Hello and welcome to this day, a history podcast from Radiotopia. My name is Jody Avergan.

This day, April 22nd, 1978, former First Lady Betty Ford has been admitted to Long Beach Naval

Hospital in California. She and her husband are in the facility

and out front of the cameras and reporters, a spokesperson reads a statement from her that says,

quote, I have found I am not only addicted to the medication I have been taking for my arthritis,

but also to alcohol. We want to thank our listener, Adam, for suggesting we do

this story. This is the moment that Betty Ford enters a rehab center and perhaps more importantly

decides to tell the world about it and open up about it because it is hard to overstate

how rare and significant this kind of public admission was in 1978.

These kinds of addictions simply weren't talked about in typical circles, but Betty Ford

was no typical public figure.

We will talk about her addiction, but this is also a chance to get to know a really fascinating

character or first lady known for her candor, for sharing her emotions and personal

life, and this moment certainly fits into that larger story. So here to discuss, as always,

Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley. Hello there.

Hello, Jody. Hey there. Before we get into getting to know Betty Ford, do you have thoughts

in that larger context of just how much, especially for the generation that she comes from, both alcoholism was a real problem, but also just something not discussed for that post-war generation.

It was a huge problem. I mean, you know, I hate to take it right to Mad Men, but

that level of drinking, that idea that you would drink over lunch, particularly in like

upper middle class white society, you would have a cocktail before dinner and maybe you would

have a cocktail after dinner. And people were dealing with alcoholism, with pill addiction, all kinds of things. But it just, there wasn't a public conversation and there really wasn't a public conversation for women who were dealing with it. A man might be talked about as a drunk, somebody like Joe McCarthy, like people would talk about his alcohol addiction.

For women, I think it was more hidden. Oh, no question. And I think we don't talk about just

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