Reagan’s Drug War: Are You Better Off Than You Were 43 Years Ago?

This week, we’re finally taking on Reagan and his starring role in the War on Drugs—there’s so much to unpack, we had to make it a two-parter. Reagan tackled the drug problem with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, ramping up incarcerations for nonviolent offenses and turning the fight against drugs into a military operation. In part one, we dive into Iran-Contra, Regan’s "October Surprise," Oliver North’s CV, and Freeway Ricky Ross—talking about how it all helped fuel the crack epidemic of the '80s.

Follow The Show:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fraudstersLPN

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraudsterslpn/

Discord: https://discord.gg/WRZ8zgusPT

Website: https://fraudsters.fm/

Follow the Hosts: https://www.instagram.com/seenanow/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/justin_williams_comedy

https://twitter.com/arielleaty

Sources for this episode:

https://www.brown.edu/Research/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/v-on16.php[↩︎](about:blank#fnref1)

https://millercenter.org/president/reagan/essays/reagan-1981-firstlady[↩︎](about:blank#fnref2)

https://www.newspapers.com/image/313590547/[↩︎](about:blank#fnref3)

https://www.reaganfoundation.org/ronald-reagan/nancy-reagan/her-causes/[↩︎](about:blank#fnref4)

https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/23/world/from-an-iranian-middleman-his-side-of-the-story.html[↩︎](about:blank#fnref5)

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-was-iran-contra[↩︎](about:blank#fnref6)

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4475045/user-clip-neat-idea[↩︎](about:blank#fnref7)

https://theconversation.com/ronald-reagans-westminster-speech-why-it-is-still-relevant-40-years-later-183684[↩︎](about:blank#fnref8)

https://www.brown.edu/Research/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/iran-contra-affairs.php[↩︎](about:blank#fnref9)

https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB2/storm.htm[↩︎](about:blank#fnref10)

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-and-fall-of-ricky-ross/[↩︎](about:blank#fnref11)

Clip Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip-tN81yrWg&t=33s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWEm6g0iQNI&t=2506s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Km3dx7wppA&t=49s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld2KOv_zWWw&t=23s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLWcgt55sgQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct3UxB696D4&t=87s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhtE70ucKOY&t=332s

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Fraudsters ad-free. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.