Before he was helping plan the Vietnam War, Ellsberg was working at Rand Corporation as a nuclear war planner. In the late 1950’s and early 60’s, he came across a classified policy document that called for killing a fifth of the human population. “This, to me, was pure evil.” When he was facing trial for releasing the Pentagon Papers, he held another trove of secret documents on the Pentagon’s plans for nuclear war. His plan was to release these, most likely from prison. But in a strange twist, a natural disaster interrupted his plans.
In the series finale, the whistleblower leaks documents on U.S. nuclear policy in the Taiwan Straits written by his colleague Morton Halperin at the height of the Cold War. The documents, embedded below, are still considered classified, and could put him at risk of prison time.
This podcast series is part of a wider collaboration with UMass Amherst and GBH, including a two-day conference presented by GroundTruth and UMass Amherst on “Truth, Dissent and the Legacy of Daniel Ellsberg,” featuring a conversation between the Pentagon Papers whistleblower himself and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Learn more here: http://umass.edu/ellsberg
On the Ground with Report for America - Trailer
The Authoritarian's Playbook: Bonus Episode - Guardrails of Democracy
The Authoritarian's Playbook: Eroding Truth in America
The Authoritarian's Playbook: Dividing and Conquering in Poland
The Authoritarian's Playbook: Exploiting Religion in India
The Authoritarian's Playbook: Rewriting History in Hungary
The Authoritarian's Playbook: Undermining Institutions in Colombia
The Authoritarian's Playbook: Targeting Outsiders in Italy
The Authoritarian's Playbook: Weaponizing Fear in Brazil
Democracy Undone: Series Intro
Unheard in Appalachia
New American Songbook: For My Ayeeyo
Memorial Day Special - The Eleventh Hour
The End of Days - Part 3 - A New Jerusalem - Shaping Mideast Policy
The End of Days - Part 2 - The Armies of Heaven - Inside the Movement
The End of Days: How Christian Zionism is Transforming US Policy in the Middle East
The Eleventh Hour
War Children
What Ever Happened to Zika?
The Dancing Ghosts of Duffy's Cut
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
MASTERPIECE Studio
Molly of Denali
Innovation Hub
The Victory Garden | PBS
Detours