Award-winning reporter Dana Priest investigates the top-secret world that the government created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State, she writes that it has become so enormous, so unwieldy, and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs or exactly how many agencies duplicate work being done elsewhere. The system put in place to keep the United States safe may be putting us in greater danger.
Guests:
Dana Priest
About The Leonard Lopate Show
Host Leonard Lopate lets you in on the best conversations with writers, actors, ex-presidents, dancers, scientists, comedians, historians, grammarians, curators, filmmakers, and do-it-yourself experts.
Hosted by Leonard Lopate
Links
- 2012 Election Coverage
- 25 Years of Lopate
- American History XX
- Backstory
- Food Fridays
- Globavores: Food Travels Around The World Since 1492
- Guest Hosts
- Guest Picks
- Please Explain
- The Gurus of How-To
- The Leonard Lopate Show Book Club
- The Lodown
- The Story of New York in 10 Objects
- Tributes
- Underappreciated
- Underreported
- Web Extras
- Word Maven: Patricia T. O'Conner
Show Archive
Show Archive
Comments [11]
The post office should cut mail delivery to Mon, Wed & Fri and continue to employ the postal workers on Tues & Thur to work from home computers - managing, deciphering and interpreting the information obtained thru these database operations.
As an underemployed recent college grad with a degree in a "critical needs language," I'm glad that there is at least one area in the US with job growth. I hear plenty of people who want to make government smaller, but I never hear about the fact that doing so would just produce even more thousands of unemployed Americans.
@ John from office
There is a looooong jump from taking a look at the huge secret spy complex that has arisen since 9/11 and questioning whether it has gotten out of hand and maybe some of our rights may possibly be compromised by it to saying the U.S. should do "nothing".
Once again the right seeks to obscure the point by distorting issues into simplistic black/white thinking.
If we comprimise the rights that make America, America then what are we protecting anyway?
How is all this being financed?
Nice attempt at a straw man, John. Clearly there are options between a police state and doing nothing. I'm curious : Is this how you argue with your family and do they fall for it?
I am curious — just on the basic question, are we doing a good job of keeping secrets? I mean with all these people and infrastructure, you'd think we'd be leaking everything to China constantly...
Isn't the author afraid of being assassinated divulging all this secret information.
I'm joking...sort of...boy, this is scary.
We are our own worst enemy...think you sound so big and important, I feel exposed with you divulging this information for ALL to hear. Idiot.
Why publish this information? Employees and ex-employees who have/had her kind of access shouldn't be allowed to expose this information.
The keyword here is "decipher"...
The database must decipher the "top secret" information absolutely correctly if the program is to become acceptable and justified...
Once again, the press is first to be critical and would be the first to attack the government if anything happens. What would they have the USA do?? Nothing??
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.