On 13 July 1985, Vice President George H. W. Bush became Acting President of the United States for approximately eight hours whilst Ronald Reagan underwent surgery under general anaesthetic. It was the first time the Twenty-Fifth Amendment’s provisions for voluntary transfer of power had been used in practice, if not technically invoked. Bush spent his brief tenure playing golf in Maine, a masterclass in constitutional restraint. The episode also explores a failed 2003 French intelligence operation to rescue hostage Íngrid Betancourt from FARC guerrillas, the 645 CE Isshi Incident that reshaped Japanese imperial politics through assassination and reform, and the 1925 discovery of the Venus of Dolní Věstonice, one of the oldest known ceramic objects in the world, dating back some 26,000 to 31,000 years. From presidential procedures to ice age artistry, the thirteenth of July offers a cross-section of human decision-making at its most careful, most violent, and most enduring.

• Intro What happens when the most powerful office in the world goes under general anaesthetic? The answer involves paperwork, a golf course in Maine, and one very calm vice president.
• The Day Bush Was President (Sort Of) On 13 July 1985, Ronald Reagan signed a carefully worded letter transferring presidential authority to George H. W. Bush for eight hours during surgery. It was the first practical use of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment’s voluntary transfer provisions, though Reagan was careful not to formally invoke it. Bush played golf.
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• The French Rescue That Became a Scandal On 13 July 2003, French intelligence aborted a rescue operation for hostage Íngrid Betancourt, held by FARC guerrillas in Colombia. When details leaked, it became a political scandal. Betancourt was eventually freed in 2008.
• The Isshi Incident On 13 July 645 CE, Soga no Iruka was assassinated at court in Japan, triggering the Isshi Incident and subsequent Taika Reforms. The conspirators included Nakatomi no Kamatari, whose reward was the Fujiwara surname. The Fujiwara clan would dominate Japanese politics for centuries.
• The Venus of Dolní Věstonice On 13 July 1925, archaeologists in Czechoslovakia unearthed a ceramic figurine dating to between 26,000 and 31,000 years ago. The Venus of Dolní Věstonice is one of the oldest known ceramic objects in the world, proof that humans were firing clay millennia before the advent of agriculture or writing.
• Outro The thirteenth of July reminds us that human capacity for care, craft, and survival spans from ice age figurines to constitutional golf games.

• https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/letter-speaker-house-representatives-and-president-pro-tempore-senate-july-13-1985
• https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/when-ronald-reagan-had-a-colon-surgery-the-25th-amendment-was-almost-invoked
• https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/14/us/reagan-transfers-power-to-bush-for-8-hour-period-of-incapacity.html
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10520780
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/03/colombia.france
• https://www.liberation.fr/international/2003/07/17/ingrid-betancourt-la-dgse-aurait-tente-une-operation-de-sauvetage_439638/
• https://www.britannica.com/event/Taika-era-reforms
• https://www.worldhistory.org/Fujiwara_Clan/
• https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x13408
• https://www.moravianmuseum.cz/en/dolni-vestonice
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440398903263