logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2024
37m 36s

Alger Hiss

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

Alger Hiss worked in high-level roles in the U.S. government during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. And then he was accused of using his access to spy for the Soviets.

Research:

  • “Alger Hiss.” FBI. https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/alger-hiss
  • “A Byte Out of History, the Alger Hiss Story.” FBI. Jan. 25, 2013. https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/a-byte-out-of-history-the-alger-hiss-story
  • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Alger Hiss". Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Jul. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alger-Hiss
  • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Whittaker Chambers". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Jul. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Whittaker-Chambers
  • Chambers, Whittaker. “The Ghosts on the Roof.” Time. 5, 1948. https://time.com/archive/6784924/the-ghosts-on-the-roof/
  • Mark, Eduard. “In ReAlger Hiss: A Final Verdict from the Archives of the KGB.” Journal of Cold War Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, 2009, pp. 26–67. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26923052
  • Fox, John F. Jr. “In the Enemy’s House: Venona and the Maturation of American Counterintelligence.” FBI.gov. Oct. 27, 2005. https://www.fbi.gov/history/history-publications-reports/in-the-enemys-house-venona-and-the-maturation-of-american-counterintelligence
  • Hadley, David. “The Long Controversy Over Alger Hiss.” Teaching American History. Jan. 21, 2020. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/blog/the-long-controversy-over-alger-hiss/
  • “KGB interviews GRU agent and net controller name ALES 30 March 1945.” https://media.defense.gov/2021/Aug/01/2002818545/-1/-1/0/30MAR_KGB_INTERVIEWS_GRU_AGENT.PDF
  • Rowe, Daniel, and Sarah Fagg, ed. “Alger Hiss and American Anti-communism.” New Histories. Vol. 3, Issue 5. https://newhistories.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/volumes/2011-12/volume-3/issue-5-crime-punishment/alger-hiss-and-american-anti-communism
  • Sander, Gordon F. “Microfilm hidden in a pumpkin launched Richard Nixon’s career 75 years ago.” New York Times.  Dec. 2, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/12/02/pumpkin-papers-richard-nixon/
  • “Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies: Alger Hiss.” NOVA. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venona/dece_hiss.html
  • “The Yalta Conference.” U.S. State Department, Office of the Historian. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yalta-conf#:~:text=At%20Yalta%2C%20Roosevelt%20and%20Churchill,of%20influence%20in%20Manchuria%20following

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Nov 24
Charles Sumner, Revisited (part 1)
<p>The first installment of the deeper examination of Charles Sumner's life begins with his early years, including his close relationships with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Samuel Gridley Howe.</p> <p><strong>Research:</strong></p> <ul> <li>"Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encycl ... Show More
35m 52s
Nov 22
SYMHC Classics: Thomas Cook
<p>This 2019 episode covers Thomas Cook, a pioneer of the idea of a travel agency to manage tourist holidays. But Cook was initially motivated by his support of the temperance movement and his deeply held religious beliefs.&nbsp;</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener ... Show More
28m 33s
Nov 21
Behind the Scenes Minis: Balloons and Cat Trees
<p>Tracy and Holly talk about the proclivity for destruction that was part of the balloon craze. They also discuss cat trees and how hard it is to find one that's cute.&nbsp;</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.< ... Show More
24m 47s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2025
Was Ethel Rosenberg A Spy?
March 29, 1951. The world is waiting for the jury’s verdict. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg have been accused of spying for the Soviet Union, conspiring to send atomic secrets to America’s enemy in the Cold War. Ethel and Julius are tried in court together, and after the jury finds b ... Show More
39m 37s
Sep 2024
Crunch talks in Washington over Storm Shadow missiles & UK diplomats expelled after engaging in ‘classic British espionage’
Day 934.Today, we consider the crunch talks taking place in Washington over Storm Shadow missiles, the decision by Moscow to suddenly expel British diplomats, and assess Putin’s latest threats to an emboldened West. Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Assistant Comment Editor). @Franc ... Show More
49m 22s
Apr 2025
Britain's Agent | Historical
Professor James Crossland of Liverpool John Moores University uncovers the extraordinary life of a British diplomat-cum-spy in Bolshevik Russia - Robert Bruce Lockhart. A tale of doomed love, assassination, failed coups and bad reputations. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A C ... Show More
1h 2m
Aug 2024
American presidents
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.It's 50 years since Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign, following the Watergate scandal.To mark this anniversary, we're featuring first hand accounts from major moments in US pr ... Show More
51 m
Mar 2024
Did the Cold War Ever End?
<p>Would the Cold War have happened if the nuclear bomb was never created? How did Gorbachev, Reagan and Thatcher reduce tensions between the East and West? And, according to one of the Russian authorities' most wanted journalists, how are echoes of the Cold War felt today?</p><b ... Show More
56m 27s
Jan 2024
The Watergate Scandal
<p>Wiretapping, White House tapes and the possibility of impeachment. On June 17, 1972, a break-in at the Watergate Hotel triggered a chain of events ending with the resignation of President Nixon in 1974.</p><br><p>From the burglary to the surprising redactions from the Nixon ta ... Show More
45m 1s
Mar 2024
The new Dark Age of Espionage
The spying game was supposed to fade into history with the Cold War. But Vladimir Putin’s historic grievances, obsession with Ukraine and need to placate his own intelligence agencies have sent a new wave of espionage across the world. The West thinks we’re at peace. The Russians ... Show More
42m 4s
Aug 28
American Traitors: The Rosenbergs
This week we’re stepping heart of Cold War America with the story of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Accused of espionage and executed at the height of anti-communist paranoia, their trial gripped the nation due to the controversy, family betrayal, and questions of justice that still ... Show More
51m 23s
Mar 2024
Fatal Neutrality: Lumumba, the CIA, and the Cold War
In 1960, the Congo gained independence from Belgium. Patrice Lumumba was elected prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu president. Within a year, Lumumba was deposed and assassinated. This week on Deconstructed, executive editor of Foreign Affairs and author Stuart Reid joins Ryan Gr ... Show More
46m 10s
Oct 19
The Cold War
For decades after the Second World War, the Soviet Union and the United States of America were locked in a conflict of ideology that took the planet to the brink of catastrophe. Known as the Cold War, it was an era of paranoia, fear and mutual suspicion, where the contest for sup ... Show More
57m 50s