“Most people in this country are not open to what Woodward and I have called the best obtainable version of the truth.” Those are some tough words from Carl Bernstein — and you’ll hear them in this episode of American Crisis.
I grew up hero-worshiping Bernstein and his Washington Post reporting partner Bob Woodward. As a teenager, I joined my family in being glued to the Senate Watergate hearings on TV — which were, at least partially, the result of Woodstein’s reporting. Then, of course, there was the fabulous 1976 movie, “All the President’s Men,” in which Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford played the intrepid reporters, making investigative reporting look both glamorous and fulfilling.
During that era, when my eldest brother, David, asked me what I wanted to do with my life, our conversation yielded one obvious answer: journalism. Not long after that, I became the editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper, the Nardin Academy Kaleidoscope.
Decades later, I still seem to be carrying out that labor of love, including right here.
I write about this personal history in my recent memoir, NEWSROOM CONFIDENTIAL: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-stained Life. It includes a section on why the great Congresswoman, Barbara Jordan, who had such a memorable part in the Watergate saga, helped me untangle my mother’s confusingly mixed messages about how a woman should live her life.
Later in life, when I was more established as a journalist at the New York Times and the Washington Post, I would sometimes run into Carl in the green room at CNN or at a concert in New York City. (The fact that I also adored the work of his ex-wife, Nora Ephron, did not come up in conversation, admittedly. I also got to know their journalist son, Jacob Bernstein, who sat near me during my stint as the Times’s public editor and we have become friends.)
So let’s just say that I feel pretty connected to Carl in a lot of ways, and I have for many years.
It was a thrill to interview him for this episode. I wasn’t completely prepared for some of his answers, one of which I found pretty discouraging and one of which I found completely inspiring. Carl is a great, entertaining and rather intense talker, and I’m so glad to invite you to listen in.
I also want to share my new Guardian column on how American democracy is fortifying itself in some really important ways.
And most of all, I want to thank the thousands of subscribers to this podcast. I feel so privileged to have the gift of your time and attention (and, in some cases, your financial support)! Enjoy, and let me know in the comments what you think.
Also, what’s your favorite journalism movie? I’d put this one, plus “Spotlight” and “State of Play” in my top three, with an honorary mention for “Absence of Malice,” and another honorary mention for “She Said.” Let me know in the comments below, and perhaps I’ll do a roundup later in the week.
American Crisis, Ep. 3: Carl Bernstein on the ‘myth of objectivity'