Down the Saddam Rabbit Hole (w/ Steve Coll)

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, author, and former Columbia Journalism School dean (to us!), Steve Coll, takes us deep into the conspiracy-plagued mind of Saddam Hussein, the subject of his latest book The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq. We go deep into the wonky journalism weeds — including what it took for Coll to get his hands on the Saddam tapes. And we ask our former dean the eternal question: Is J-School worth it? -What it takes to put a book like this together [0:00-19:15] -The Saddam tapes [19:16 -23:46] -Inside the conspiracy rabbit hole [23:47-29:52 -Behind the conflicting perceptions [29:53-41:12] -Oil, Israel, and failed policies [41:13-49:46] -The U.S.-Israel relationship [49:47--53:32] -How the media is covering the conflict [53:33-57:43] -Objectivity and the rifts in journalism today [57:44-1:06:44] Check out our ‘Inscrutable’ blog and ‘Uncertainty’ newsletter for thoughts and rants. To support us and gain access to exclusive content, consider becoming a paid member of Uncertain on Substack. Follow @UncertainPod on your social media of choice. Get full access to Uncertain Things at uncertain.substack.com/subscribe