S5: Episode 5 - Daniel Ellsberg

Host Kevin Gosztola interviews whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg about his recent book, "Doomsday Machine: Confessions Of a Nuclear War Planner." Ellsberg, who is most known for leaking the Pentagon Papers, worked as a consultant for the Defense Department, and he even drafted a set of nuclear war plans for Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in the early 1960s. His book recounts his journey as he discovered how close a nuclear strike by the United States government or a war between the U.S. and Soviet government could bring the Earth's population to near-extinction. In the interview, Ellsberg highlights how he came to learn the military's estimate for how many hundreds of millions of people would die if a nuclear attack was launched. He describes how there was no way to call back pilots if an execute order was given. He shares how his father refused to be part of the production of the H-bomb and talks about how he had classified documents on nuclear matters, which he planned to release until they were tragically lost.