Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, author, and former Columbia Journalism School dean (to us!), Steve Coll, takes us deep into the conspiracy-plagued mind of Saddam Hussein, the subject of his latest book The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq. We go deep into the wonky journalism weeds — including what it took for Coll to get his hands on the Saddam tapes. And we ask our former dean the eternal question: Is J-School worth it?

-What it takes to put a book like this together [0:00-19:15]

-The Saddam tapes [19:16 -23:46]

-Inside the conspiracy rabbit hole [23:47-29:52

-Behind the conflicting perceptions [29:53-41:12]

-Oil, Israel, and failed policies [41:13-49:46]

-The U.S.-Israel relationship [49:47--53:32]

-How the media is covering the conflict [53:33-57:43]

-Objectivity and the rifts in journalism today [57:44-1:06:44]

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