Wednesday, June 22 - Scott Martelle: The Fear Within

How is it that Bibliocracy so consistently airs shows featuring the most eclectic, smart, critical, necessary, entertaining guests? I'm too darn shy and modest to answer that one, so instead offer even more evidence in support of the startlingly obvious answer: Writer and journalist Scott Martelle! His new book, follow-up to the terrific success of Blood Passion: The Ludlow Massacre and Class War in the American West is another riveting account of a key moment in American political history, The Fear Within: Spies, Commies, and American Democracy on Trial. It’s the story of the famous Smith Act Trials, and as great American political trials go, this one had it all, with enough to rival the trial of the Chicago 7 for intrigue and weirdness: the internal struggle of the Communist party, sexy spies, FBI informants, a juror writing notes for a novel, the first Ivy League-educated Mexican-American judge presiding, six – count ‘em, six radical lawyers, all of whom end up in jail themselves, the Peekskill riots and of course the back story of American politics including the landmark 1948 election, where Truman beat out his Republican challenger, benefitting from splits on the left and right from third-party challengers. In case you miss the subtext, reviewer Wendy Smith points out that Martelle’s timely storytelling “reminds us that freedom of speech and thought are most essential, not when we are feeling most confident, but when we are most afraid.” Tune in Wednesday at 8 PM, via old-fashioned FM radio or online. Download free from the KPFK station archives for 90 days. Thanks for listening.