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