The Blueprint with Jen Psaki Preview of “Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order”
Dec 1, 2025
Discover the shocking history behind the executive order that authorized the mass internment of Japanese Americans. Rachel details Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga's relentless research at the National Archives, where she unearthed a report once thought destroyed. The implications of releasing this document could reshape public perception and reveal uncomfortable truths about government actions. Tune in for a captivating glimpse into the investigative journey that brings history's dark corners into the light.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Series Framing Of A Dark Decision
- Burn Order examines the U.S. decision to incarcerate tens of thousands of people during WWII solely based on race with no charges or trials.
- Rachel Maddow frames the series as revealing who engineered that policy and how it was implemented.
Retiree Who Uncovered Hidden Report
- Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, a retiree and amateur researcher, spent years poring through the National Archives and built her own meticulous filing system.
- Her persistence led her to find a supposedly destroyed government report that revealed attempts to erase evidence about the WWII Japanese American roundup.
Daily Archival Diligence And Homemade Indexes
- Aiko worked daily at the National Archives with her husband and even brought a personal copy machine to reproduce documents.
- Her home became filled with the files and indexes she created by hand long before computers eased such work.