MuckReads Podcast: James Risen on the ‘National Security Bubble’ — ProPublica

Podcast

MuckReads Podcast: James Risen on the ‘National Security Bubble’

by Nicole Collins Bronzan

April 20, 2015, 11:01 a.m. EDT

New York Times reporter and author James Risen (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images).

As a Pulitzer Prize-winning national security reporter at The New York Times, James Risen knows the value of protecting his sources. He faced the possibility of jail time for defying a Justice Department order to reveal a source for his 2006 book “State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration.” In January, the seven-year ordeal ended with confidentiality intact.

In this week’s podcast, Risen talks to Assistant Managing Editor Eric Umansky and Senior Reporter Jesse Eisinger about the challenges of reporting on the government’s actions in a post-9/11 America.

Risen also discusses:

His first big scoop, at age 23, about the closing of the International Harvester plant in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The New York Times’ internal struggle over his story on the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.
Advice for young investigative reporters looking to cultivate sources.

Hear their discussion on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher, and subscribe to ProPublica’s podcasts to hear conversations like these each week.

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