Real Time 1960s

The Soviets explode the most powerful weapon ever created; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gets a mixed reception in Great Britain; President Kennedy hits the campaign trail; former Vice President Nixon gives Governor Rockefeller some advice; and a very good week for the man who caught Roger Maris's 61st home run ball. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein.

Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support!

President Kennedy speaks out on the Berlin crisis; General Maxwell Taylor is headed to South Vietnam; Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie charges racial discrimination in Kansas City; Open warfare between rival factions of the New York underworld; Chico Marx is dead. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein.

Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support!

Sixty years after "The Hustler" was released, Joe Rubenstein reveals personal observations and fascinating facts about the production, director, and cast of this riveting drama, starring Paul Newman, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, and Jackie Gleason. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support!

In this Episode:

• Director's background [2:18]
• Synopsis [8:07]
• Newman's reaction to script [14:05]
• What Scott "said" to Laurie in party scene [18:25]
• Newman's performance [25:13]
• Why Scott used middle initial [26:54]
• Why Scott rejected Oscar nomination [28:56]
• Did Gleason hustle Newman? [35:33]
• Music [36:58]

Links:

• Episode Transcript
• Piper Laurie's Autobiography
• George C. Scott's Biography
• Podcast Website

In this second installment of a two-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein takes an in-depth look at the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion and its many repercussions. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to pt. 1

In this Episode:

• What went wrong [1:44]
• Supporters and detractors [9:06]
• When & why RFK became the de facto V.P. [12:32]
• When & why JFK installed a taping system [13:11]
• CIA plans to assassinate Fidel Castro [17:03]
• What JFK knew about those plans [21:38]
• JFK's political mop-up strategy [26:25]
• Why JFK's poll numbers went up [31:22]

Links:

• Episode Transcript
• Podcast Website

In this first installment of a two-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein explores the evolution of the C.I.A. plan to invade Cuba and topple Premier Fidel Castro. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to pt. 2

In this Episode:

• A 1954 model for the Bay of Pigs invasion [1:43]
• The increasing friction between the U.S. and Castro [6:16]
• How Cuba impacted the 1960 presidential campaign [15:31]
• A fresh look at JFK's foreign policy approach [21:34]
• The pressure on JFK to invade Cuba [24:38]

Links:

• Episode Transcript
• Podcast Website

In this second installment of a 2-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein discusses 3 of Steve McQueen's best films of the '60s -- "Nevada Smith" (1965), "The Sand Pebbles" (1966), and "Bullitt" (1968) -- and then ranks his top 10 films overall. Tons of behind-the-scenes trivia and analysis. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to Pt. 1

In this Episode:

• "Nevada Smith" [1:25]
• "The Sand Pebbles" [10:06]
• "Bullitt" [23:26]
• McQueen's top 10 films overall [38:38]

Links:

• Episode Transcript
• Podcast Website

In this first installment of a two-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein explores the action-packed early life of Steve McQueen and discusses three of his best films of the 1960s: "The Magnificent Seven," "The Great Escape," and "The Cincinnati Kid." Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to pt. 2

In this Episode:

• McQueen as first crossover star from TV to movies [0:49]
• Troubled youth [5:26]
• Merchant Marine, Marine Corps [12:16]
• New York [16:28]
• Marriage, Hollywood [20:45]
• "Wanted: Dead or Alive" [23:35]
• "The Magnificent Seven" [26:20]
• "The Great Escape" [33:01]
• "The Cincinnati Kid" [40:27]

Links:

• Episode Transcript
• Podcast Website

In this final installment of a two-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein tells the story of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann's capture by Israeli operatives in Argentina and the Nazi war criminal's trial, sentence, and execution. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to pt. 1

In this Episode:

• The Israeli plan to kidnap Eichmann [2:13]
• The snatch, holding him prisoner, transporting him to Israel [6:58]
• Trial, testimony, sentencing [19:15]
• The 1942 Lidice massacre [27:34]
• Eichmann's spiritual counselor [32:17]
• Execution [33:28]
• Sixties books, films, and TV shows about WWII & the Holocaust [42:04]
• Why discussing these things continues to be necessary [46:27]

Links:

• Episode Transcript
• WWII Documentary "The World at War"
• "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," by William Shirer
• "Night," by Elie Wiesel
• Podcast Website

In this first installment of a two-part episode, host Joe Rubenstein explores the life and crimes of Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann, his years as a fugitive in Germany and Argentina, and the effort to bring this Nazi war criminal to justice. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to pt. 2

In this Episode:

• Eichmann's early years in the Nazi party [1:03]
• Two critical junctures that massively accelerated the Holocaust [3:20]
• Eichmann's 4-stage genocidal process [7:07]
• How Eichmann evaded detection in postwar Europe [14:43]
• Eichmann's two big mistakes in Argentina [20:40]
• How Cold War politics affected the Eichmann case [28:11]
• Background on the Israeli team of operatives tasked with capturing Eichmann [32:30]

Links:

• Episode Transcript
• Book: "Hunting Eichmann," by Neil Bascomb
• Podcast Website

David Pietrusza, author of "1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies," joins the show for a discussion of the latter stages of the 1960 race. Please subscribe to this podcast, and thanks for your support! Link to Part 1

In this Episode:

• Nixon's campaign mistakes [8:12]
• Did JFK's Catholicism hurt or help him? [11:29]
• JFK's restricted usage of LBJ [15:51]
• RFK's ruthlessness [18:15]
• Nixon's psychotherapy [20:52]
• The African American vote [23:14]
• JFK's amphetamine use [27:06]
• The debates [35:23]
• Voter fraud? [40:01]
• Did 1960 lead to Watergate? [42:57]

Links:

• Episode Transcript
• David Pietrusza's book
• Podcast Website