In City of Newsmen, Kathryn J. McGarr uncovers the ways in which Washington, DC, journalists reined in their skepticism and guided the public toward unquestioning patriotism during the Cold War. James Kirchick’s Secret City explores in large part the pervasive homophobia—sometimes explicit and codified, sometimes implicit and broadly employed—prominent in the US government since FDR’s presidency, peaking during the Cold War and lasting well into Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Join Kirchick and McGarr as they discuss a capitol city filled with secrets and complicity.

Moderator: Dan Oppenheimer, author of Exit Right: The People Who Left the Left and Reshaped the American Century and Far From Respectable: Dave Hickey and His ArtJames Kirchick, Kathryn J. McGarr, Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington, City of Newsmen: Public Lies and Professional Secrets in Cold War Washington