Smart Talk: The Burglary; Civil War: The Untold Story

What to look for on Smart Talk Thursday, January 30, 2014:

American history was made March 8, 1971. Some may remember that date for another reason. Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali fought a boxing match that pitted two undefeated heavyweight champions against each other for the first time ever. Arguably, no sporting event got as much attention worldwide before or since.

Actually, what happened in a small town outside Philadelphia that night had a far greater impact on the nation.

Eight men and women, who opposed the Vietnam War, burglarized the FBI office in Media, Delaware County. They meticulously planned the break-in and used the Frazier-Ali fight to their advantage thinking police and everyone else would be focused on the boxing match.

The burglars stole files and mailed copies to journalists and politicians showing what they suspected — the FBI, under the leadership of director J. Edgar Hoover, was operating outside the law to investigate and squash political dissenters.

Washington Post reporter Betty Medsger was one of the journalists who received copies of the files. Now she has written a riveting book about the burglary and how it became the first step in outing the illegal and unethical practices of the FBI at that time.

Betty Medsger, author of The Burglary, appears on Thursday’s Smart Talk. Read an excerpt at this link.

Also, filmmaker Chris Wheeler will join us to discuss Civil War: The Untold Story — a story that centers on the war in the Western Theatre and takes a look at African-Americans during the war.

The first screening of Civil War: The Untold Story will be Sunday, February 2 at the Gettysburg National Military Park (at 1:30 p.m.).

The five-hour documentary will also be shown on witf-TV this summer.

{mp3remote}http://witf.vo.llnwd.net/o35/smarttalk/radiosmarttalk/RST_January302014.mp3{/mp3remote}