On the 75th anniversary of their discovery, what is the history of Whittaker Chambers’ infamous Pumpkin Papers, their implications for Richard Nixon’s career, and their significance for conservatism, patriotism, and loyalty in America today? On this episode, Jacob Heilbrunn speaks with Sam Tanenhaus, a contributing writer at the Washington Post’s Book World. He is a former editor of The New York Times Book Review and the author of “Whittaker Chambers: A Biography” (Random House, 1997). His work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, and the National Interest. His forthcoming book, “William F. Buckley, Jr.: His Life and Times,” will be published in Fall 2024.

About the Podcast Host

Jacob Heilbrunn is editor of The National Interest and is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. He has written on both foreign and domestic issues for numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Reuters, Washington Monthly, and The Weekly Standard. He has also written for German publications such as Cicero, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Der Tagesspiegel. In 2008, his book They Knew They Were Right: the Rise of the Neocons was published by Doubleday. It was named one of the one hundred notable books of the year by The New York Times. He is the author of America Last: The Right’s Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators, coming in 2024.