Brad Meltzer is the #1 bestselling author of political thrillers like The Escape Artist and The Inner Circle. Today he talks about making his first foray into nonfiction for his latest book The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington, all the research that went into it, and his initial concern that a long forgotten rumor of a secret plot to assassinate America’s founding father might turn out to be just that - a rumor. He tells the story of America’s "other Benedict Arnold" and the deadly conspiracy by some of the very men charged with protecting George Washington’s life. He reveals how the incident gave birth to American counterintelligence, why Washington wasted no time in making an example of one of the traitor, and why there was a deliberate effort to cover-up the plot to kill Washington for more than 240 years. Plus he shares some of the wild conspiracy theories he hears from his fans at book signings, his alarm over the explosion of conspiracy thinking and paranoia in American politics, and a few memories of his friend the late President George H.W. Bush. Order THE FIRST CONSPIRACY: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington on Amazon or wherever books are sold. Keep up with Brad at BradMeltzer.com or on twitter at @BradMeltzer. Subscribe to Kickass News on Apple Podcasts, visit our website at www.kickassnews.com, and follow us on twitter at @KickassNewsPod. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices