By Marc Eliot Stein, July 21, 2020
“I believe that secrecy is the refuge of the incompetent, and I believe absolutely that this book demonstrates that there was tremendous bumbling, violent bumbling, that happened all over the place in the 1950s and 1960s. – Nicholson Baker”
Episode 16 of the World BEYOND War podcast features Nicholson Baker, whose important new book “Baseless: My Search For Secrets in the Ruins of the Freedom of Information Act” is about the US military and CIA’s past secret experiments with biological warfare, and about the author and historian’s attempts to get the information about these disturbing secrets that he is legally entitled to.
Part one of Marc Eliot Stein’s in-depth two-part conversation with antiwar activist, novelist and historian Nicholson Baker ranges over topics including permasecrets, cultural archives, Joseph Pulitzer, the Korean War, bat vector bombs and police brutality videos.
We also check in with World BEYOND War’s president Leah Bolger and new social media manager Alessandra Granelli about the organization’s latest activities.
Music: Rage Against The Machine.
