The events of 9/11 have had a profound effect on all of us. This week guests we’ve had on the show over the past year reflect about what the attacks and life in New York this past decade have meant to them. New Yorker contributor James B. Stewart was on the program back in April, we asked him about 9/11 after the show. Here’s what he had to say.

James Stewart discusses what he sees as an epidemic of perjury sweeping our country, undermining the foundation of our courts, and explains why he thinks it’s symptomatic of a broader breakdown of ethics in American life. Tangled Webs: How False Statements are Undermining America: From Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff goes behind the scenes of the trials of Martha Stewart, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Barry Bonds, and Bernard Madoff, and includes interviews with prosecutors, investigators, and participants speaking for the first time. The book looks at age-old tensions between greed and justice, self-interest and public interest, loyalty and duty.

James B. Stewart, author of the new book "Tangled Webs: How False Statements are Undermining America from Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff," says that perjury is “threatening to become an epidemic” in American society. Stewart has delved into Freedom of Information Act requests, interview transcripts, investigative notes, secret letters, court documents, and hundreds of emails to give an in-depth look at recent high-profile cases of lying. With a look into the trials of Martha Stewart, Scooter Libby, Bernie Madoff, and Barry Bonds, Stewart makes the argument that the practice of lying under oath has breached the highest levels of American society, threatening to unsettle the foundations of our legal system.

A new book claims that perjury is “threatening to become an epidemic” in American society.  More on that coming up in a moment, on The Takeaway. 

James Stewart discusses what he sees as an epidemic of perjury sweeping our country, undermining the foundation of our courts, and explains why he thinks it’s symptomatic of a broader breakdown of ethics in American life. Tangled Webs: How False Statements are Undermining America: From Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff goes behind the scenes of the trials of Martha Stewart, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Barry Bonds, and Bernard Madoff, and includes interviews with prosecutors, investigators, and participants speaking for the first time. The book looks at age-old tensions between greed and justice, self-interest and public interest, loyalty and duty.