Press Play with Madeleine Brand

The president’s health: How much does the public get to know?

For more than 100 years, the White House has gone out of its way to obfuscate or outright deceive the public about the president’s medical condition. In 1893, President Grover Cleveland had secret oral cancer surgery aboard his friend’s yacht.

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By Madeleine Brand • Oct 5, 2020 • 8m Listen

For more than 100 years, the White House has gone out of its way to obfuscate or outright deceive the public about the president’s medical condition. In 1893, President Grover Cleveland had secret oral cancer surgery aboard his friend’s yacht. Throughout the 20th century, presidents Wilson, Roosevelt, and Kennedy all concealed the scope and extent of their illnesses.

Now the U.S. is undergoing the most serious presidential health crisis since Ronald Reagan was shot just months into his first term in 1981.

Madeleine Brand
Host, 'Press Play'
Sarah Sweeney
Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW
Michell Eloy
Line Editor, Press Play
Amy Ta
Digital News & Culture Editor
Tim Naftali
presidential historian, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

The president’s health: How much does the public get to know?

For more than 100 years, the White House has gone out of its way to obfuscate or outright deceive the public about the president’s medical condition. In 1893, President Grover Cleveland had secret oral cancer surgery aboard his friend’s yacht.

Share

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

The president’s health: How much does the public get to know?

For more than 100 years, the White House has gone out of its way to obfuscate or outright deceive the public about the president’s medical condition. In 1893, President Grover Cleveland had secret oral cancer surgery aboard his friend’s yacht.

Share