The Carter Years | Homecoming | 3
American History Tellers
Wondery
4.7 • 18.3K Ratings
🗓️ 23 April 2025
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In his final year in office, President Jimmy Carter was forced to navigate crisis after crisis, as American hostages remained captive in Iran and news broke of his brother Billy’s shady deal-making with Libya. Despite losing the 1980 election to Republican Ronald Reagan in a landslide, Carter quickly embarked on a remarkable post-presidential career devoted to advancing peace, combating disease, and promoting democracy around the world. When Carter died in late 2024 at age 100, he left a legacy of service that reshaped what it meant to be a former President in the modern era.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Picture this. You're transported back in time, witnessing history unfold right before your eyes, without any modern day interruptions. |
| 0:07.3 | That's the magic of Wondery Plus. |
| 0:09.2 | Immerse yourself in the stories that shaped our nation with ad-free episodes, early access to new seasons, and exclusive bonus content. |
| 0:16.1 | Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts and experience American history like never before. |
| 0:34.9 | Imagine it's late afternoon on July 14, 1980. You're an editor at the Washington Bureau of the New York Times, |
| 0:41.9 | and you're sitting in your office, anxiously waiting for one of your reporters to update you on their investigation into Jimmy Carter's younger brother, Billy. It's potentially an explosive story, and it's scheduled to appear on tomorrow's front page. |
| 0:55.7 | Already, you're nervous about the impact it could have on President Carter and his shaky |
| 1:00.1 | re-election campaign. |
| 1:01.9 | The reporter barges into your office wide-eyed and out of breath. |
| 1:06.1 | You motion for him to have a seat. |
| 1:07.9 | Well, what'd you learn? |
| 1:09.4 | I talked to a confidential source who confirmed that |
| 1:11.9 | not only did Billy Carter make two trips to Libya, but he's admitted to the Justice Department |
| 1:16.3 | that Gaddafi's people paid him at least $220,000. God, what for? Allegedly part of a loan |
| 1:22.8 | to help him set up a business selling Libyan crude oil. But there's more. Billy also admits he met with Libyan |
| 1:28.9 | officials in Georgia, and he accepted all sorts of gifts, jewelry, clothes, and, I don't know, some fancy |
| 1:35.5 | ceremonial sword? A sword. Is there any evidence the president knew about this? Well, that's still |
| 1:42.0 | unclear, but it's obvious the Libyans were using Billy to get to his brother. What's the Justice Department planning to do about this? Well, that's still unclear, but it's obvious the Libyans were using |
| 1:44.3 | Billy to get to his brother. What's the Justice Department planning to do about it? Well, they just |
| 1:49.1 | filed a formal complaint against Billy for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They say he |
| 1:54.0 | failed to report services he rendered to the Libyan government since 1978. It looks like the Senate |
| 1:59.6 | Judiciary Committee is going to launch an investigation |
... |
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