Secrets of Gay Washington (w/ James Kirchick)

Uniquely Nasty, a Yahoo News documentary from 2015, explored the little known story of the US Government’s relentless persecution of gays in the Cold War era, focusing in part on how the FBI under Hoover’s direction, tracked the names of tens of thousands of suspected gays and lesbians working for the Federal Government. And then took steps to have them fired. It was just one piece of a so-called lavender scare that left in its wake a trail of fear, paranoia, and destroyed lives. The full story of the US Government’s jihad against gay America is now being told in a landmark book, The Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington, by journalist James Kirchick. Kirchick’s book brings to life the largely invisible stories of senior government officials at the State Department, the White House, and in Congress, who lived in fear that their secret lives would become publicly known. And how their careers were shattered when their homosexuality was exposed, often for political or bureaucratic advantage. It’s a shocking story that is a reminder of how much about America’s dark past of persecution has been obscured yet remains highly relevant to themes in our current politics. Kirchick joins to discuss the excruciating agony that denizens of the secret city experienced. And why it is a crucial chapter in American history. 

GUESTS:James Kirchick, (@jkirchick), Author of the book Gunfight.

HOSTS:

Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News

Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News

Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

RESOURCES:

Pick up James Kirchick's book The Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington - Here.

Watch the groundbreaking Yahoo News documentary "Uniquely Nasty: The U.S. Government's War on Gays - Here.

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