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A History Of October Surprises (audio)

Unexpected events late in a presidential election year can be decisive. This hour, a history of so-called “October surprises.”

As you'll hear in this conversation, the final days before election day have a long, divisive and complicated history. For example, in 2014, Jimmy Carter told a CNBC reporter that if he would have been able to free American hostages in Iran days before the 1980 election his chances of defeating Ronald Reagan would have increased.

Guests:

Tim Walch, director emeritus of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum

Tim Naftali, clinical associate professor of history and public service at New York University

Read entire article at Iowa Public Radio