logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2020
10m 10s

With the president on 9/11

Bbc World Service
About this episode

On September 11 2001, President George W. Bush was visiting an elementary school in Florida as two planes hit the World Trade Center. In an image that would become iconic, the White House chief of staff, Andrew Card, broke the news to the president by whispering in his ear as he listened to schoolchildren practising their reading. In interviews from 2011, Andrew Card recalls the moment that transformed President Bush’s presidency and the course of recent history.

PHOTO: President George W. Bush shortly after learning of the 9/11 attacks (AFP/Getty Images)

Up next
Apr 2025
The Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese VietCong guerrillas built a vast network of tunnels in the south of the country as part of the insurgency against the South Vietnamese government and their American allies. The tunnel network was a key base and shelter for the North Vietna ... Show More
9m 43s
Sep 4
Star Trek: America's first interracial TV kiss
In 1968, American television boldly went where it had never gone before, broadcasting what's claimed to be the country's first interracial kiss in a TV programme. The moment of passion was between Captain Kirk of the starship USS Enterprise and communications officer Lieutenant U ... Show More
10m 47s
Apr 2026
The world's first perfume archive
On 26 April 1990, the world's first perfume archive opened in Versailles, France.The idea behind L'Osmothèque was to create a collection of scents and preserve their memory.Perfumer Jean Claude Ellena was one of the team who created it.He speaks to Jen Dale about how L'Osmothèque ... Show More
10m 6s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2021
9/11 Pt. 5: Warning Signs
How much did the U.S. government actually know about the 9/11 attacks before they happened? Was President George W. Bush angling for war since his first day in office? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 
42m 24s
Oct 2020
Introducing: The Fault Line: Bush, Blair and Iraq
On September 11th 2001, as he faced incalculable losses after the terrorist attacks that day, President George W Bush made a call to his greatest international ally: British Prime Minister Tony Blair. 18 months later, Bush and Blair led a coalition into a war that went horribly w ... Show More
5m 58s
Sep 2020
Introducing... The Fault Line: Bush, Blair and Iraq
On September 11th 2001, as he faced incalculable losses after the terrorist attacks that day, President George W Bush made a call to his greatest international ally: British Prime Minister Tony Blair. 18 months later, Bush and Blair led a coalition into a war that went horribly w ... Show More
3m 14s
Sep 2021
9/11: Looking Back, and Looking Forward
As a Senator for New York on September 11th, 2001, Hillary witnessed the devastation at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Afterwards, she was deeply involved in the response and recovery efforts.   For her, every anniversary of 9/11 is an opp ... Show More
51m 6s
Sep 2021
Listen: How The Country Remembered 9/11, Two Decades Later
There were remembrance ceremonies in New York City, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon. The reading of the victim's names — there were nearly 3,000 — took hours. Former President George W. Bush and Vice President Harris spoke. And, our reporters discuss the political legacy of the ... Show More
15m 45s
Sep 2021
9/11: Rescue on the Water
September 11, 2001. On a clear and sunny day, Captain Richard Thornton is piloting his ferry boat back and forth between New Jersey and New York City. But when he hears an airplane flying too low to the ground, he knows something is wrong. After the World Trade Center’s North Tow ... Show More
26m 48s
Sep 2022
Shawn & Remembering 9/11/01
In this Episode, we take a look back 22 years ago & remember the day of 9/11. When the images of planes flying into buildings in New York City. The thick black smoke in New York City against the crystal blue sky backdrop. How that horrific day changed everything in America & so f ... Show More
15m 5s