh, they have a lot of things. Sat's like now I know you're talking about. Yes. So because Satanic Panic, and I think of Eddie from Of course. Super fucking dreamy. He better come back. He better come back. Anyway, they are talking about the next, like the last season, which you get in November. Yeah, you get multiple episodes on Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_04 9:24

Two parts, right?

SPEAKER_06 9:25

Three. You get multiple shows on Thanksgiving. Then you get a couple or two or three on Christmas Day. Okay. And then you get the final on New Year's Eve. So you get to ring in New Year's Eve with the finale of the street.

SPEAKER_04 9:42

Sorry, I can't be at the bar on New Year's Eve now, Jim. I have to not be there. No shit. Like I will be in my basement. Like I'll be watching at the phone in the basement of the bar for New Year's.

SPEAKER_06 9:56

And they said it's going to be I can't wait. We're fucked up. Oh yeah. They're like, they're they wouldn't say much, but they were like anyway, so I'm thinking about like the whole Stranger Things thing and Satanic and amazing. But yes, that was the last episode that we dropped. Yeah. And we're going to continue with this variation on this.

SPEAKER_04 10:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 10:19

This is like life-changing moments. Right. Shit we remember, life-changing moments, and then going into a little bit of history about those things just because I don't know about you, but my memory does suck.

SPEAKER_04 10:33

So well, and we have memories from our like seven, eight, nine, ten, twelve, fourteen-year-olds that wouldn't have a lot of information. We wouldn't have had the details that we have now because why were we little nubbins? There was no internet. Nope. There was only the nightly news. And it was boring. We got 10. Maybe read the paper. Maybe. Uh when I was over 10. Yeah, not at 10, though. No, not like maybe like 1213. I'd be curious at least. Sure. Like, and we could get inform, like our parents might share information or something like that. You'd see the headlines and you'd be like, oh, I don't think that pertains to me. Right. Yes. Where's my Atari? Um why are we here again? Because we're going to talk about some life-changing moments. Yes, we are.

SPEAKER_06 11:20

I think we're doing two episodes, right? Yeah. That are life-changing moments, which we'll probably be rolling to we're talking about.

SPEAKER_04 11:27

Significantly more life-changing moments. They're going to be so many of them. But we should, at the beginning of this one, talk about who died this one. Yeah, who died. Because this was a big one. This was a really sad one. And interestingly enough, these are actors I associate with Gen X, but who are definitely not Gen X? Hit me. Who you got? We just lost Robert Redford.

SPEAKER_06 11:49

He was a very, very pretty man.

SPEAKER_04 11:51

He was a very pretty man.

SPEAKER_06 11:53

Excellent actor. Very, very pretty.

SPEAKER_04 11:56

And Robert Redford was born in 1936. So he was actually Silent Legend, right? Yeah. He was. Like, are there any that stand out?

SPEAKER_06 12:13

Probably a River Run. No. River Run? Was that him? I think so. Was that him? I can't remember. I feel like it well, Butchcasty and the Sundance Kids were was probably them. I don't think a River. Maybe not. That wasn't him.

SPEAKER_04 12:31

But it feels like it should be in his category.

SPEAKER_06 12:33

Yeah. But I don't believe it is on the list. Like also, like English patient, I feel like should be him.

SPEAKER_04 12:38

Yeah, but I don't think so. But there was an era of filmmaking that okay. So sorry. Felt like him. English patient. Let's see. Okay. Oh, so that was 96. That was 10 years later. My brain connects this with Out of Africa. And it which was in the 80s. Right. That was Robert Redford and Merrill Street. But there were these sort of sweeping romances in other countries.

SPEAKER_06 13:11

Yes. Which had a undertone for a lot of Gen X kids of as being a super boring adult movie, right?

SPEAKER_04 13:21

Like I loved Out of Africa. Did you? Oh my God. But I was also a weird kid and I fucking loved watching Gandhi. I watched that movie probably 10 times. Wow.

SPEAKER_06 13:33

Okay. Yes. No, not me. How about how about Chariots of Fire? Was that a hot one for you?

SPEAKER_04 13:39

I watched that so many times with my mom. I just loved like this. There was something about the sweeping. I feel like it's more about the movie making, right? Than it was. I just really liked them both. I don't know why. River Runs through it. Brad fucking Pitt. We another blonde sister. Blonde kid. There we go. That had Tom Scaret. 92. Okay. College. All right. All right. Um, but for Robert Redford, of course, Jesus Christ, words just leave my fucking brain. Established film festival in Sundance Film Festival. There we go. Yep. Um, to usher in a new era of filmmakers. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, we studied in my film as art class. That was definitely about the filmmaking itself. Yeah. I remember watching The Sting. Oh, The Sting was great too. All the President's Men, very important movie, particularly right now.

SPEAKER_06 14:35

Did not care about at the time, but then much later I was like, oh my God, this is an amazing movie.

SPEAKER_04 14:41

Yes, The Natural. Also an excellent movie.

SPEAKER_06 14:44

My husband uh is a super fan of that particular movie.

SPEAKER_04 14:47

Oh, but baseball. Oh, got you, got you. That makes sense so much sense. Um, so I think kind of like All the President's Men and Out of Africa. Like I remember, I'm sure I watched All the President's Men when I was young, but not three years old young. Out of Africa was 85. But I loved that fucking book. I was a weird kid. I probably read it when I was like 10. Okay. I think as well.

SPEAKER_06 15:15

I mean, most of us were reading like you know Flowers in the Addict. Flowers in the Attic. That was exactly where I was going on forgotten. And then came back earlier. Oh god, it's me, Marie Margaret.

SPEAKER_04 15:26

And all the Judy Blooms. Yes. All of those. Oh wait! Liars! He wasn't a river runs through it.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

It is here. It's right here. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 15:37

So was he like wasn't he like the guy who was supposed to like I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 15:43

I don't know, but I don't think I ever watched that movie.

SPEAKER_06 15:46

I think based on everything you said, I think you'd like it.

SPEAKER_04 15:49

Maybe so. That was 92. I was in college. I didn't have time to watch movies then. I am just really wondering how many people are like screaming at us as they're listening to us, going, no, he wasn't a river runs through it.

SPEAKER_05 16:02

Didn't you watch that movie?

SPEAKER_02 16:04

God, Leslie.

SPEAKER_04 16:05

I don't know. I didn't watch that movie. I'm so sorry. It's we should stop talking about this and we're gonna talk about it forever.

SPEAKER_06 16:11

Was he in it or did he direct it?

SPEAKER_04 16:13

Oh, that would probably be even better if that's true.

SPEAKER_06 16:17

Oh my god, this is just us like falling all over all over ourselves, right?

SPEAKER_03 16:21

Let's see if that's true. Yes, he was the director. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 16:26

I hope that you have enjoyed this very amusing journey through us reading words. But really, we do like you, Robert Radford. I promise. No, I yes, we just don't have your filmography memorized.

SPEAKER_06 16:42

No, and I will say, like, I think he directed so many amazing films after the like as he got older and kind of you, you know, as you do, you sort of age out of the the handsome number, you know, I don't know, main character role.

SPEAKER_04 16:58

And yes, he was in a version of the great Gatsby.

SPEAKER_06 17:02

Yes, he was.

SPEAKER_04 17:03

Pretty boxy in that one, too.

SPEAKER_06 17:05

Yes. Um Leo, love him or hate him. I really love that version. The uh Rebt Redford one, the Leonardo DiCaprio one.

SPEAKER_04 17:15

Yeah, too. Super good by you. Awesome. Uh we could probably beat this to death a little bit more. Let's not. But I think that we have done we've done damage to thoroughly. And if you followed that conversation and it made total logical sense to you, you too have ADHD.

SPEAKER_06 17:32

You are a Gen X woman.

SPEAKER_05 17:34

Thanks for being women's women's women's women's.

SPEAKER_04 17:40

Oh god. I think we right now might be a good time to pause. Oh, please. And we'll prepare ourselves for the next thing where I have more notes that I will probably get greatly confused on. Okay, sweet. See ya, see you in a minute. Okay, goodbye.

SPEAKER_06 17:56

Bye. Gen X Women Are Sick of the Shit is supported by Lilass. Love you like a sis, a Gen X women's social club. What's Lilas, Megan? Lilas is our uh off platform, off uh the Books of Faces, off all of the other traditional social media. Uh, it is our space and place for Gen X women to come together, have conversations, meet each other. It's a social club.

SPEAKER_04 18:21

It is a social club. It's a membership-based club. Memberships are$10 a month. Um, that does help support us in growing the platform. We purchased a platform that would host a network of women so that you could come together and meet each other in real time.

SPEAKER_06 18:41

In a safer space, yes, than a traditional social media platform and a much more personal space. So what do we do there, Leslie?

SPEAKER_04 18:51

We host movie nights where we live stream some of our favorites as they are available to us for group watches of films from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. We host a space for a monthly book club. We host trivia nights. Trivia nights once a month. We have a live text chat. Four prizes, even. Four prizes. That's true. Um, we the space is able to host like weekly text chats so that you can kind of check in in real time with people. I would say the critical difference between kind of what this space is and any other social media space that I've experienced is that it is active. You will have to engage in it or be engaged in it by other people. So it's not like a passive consumption thing.

SPEAKER_06 19:44

It's like making connections. Yep. And if that's what you're looking for, the opportunity to meet other people, to find people who are maybe in the same similar spaces as you are.

SPEAKER_04 19:54

Like-minded, same time phase of life, navigating all of those transitions, then this might be the right place for you.

Reagan's Attempted Assassination

SPEAKER_06 20:02

So check out Laddie Lass. You can learn more about it at Genxwomenpod.com. And we're back. Back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back. Okay, so I think we were gonna talk about those moments that are uh memorable in our childhood. Yes. And you know, whether they're like fresh as a daisy in your mind, or whether it's just like those little snaps of memory that you're like, Yes, I have a visceral memory of blah blah blah, right? So mine that I was gonna share with you is um Reagan's assass attempted assassination.

SPEAKER_04 20:55

Oh yeah. Do you remember? So I know factually that it happened. I don't rem I don't have like a snapshot memory about it. Okay. I was probably what year was it? So it was March 30th, 1981. Okay. So I was seven. I was like two months away from turning eight. Okay. So young, young, young. Yeah. So seven. So I was probably maybe like second grade. Okay. Getting ready to go into third. So yeah.

SPEAKER_06 21:28

Yeah. So I was, uh it was March 30th. I was uh my birthday is in June, so I was nine.

SPEAKER_04 21:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 21:35

So not quite 10. Gotcha. Um, but I but it was one of those things that um like they broke into general hospital, for example, to like talk about it, right? So your screen cuts out, you don't have Luke and Laura anymore, you've got Walter Cronkite and Frank Reynolds, and they're saying, like, you know, the president was shot.

SPEAKER_04 21:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 21:59

Kind of like, wait, what? Um, and I think for me, I do remember that break-in, of course, because I'm a general hospital nerd. So I remember that happening. So anyway, it was just one of those things where you like it, it was just real life and something that you absolutely would never have like expected to happen. So it was 69 days into his pregnancy pregnancy. I mean, it's like a pregnancy. His uh parental pregnant and his what? His parential parental pregnancy.

SPEAKER_04 22:31

He was getting ready for the parental.

SPEAKER_06 22:34

Okay, let's try this again.

SPEAKER_04 22:35

Whew!

SPEAKER_06 22:35

We went boy! So 69 days into his presidential pregnancy or his like first term, right? So he was 69 days into being president. Leslie's loving this.

SPEAKER_04 22:54

Oh my god. I just think it's hilarious that it was 69 days. Well, because I'm a 12-year-old boy that's naughty.

SPEAKER_05 23:01

69. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 23:04

He had uh he had just given a speech at the Washington Hilton and he was heading out. Okay. And John Hinckley Jr., who was 25 years old old at the time, he pulled out a revolver, he fired six shots in less than two seconds. So that's like quick shooting. Um, a cop went down, a secret service agent, then took a bullet to the chest.

SPEAKER_04 23:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 23:28

Um, the presidential presidential secretary James Brady was hit in the head. Yes. So we're maybe we'll talk about that here in a minute. But um, and one of the bullets then actually ricocheted off the limo, and that's what hit Reagan. So he wasn't shot directly, it was a ricochet.

SPEAKER_04 23:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 23:44

And it got him right in the chest. Oh shit. Yep. So Reagan didn't realize that he had been shot at all. Um, he thought his ribs were sore because he had been shoved down to the ground. Sure. Um, but he coughed up blood. Oh so that's when everybody was like, holy shit, let's get him somewhere. So they took him to Washington University Hospital. He walked in the door, like on his own power into the hospital. Well, he used to make cowboy movies. I like so he comes into the hospital. Apparently, he looks like complete horseshit. Sure. Pale, blood loss. You're in shape. He literally lost almost half of his blood. No fuck. No, no shit. So the doctors were like, dude's close to dying, right?

SPEAKER_04 24:31

Oops, we have a problem.

SPEAKER_06 24:33

We have a problem. For those of us at home, they're like watching this, the networks all lose their minds. Okay. Right? Because nobody knows what's happening. Sure. They reported initially that he was fine. Okay. Then they report that James Brady was dead, which he was not. Oh no. On uh ABC, the anchor was Frank Reynolds, and he completely loses his composure live on air. He snaps to everybody, let's get it nailed down, somebody find out. Let's get the word here, let's get it straight so we can report this accurately. Good job. So, like it's the in real time, stumbling over all the pressure of like trying to figure out the facts.

SPEAKER_04 25:16

Yeah. And let's not like say things like just off the cuff. Stop giving me false information. Which of course now we live through on a moment by moment basis. We just make up shit as we go.

SPEAKER_06 25:29

Uh-huh. For clicks. Yeah. Which is bonkers. Yes. Um, so I think for a lot of us uh that are in the Gen X era, this is kind of like our first collective news shock. Yeah. Like our parents had Kennedy. Like they vividly remember that. And we had this president who's suddenly interrupting our soaps. Um, and you know, that's just a big I to me, it's a really big deal. It's like that moment where you're like, holy crap.

SPEAKER_04 25:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 25:59

And there's something on the news that I'm not going to forget.

SPEAKER_04 26:01

Yes, absolutely. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_06 26:04

Yeah. So here's where the story kind of shifts a little bit because Reagan survives his surgery, right? Oh, okay. Of course. Sure. And uh instead of images of weakness, the press starts talking about all of these jokes that he was making, apparently at the hospital. Oh, funny. He told his wife, he said, he said, told Nancy, honey, I forgot to duck. And that like became a big thing. They're like, oh, wacky, wacky Ronnie. Yeah, like with these bunny paha jokes. Yeah. Apparently, before he went into surgery, he asked all of his doctors if they were Republicans. Like, like, like, what do you say to that if you're his surgeon? Like, you say, Yes, sir. Sure. I'm sure he was like, Yeah, I voted for you. Yeah. We are now. Right this minute. Right this minute. We are. Um, so all the humor though, it kind of made him look invincible, like he was this big tough, strong guy. I mean, yes, he does a cowboy movie. You're dealing with stress.

SPEAKER_04 27:06

You're like, so Ronald Reagan deals with stress by cracking jokes. By cracking jokes. Inappropriate jokes that some people might find inappropriate. Why you just got shot? Why are you making those jokes?

SPEAKER_06 27:16

But I gotta say, good coping skills. Sometimes that's how I react to things too. It's like okay, I don't want to address this straight on, so I'm just gonna make a joke. Forgot to draw to duck a whole. Um, but he got this this um kind of reputation as being Teflon Ron, is what they started calling him because he was like super tough. Teflon Ron.

SPEAKER_04 27:40

He made movies with monkeys. Let's be clear. Chimpanzees. That's sorry. That is no offense to monkeys. He made a movie with a chimpanzees, or to chimpanzees, yeah, or to chimpanzees. Either one. We don't want to. But Teflon, I don't remember the one. Oh, that's amazing. So that was a little nickname that he got. Hilarious.

White House Chaos and Who's in Charge

SPEAKER_06 28:00

Yep. So uh behind the scenes, Washington loses its mind in complete chaos. Because what happens if the president is shot? Correct. I mean, theoretically, we have a plan. You well, constitutionally, you have a plan, right? But he was unconscious in surgery. The vice president was currently was at that time on a plane back from Texas. Oh, so you've got that happening. Were we presidentless for a minute? Well, kind of. So at the White House press briefing, uh, Leslie Stahl. Oh my goodness, right? Leslie Young, young Leslie Stahl, she asks Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speaks point blank, who is running the government? And he he admitted, I cannot answer that question at this time. That's not good.

SPEAKER_04 28:50

Honesty is nice though, it's refreshing.

unknown 28:52

I'm like, I guess.

SPEAKER_04 28:53

I mean, just be honest, like, I cannot okay.

SPEAKER_06 28:57

Well, so I guess, but Secretary of State Alexander Haig then walks into the press room at that time. Ooh, he hands speaks a note to step aside. So he tells this guy, hey, move aside. And he walks up to the mic and he says, as of now, I'm in control here in the White House, pending the return of the vice president. Got you. So he knew the rules. No, you you can't do that. Like you can't like just say, I'm in charge. I am no. So constitutionally, uh-huh, it should have been the speaker of the house. Well, right. Well, right. That's like it's another step away from that. So constitutionally, the vice vice president is next in line, then it's the speaker of the house and not the secretary of state.

SPEAKER_01 29:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 29:45

Oh, fuck.

SPEAKER_01 29:46

Secretary of State's just foreign relations.

SPEAKER_06 29:49

Exactly. Where was the speaker of the house? Why that's a good question. I don't know where the hell he is.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

No one knows like we I mean now, who know? We'd have to look into it, but yeah, like I don't.

SPEAKER_06 30:00

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

I do not remember this piece of this, and it is shocking.

SPEAKER_06 30:04

Yeah, I know, right? Like, Haig totally looks like he's staging this wacky. Like a coup, right? Yeah, a power grab. Really? Like, would I have known that at 10 years old? No. I would not.

SPEAKER_04 30:16

Such drama. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 30:18

How did it resolve? Uh, you know, I I presumably your vice president lands the plane, everything's fine. But like for that high on their back, it's it's like, hey, we're just gonna make shit up, I guess. Constitution, smartstitution.

SPEAKER_04 30:36

The better thing would have been to just stick with I cannot answer that question at the correct moment. I think you just say let your press secretary handle it.

SPEAKER_06 30:44

Well, by the constitution, you think so and so is in charge, but yes, yeah, whatever.

SPEAKER_04 30:48

But this is happening in real time. No cell phones, no cell phones, no internet, nope, nope. Maybe a couple car phones with the richest of the rich. Waiting for that guy's plane to land. We're like, who's in the building?

SPEAKER_02 31:03

Like, here's whoever's last, turn out the lights. Here's the York chart, and they're just like going through it.

SPEAKER_04 31:10

Phone tree.

SPEAKER_02 31:11

Are they here?

SPEAKER_04 31:12

Are they here? Are they here? I'm calling about the cakewalk and to see if you want to run around. We're doing a fundraiser here at the spring play.

Hinckley's Obsession with Jodie Foster

SPEAKER_06 31:27

It's a bake sale. So all that's happening. Okay. And then you gotta think about like the dude who did it, right? So why did he shoot the president in the first place? So Hinckley, it was not about politics. It was not about ideology. He was obsessed with Jody Foster. Oh, say more. So yeah, so here you have draw the line, create the picture. I wish I could. It's a little weird. Like he was, he watched Taxi Driver over and over and over and over again. Yes. So he identified with Robert De Niro's character a lot. Oh, that movie. Who is a loner who stalks a politician? Right? That's what he does. And Jodie Foster, who was just 18 years old. So young. Super young. I think she was even younger than that. I don't, I she just started Yale. Oh. Just started Yale. Um, and she like is now the center of the story. Oh my gosh. He had been leaving her notes at Yale. Oh, creeposaurus. Calling her. Ew. He called her like hours before the shooting. He wrote a letter saying, Jody, I would abandon this idea of getting Reagan in a second if I could only win your heart. Oh no.

SPEAKER_04 32:48

That is, I mean, that is a way to ask for a date. I don't know if it is the best way to ask for a date. Totally not. Totally not. What is what are these dramatic gestures that some men make?

SPEAKER_06 33:03

Send her candy. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 33:06

Like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 33:07

She's the president.

SPEAKER_04 33:08

Probably not the right way to go about it. I mean, you will get attention. Yeah. It just may not be the outcome. I mean, it messed her up for years. Oh, that'd be fucking terrifying. Imagine being an 18-year-old girl. I remember what that was like. And you have some fame as an actor. You're also smart as fuck. Yeah. Because Yale. Yeah. And you're gay, so no dudes. I mean, I don't know if she was out at that point in her life. Uh, and somebody's sending you all these. I'm sure that did they collect evidence from her? Sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 33:42

I remember there was like hearings and all kinds of stuff. She was like called in to answer questions because she was at the heart of this, the like his reason why. So I guess they had to rule out whether she had literally anything to do with it.

SPEAKER_04 33:56

Sure, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_06 33:57

But what the farts. And if you get a whacked-out letter like that, moments before this dude goes and shoots the president. Unhinged. Are you thinking, if you put yourself in Jody Foster's shoes, are you thinking, like, I should probably reach out to the police about it?

SPEAKER_04 34:14

No, like I don't even know if you'd take it seriously. At 18, I would not have taken that seriously. I would be like, ooh, gross. This guy's insane. Especially if there have been multiple notes left.

SPEAKER_06 34:25

Well, and if there had been multiple, like, like I think now, if it happens in the political world that we live in now, I think you would probably feel like, I you know, I probably should alert someone about this.

SPEAKER_04 34:37

I'm gonna like grab the red phone and call somebody up. Just doesn't everybody just have a red phone? This is the emergency phone. When something happens and we're like, oh shit, I don't know exactly what to do with this. Hello, who's on the end of the red phone? Right. I have a perplexing situation here, sir. Like uh this is a phone.

Nancy Reagan and Her White House Astrologer

SPEAKER_06 34:57

Wackadoo dudes been leaving me notes about something something with the president. So yeah. Anyway. Uh so anyway, that's like her side of things. And then there's Nancy, right? Oh, sure. You got Point of View, camera shifts, don't do drugs, Nancy Reagan. Sure. Or Jody Foster movies. After the shooting, she was really shaken up, obviously. And you're gonna love this. She started consulting an astrologer.

SPEAKER_05 35:28

Oh, is this the impetus?

SPEAKER_04 35:31

This is one of my favorite things in the world. I want to hear all about the White House astrology.

SPEAKER_06 35:36

Let me let me tell you, yes, let me, I'll set the stage and talk more about this because this is fun. So the astrologer's name was Joan Quigley. Okay. And she asked Joan to actually start planning Reagan's schedule. Right on, sure. How did she get her clearance? I she's a psychic. I guess she could like did she know it wasn't. Did she know that Nancy was good? Well, I don't know. That's see, that's always been my big question about this. Has always been my question about psychics. If you go to a psychic and you knock on the door and they don't answer it by saying, Oh, I was expecting you, then you should turn around and leave.

SPEAKER_04 36:19

Because they're a shitty, shitty psychic. No disrespect to psychics everywhere. I know that's not how it works.

SPEAKER_06 36:28

Just answer the door. Oh, I was expecting you. That's all you have to say.

SPEAKER_02 36:34

Ah, I thought you would have been here earlier.

SPEAKER_06 36:37

Okay. Oh, did you get held up by the train? So good. Okay, I was Joan. So so late 70s. Yeah. Because in the late 70s and the early 80s, uh astrology was huge. Yeah, sure. Like it was everywhere. And Linda Goodman had a book called Sun Signs on like probably everybody's coffee table. Like our moms probably had that book. So if you picture it, you know, if you can picture it, that's great. So Nancy was basically doing the exact same thing. She, you know, was consulting her psychic, her astrologer. Like you do. Because, you know, the nuclear codes are on the line, right?

SPEAKER_04 37:20

Like, these things consult your astrologer before. So, what do you remember about like? I just remember like the sort of like scandal of the fact that there was a White House astrologer and just people trying to reconcile the fact because my parents were Carter Democrats, right? Like through and through. And there was always a bit of like okay, Reagan. Like they just didn't buy it, you know? And so then that extra layer. And then so my grandmother just thought it was ridiculous. That's awesome. I mean, just the preposterousness of having like a White House.

SPEAKER_06 38:04

I love the fact that you're like, I don't really remember Ronald getting out.

SPEAKER_04 38:09

I do remember this. But I could tell you all about there was some sass about that in our house. Just a lot of like sort of, you know, eye rolling and okay. You know, I don't know. So that's I do remember that. It's a little ridiculous. And the fact that it was presented like so matter-of-factly as the truth of things, like this is advising in an official capacity. Yes. I mean, the eye rolling in my household was profound. Yes. You could hear that from far away. So it was awesome. Yeah. It's pretty brilliant. But I, you know, I mean, Rasputin, hey, worked out really well. Did it though?

unknown 38:50

No.

SPEAKER_06 38:51

I mean, every I mean, I'm just in my Russian history, which albeit I admit, is a little limited. But I don't think it worked out. That's a fair way.

SPEAKER_04 39:01

We all need a good mystic here and there. But whatever works, it gave her a sense of safety and security in a very out of control situation. Freaked out wife. And it was important to her before that. It wasn't like she just picked it up that day. She'd had a psychic for a while. So we just didn't get the inside scoop until then.

SPEAKER_06 39:25

No disrespect to all of the psychics. Speaking of those red lines that you can like, you know, pin to the wall. I wonder if you could pin a line between Nancy Reagan and like Dion Warwick and the whole like pick up the phone and get online psychic help. Oh, I don't know. I feel like this is a future episode.

SPEAKER_04 39:50

That's another future episode. Cause that was a whole thing. Anything where you were spending$1.99 a minute online in the 80s, unhinged. Correct. That is an insane amount of time.

SPEAKER_05 40:04

Oh, we are gonna make we're going deep. We should do that. That's good.

SPEAKER_06 40:08

So like Nancy's freaked out, Nancy's got her psychic, but it actually changed uh right. It actually changed the way that America operated. So the Secret Service re rewrote their entire playbook around what had happened. Okay. So originally the idea was to surround the president with bodies, and then after he gets shot, obviously the bodies didn't really do the work that they were supposed to do, I guess. The bodies hit the floor.

unknown 40:36

Oh God.

SPEAKER_06 40:37

So the focus then became to the um the cover and evacuate immediately. So like the throw them down, blah, blah, blah. Get them in a car, get him out of there. Right. Um, the Hilton driveway. Yeah, right. Duck and cover. The Hilton Driveway where it happened, uh, nerd earned a nickname after that called the the Hinckley Hilton. Oh, wait. Oh, oh comfortable. Got it, got it. It is to this day, though, still considered the safest hotel in DC for presidents. Oh, right on. Figured it the fuck out, I guess. Yeah. They knew how to lock that shit down. So hospitals were also super unprepared at the time for things like this. Oh.

SPEAKER_04 41:27

When a person of import is injured in a random.

SPEAKER_06 41:30

And then comes walking in, dripping blood everywhere, practically bleeding out.

SPEAKER_02 41:35

Candy striper at the front desk.

SPEAKER_06 41:37

Right.

SPEAKER_02 41:38

Hello, Mr. President.

SPEAKER_06 41:40

Candy cramps, candy quality. So the so the government decides they they started uh that they needed to develop trauma teams around this to be ready and have portable equipment that now travels everywhere with the president. Oh. So he doesn't just have the nuke football. He's got this trauma stuff with him wherever he goes.

SPEAKER_04 42:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 42:05

So wherever a president goes today, there's a mini ER and a supply of his own blood. Well, not his own blood, like that blood type or whatever. That is that is close by. So you can start to do that.

SPEAKER_04 42:19

Just bring your own blood round refrigerated case.

SPEAKER_06 42:23

What's in your backpack, Leslie? My own blood. Oh, but for years.

SPEAKER_04 42:29

And this is my trauma team.

SPEAKER_06 42:30

You probably have to like get a refresh now and then if you don't use it.

SPEAKER_04 42:34

Does it go bad? I assume. How long can you keep that in a mini cooler?

SPEAKER_06 42:38

I've watched a lot of vampire movies. I think you have to keep it cold. Okay. So I don't know if it goes bad, but I know you gotta keep it cold.

SPEAKER_04 42:45

So I'm curious now, like, if if we had like a staff researcher. We'll get one of those. Uh like what the change what changes were made in response to, I mean, I know some of them, but to Kennedy's shooting, because of I'm just thinking of the medical, like it took this shooting to initiate that kind of like, mind you, Kennedy was pretty fucking dead. But that that didn't prompt a like, oh, I know there were lots of other changes. Well, I think that stopped the whole open car driving around, right? Like well, yes, that was a big one. That the medical response, I guess when someone is just dead dead, they aren't thinking about the medical response. That was prompted in the 80s. Yeah. So I just think that's fascinating.

How the Shooting Changed America

SPEAKER_06 43:32

Yeah. Oh, gosh. So that, so obviously the medical stuff changed. It also changed things that were happening in the courts. Oh, oh, say more. So Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Okay. And that pissed everybody off. Uh. Because they were like, dude knew exactly what he was doing. Uh-huh. He was trying to like impress Jody. You know, that's such horseshit. Sure. So in 1984, the qu the Congress actually tightened up the insanity defense. Okay. So not just anybody could like claim it in a federal case. You had to really prove insanity in a federal case. Okay. So that was a big change. And then there was James Brady. Sure. Yes. The Brady laws. Right. So he survived. He had permanent disabilities. He was shot in the head.

SPEAKER_07 44:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 44:21

Um, his wife, Sarah Brady, then became a powerhouse behind the Brady bill and created background checks for handguns in 1993. So Reagan. Yes. A Republican. Hello. Endorsed it. Amazing. Yes. Back when common sense made sense. Yeah. Yes. So he broke with the conservative base and was like, yeah, gun law is not a bad idea.

SPEAKER_04 44:46

Having having just experienced that myself, not me personally. I'm speaking as if I'm Reagan. Having just experienced that myself. I don't have a Reagan impression.

SPEAKER_06 44:57

Wait, Tim does. Oh no. Talk about jelly beans, Tim. No disrespect.

SPEAKER_04 45:03

Oh, all the disrespect. To Reagan. Do it. Do it. He's giggling. He can't do it.

SPEAKER_00 45:10

Well, I really like the purple ones. They're my favorite. And I said, Mr. Gorbachev, keep your hands off my purple jelly beans.

SPEAKER_04 45:23

Well done, sir.

SPEAKER_06 45:24

Nicely done. I don't think Reagan's getting enough sex if his jelly beans are purple purple.

SPEAKER_02 45:29

Oh oops. Somehow I think that they were pretty freaky.

SPEAKER_04 45:36

You think? I do. You think Nancy and Ronnie were. I do. I do think so.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

There are some reports from her contemporaries back in her Hollywood days.

SPEAKER_04 45:47

Oh yeah. I think she was a good time in the old bedroom. Do you think they had a room? Special room. Maybe. They could have had special friends too. Oh, I just swapping. There was a story that indicated that she could like suck the chrome off of the truck hitch, basically. For those of us who know what that means. You lucky bastard. Who knows? The pressures of public life. Um rest in peace, both of them. I hope they're having a grand old time together.

SPEAKER_06 46:23

Right. Yep. Reagan assassination, not just an attempt at a political story. Media frenzy. You know, the president joking around, turning turning into a myth himself. Sure. Right? Like a man of myth. Devonron. An actress, poor Jody caught in this freaking nightmare. So much drama. First lady and her psychics. Secret service tactics changed. Big darn deal. Tougher insanity laws. All of that came because somebody should make a movie. Oh, wait, I think they did.

SPEAKER_04 46:59

Did they? I didn't. I'm sure there are movies. I feel like there is. I think somebody should take the storyline and just make like a different movie and pretend like it doesn't have anything to do with this. Like it's just like a totally different, I don't know, different storyline. Like you just transpose it and then just act like you don't know what they're talking about.

SPEAKER_05 47:17

I don't know what you're talking about. What? Really?

SPEAKER_04 47:19

Ronald Who? That's wild. I don't I just made this up. This storyline. This script came from my imagination. Profound. Yeah. So you remember being at home?

SPEAKER_06 47:34

I do. Yeah. Like I remember, yes. And I remember like the the just the couple of days after that, just the news, of course, everywhere. Okay. And I don't remember the misinformation, like what was true and what wasn't true, because I probably wasn't really paying that much of attention. Sure. You know? But I but you know, that whole like the world will never be the same, kind of feel.

SPEAKER_04 47:58

Absolutely. Totally gonna be the same. But and how short our memories are, right? Like these are moments that are pivotal in our lives that we remember that should be remembered forever. Yeah. Like our memories are quite short and now focused, I think. Um nice job. Yeah, digging that up.

SPEAKER_06 48:21

That was uh that was my wacky memory of that's my ute.

SPEAKER_04 48:26

Um, does uh did you ever talk to your mom about it? Like, does she remember what happened?

SPEAKER_06 48:31

I just I should just have a conversation with her and ask her, like, what do you remember about all this?

SPEAKER_04 48:36

I would be curious. Do it and give us a little update and see if she like remembers something. Oh, I'm because I'm sure like it was because she was in radio then or was she at some yeah, no, I think she was in radio then.

SPEAKER_06 48:50

I think that's right, yeah. So they probably were like breaking news, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:55

So let's see if if Terry knows anything, yeah, and she might be like, What? I don't know what you're talking about. Well, that would be the best answer ever. That I that is not an impression of you. Who? Mama. I Ronald, who? I don't, I don't actually know her voice well enough to do an impression. I probably sound a lot bigger than that. No disrespect. That's awesome. Well done, ma'am. Uh yeah, we'll have to do a few of these. These will be a good time. Yes, let's do you next. We'll do that. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 49:27

Let's do you next.

SPEAKER_04 49:28

Hey, hey. We will do my next. We'll do my story on our next episode. Yeah, let's do that. We'll do a little one. Yeah. So um, I yeah, I will just totally save all of mine for next time we talk. All right, I like it.

SPEAKER_06 49:44

Um, hey, have an amazing rest of your weekend. You too. All right. We'll be back.

SPEAKER_04 49:51

We will be back with more traumatic fun from our childhoods. Gen X Women are sick of this shit. You have been listening to Gen X Women Are Sick of This Shit. Hey Megan. Hey Leslie. What do people do if they want to find us?

SPEAKER_06 50:09

Well, we have a website that people can find us on, and that is GenXwomenpod.com. We also have a Facebook page. We have an Instagram account as well. We have a YouTube account where we put YouTube shorts and other little tidbits up there. We have a TikTok account.

SPEAKER_04 50:30

I don't talk the tick.

SPEAKER_06 50:32

I you know TikTok. I I barely talk the tick, but I did put a TikTok account.

SPEAKER_04 50:40

That's okay though. We need to know how to make that work.

SPEAKER_06 50:44

Can people buy merch? They absolutely can. We have a merch store on the website itself. And we also have an Etsy store too. So it's pretty easy to find. It's just Gen X Women. Etsy.

SPEAKER_04 50:57

And if you are listening to this podcast, presumably you found it somewhere. And while you're there, give us a review. Yeah. Let us know what you think. Throw some stars at us. That'd be great. Egg one, two, three, four, or five. Ooh, five. Maybe.

SPEAKER_06 51:14

And and also make sure that you are hitting subscribe so that you're notified whenever a new episode breaks. Most important. We also have a five minutes of fame that I think we should tell people about it too.

Closing Thoughts and Next Episode Preview

SPEAKER_04 51:25

Hell yes. We want to know your stories, your five minutes of fame stories. You can send those stories in on the website. Or you can call 1888 Gen X COD and leave your story for us and we will play it live in our next episode.

SPEAKER_06 51:42

Yep. We'll listen to it on a little red phone, just like Batman. That'd be great.

SPEAKER_05 51:52

I think that's it. I think great.