Chelsea Manning Talks to Larissa Macfarquhar About Life After Prison
The Political Scene | The New Yorker
The New Yorker
4.3 • 3.9K Ratings
🗓️ 23 October 2017
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 2010, the Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, then known as Bradley Manning, sent nearly seven hundred and fifty thousand classified military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks. The leak earned Manning a thirty-five-year prison sentence, which was commuted by President Obama to seven years.
Less than five months out of prison, she sat down with The New Yorker’s Larissa MacFarquhar at the 2017 New Yorker Festival. Manning discussed her tumultuous upbringing, including her months living as a homeless teen in Chicago; her highly public gender transition; and her treatment in military prison. She also described the quick decision that led her to send the documents to WikiLeaks. Having seen “All the President’s Men,” Manning had originally intended to send the documents to the Washington Post or The New York Times, but, at the time, she said, the newspapers struggled to provide her with the security protocols she insisted on. Only WikiLeaks offered the necessary level of security, and she took the chance. “I was running out of time,” she told MacFarquhar. “They just had the tools available, they knew how to use them. That’s all it boiled down to. I had to go back to Iraq.”
Though the trial is behind her, Manning maintains a fierce conviction that her leak posed no threat to U.S. soldiers or local sources in Iraq or Afghanistan, a fact disputed by the government and many N.G.O.s disputed by many, including leading human-rights groups. Her disclosures profoundly embarrassed the government, made WikiLeaks a household name, and, by some accounts, served as a catalyst for the Arab Spring. But Manning hopes to be done with the leaks, and to spend the next phase of her life as an advocate for trans people.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choicesTranscript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Discover Earth's ultimate untamed places with wilderness. With access to 6 million acres of private land |
| 0:07.7 | in eight African countries, wilderness offers intimate wildlife encounters and experiences that will |
| 0:13.0 | leave you changed forever. The accommodations are luxurious and stay true to the vibrant soul |
| 0:19.8 | and spirit of each destination and the trips are |
| 0:23.0 | meticulously planned from arrival to departure, making them perfect for a group, family or |
| 0:28.5 | solo travellers. Wilderness is among the leaders of conservation hospitality, with more than 60 |
| 0:34.5 | of the most highly awarded lodges in camps in Africa. |
| 0:43.0 | Wilderness is especially excited this year to focus on wellness, providing experiences that immerse you in beautiful places to restore your sense of self through nature. |
| 0:48.1 | To learn more and book your own wilderness adventure, go to wilderness destinations.com |
| 0:52.9 | slash women who travel. |
| 0:55.7 | eBay, it's a place to fall in love with new pre-loved vintage and rare fashion over and over |
| 1:01.6 | again. Your favorite designers, expertly authenticated. Yeah, eBay. Things people love. |
| 1:12.0 | I'm Dorothy Wickendenenden. On today's Politics and More podcast, the New Yorker's Larissa |
| 1:17.4 | MacFarker talks to Chelsea Manning. In 2010, Manning leaked nearly 750,000 government documents |
| 1:25.0 | to WikiLeaks, leading some to call her a traitor and others |
| 1:29.0 | to call her a champion of government transparency. |
| 1:34.5 | The 2017 New Yorker Festival just took place this month, and we're going to be bringing |
| 1:39.9 | you some of the highlights throughout the year. |
| 1:42.1 | First up today is an interview with Chelsea Manning, |
| 1:45.2 | who was convicted for sending military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks, 750,000 documents. |
| 1:53.0 | Manning was recently released from prison, and she spoke with Larissa McFarker, who's been a staff writer here since 1998. |
| 1:59.7 | Yep, that's right. Larursa, how are you doing? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The New Yorker, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The New Yorker and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.