On this episode, we talk with veteran journalist James Kirchick about his new book, "Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington." He explains how government officials who were gay became the focus of investigations, campaigns to out them, and even lost everything. He shows how Washington attracted gay men and women who hoped to serve their country, but who found that it was both the most dangerous place for them to be, but in some ways, the most liberating. He organizes his book chronologically by president, so we also get a real sense of how different administrations reacted to the prospect that gay public servants were among them. Kirchick explains how that reveals their broader character. From FDR to JFK to Nixon to Reagan, this is a discussion that will pull the veil off an aspect of life in Washington that has seldom been reported. Sadly, we will never know how many patriots never shied away from serving their country over the fear that their deepest secret could be exposed.

James Kirchick has a website at https://jameskirchick.com

He is on social media at https://twitter.com/jkirchick

More information on his book from Henry Holt and Co. can be found at https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627792332/secretcity

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