Letter From America By Alistair Cooke: The Bush Sr Years (1989-1992)

Why Kansas City is no longer a unique microcosm of America, and ways in which Americans are changing their diet in an attempt to prolong their lives.

An examination of the recent surge in American public interest in foreign affairs, a cut to defence spending, and the threat posed by Mikhail Gorbachev.

The politeness of American crowds, the dismissal of John McEnroe from the Australian Open, and Gorbachev's plan to make a profit from peace, as discussed by Alistair Cooke.

The invasion of Panama, the opinion of the American public of their tax dollars being spent abroad, and the reasons behind the shrinking of the foreign aid budget.

A summary of how the American family has changed in the past 30 years and an explanation of why the prevalence of the microwave is a great indicator of the transformation.

The administration of Ronald Reagan and the upheaval of the American tax and welfare systems during the 1980s, as discussed by Alistair Cooke.

With General Noriega of Panama captured by US forces, Alistair Cooke chronicles the American dealings with Noriega and the relationship between the two countries.

A review of the events of 1989, including the revolutions in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania, the invasion of Panama, and Soviet-Chinese summits.

American intervention in Panama, the initial failure to capture General Manuel Noriega, and the Bush administration's attempt to find legal grounding for an invasion.

Vice-President Dan Quayle's wariness of the Soviet Union, the aftermath of the earthquake in California and the rise of the shopping mall, as discussed by Alistair Cooke.

Give the Communist masses what they really want - a delivery of consumerism. This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to 1989. It was restored by the BBC in 2014.

A profile of American revolutionary Thomas Paine, the rebellions in Czechoslovakia and Hungary, and President Bush's reluctance to comment on the uprisings.

Hurricane Hugo and icy winds in the north, the effect of the Galileo spacecraft on the weather, and the great cranberry scare of 1959.

The opening of the Berlin Wall, the origins of Democracy as the system of government in America, and Gorbachev's warning that Germany will not inevitably turn to capitalism.

The 1989 state and local elections, the defeat of Proposition S denying homosexuals to be recognised as domestic partners, and the vote against the abandonment of Candlestick Park.

Television coverage of the 1989 Californian earthquake, the birth of the docudrama, and the bill allowing homosexuals to register as married couples in San Francisco.

The devastation caused by the 1989 Californian earthquake, the effects on tourism in the region, and the strain a natural disaster places on the federal budget.

Citizen volunteers help as San Francisco is shattered by fatal earthquake. This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to 1989. It was restored by the BBC in 2014.

The failure of the coup against General Manuel Noriega of Panama, the involvement of the Bush administration in the attempted takeover and the possibility of American intervention.

The adoption of emission controls in California, and Senator Jesse Helms' objection to the work of Robert Mapplethorpe being funded by the National Endowment for Art.