3. Infamy
The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor - an awkward moment for the domestic intelligence chief. Emily Maitlis on the story of arguably the most important figure in the 20th-century US.
The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor creates an awkward moment for the domestic intelligence chief. J Edgar Hoover built then ran the FBI for almost five decades. He turned it from a bureaucratic backwater into a premier crime fighting and counterintelligence force. In the process, he arguably became America鈥檚 most powerful man. He鈥檚 been dead 50 years and still his shadow looms over the US. Today鈥檚 fears of a 鈥榙eep state鈥� - of unaccountable government officials working against the public in their own interest 鈥� can be traced back to him. His job was to enforce the law...but he would not always be bound by it.
Presenter: Emily Maitlis
Producer: Neal Razzell
Researcher: Louise Byrne
Production Coordinator: Janet Staples
Sound: James Beard
Editor: Hugh Levinson
Last on
Broadcast
- Wed 15 Jun 2022 13:45麻豆社 Radio 4
Podcast
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The People vs J Edgar Hoover
An examination of how the first director of the FBI's iron grip still permeates America.
