For nearly four decades after the 1968 assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a mystery lingered: What did RFK really believe about the assassination of his brother, President John F. Kennedy?
It wasn't until 2007 that we could definitively answer this question, thanks to journalist, historian, and author David Talbot. That was the year that saw the publication of Talbot's masterpiece, Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years. The podcast episode in the media player above features David Talbot and me discussing Brothers.
After founding Salon.com and running the site as its Executive Editor for over ten years, David Talbot decided to write a book on the Kennedy years. Specifically, he wanted to expose the real and suppressed story of Robert F. Kennedy’s efforts to get to the bottom of his brother’s assassination. To construct this momentous narrative, Talbot spent years conducting research and interviewing practically every key surviving member of the Kennedys inner circle.
The book takes the reader through the Kennedys battles with segregationists, Wall Street, organized crime, Pentagon hawks, and the CIA. As the Kennedy administration's unofficial "court historian" Arthur Schlesinger put it, “We were at war with the national security people.” In the end, JFK’s moves to wind down the Cold War and support nationalism in Third World were deemed unacceptable by the military, the intelligence agencies, and the apex of Corporate America. JFK was trying to democratically overturn an imperial consensus forged by an unelected oligarchy of power. Kennedy's enemies were men who would fight to the better end in defense of this project. As such, Kennedy's assassination in Dallas represented the US regime covertly exercising a veto power over democracy. These are entities so powerful the top lawman in the government at the time, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, found himself powerless when it came to pursuing his brother’s murderers. With Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years, David Talbot---for the first time---presented this epic historical narrative in vivid detail.
Note: This episode also includes contributions from the great Abby Martin.
Please check out:
Abby Martin on The Empire Files David Talbot, Aaron Good, and Bryce Green on Devil's Chess Club
Special thanks to Dan Storper for helping this podcast series get off the ground!
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