The breadth of AEI activities under the leadership of William J. Baroody Sr. is striking. Baroody, Sr. served as AEI president from 1962 to 1978. His many accomplishments included inaugurating a series of public policy programs in October, 1970. They were timely, face-to-face discussions of major issues by authorities of differing views. 

These programs were made available free of charge to education and commercial television stations and cable systems throughout the United States. Audio tapes of the shows were broadcast by radio stations and aired over the Mutual Broadcasting System network. The first 42 shows were produced and distributed under the name “Washington Debates for the 1970s.” Starting in March 1975, the entire series was distributed as “Public Policy Forums.” At their peak distribution, the AEI-produced programs were sent to 135 stations of the Mutual Broadcasting System and 115 of the American Forces networks. Large cassettes were mailed to each of these stations like the original cassettes pictured below.

The topics of the programming remind us of the durability of Washington preoccupations. For example, one forum from the 1970s discussed National Health Insurance; another the role of Congress in foreign policy. A series of three broadcasts looked at the energy crisis, and one was titled “Can Congress Control Spending?” Truly evergreen topics on Capitol Hill. A particularly interesting debate, given today’s social climate, examined the modern corporation and social responsibility. 

But not every discussion was your typical government policy debate. There were also some unusual ones, including a discussion in 1976 with John Updike and Salma Jayyusi, a Palestinian writer, poet, and translator, titled “A Cultural Dialogue.”

Baroody, Sr. firmly believed in the competition of ideas, and many of these programs were debates. This dedication to respectful discussion lives on among our scholars.

Many of AEI’s debate series are available on our historical YouTube channel. We encourage you to check it out and watch some of these terrific videos.

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