Fresh Air

The 50th Anniversary Of The Pentagon Papers

06.18.2021 - By NPRPlay

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Fifty years ago this week, 'The New York Times' published the first in a series of articles based on a classified Defense Department study that was leaked to the paper by Daniel Ellsberg. This study came to be known as the Pentagon Papers. It chronicled decades of failed U.S. policy in Vietnam, and the ways the American public was misled in how the war was conducted. We listen back to archival interviews with Ellsberg and Ben Bradlee of 'The Washington Post,' who ran their own series on the documents.

Later, we remember actor Ned Beatty, who died this week and critic David Bianculli reviews the Apple TV+ series 'Physical,' starring Rose Byrne.

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