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Crimes of the Centuries

S5 Ep41: My Lai and the Cost of Following Orders

Crimes of the Centuries

Amber Hunt and Audioboom

History, Documentary, Society & Culture, True Crime

4.74K Ratings

🗓️ 12 January 2026

⏱️ 57 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The massacre at My Lai was one of the most lethal attacks on civilians carried out by American troops in Vietnam. For more than a year, the Army’s official line held firm: it was an encounter with the enemy. Only when a soldier wrote dozens of letters, and a reporter refused to let the story die, did the truth reach the public. This episode explores the events of that day and the long road to accountability.

Transcript

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0:00.0

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this podcast. Indeed.com slash broadcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring, do it the right way

0:34.4

with Indeed. A word before we begin. begin included in this episode is a great deal

0:39.8

of death cruelty torture and sexual violence inflicted upon innocent civilians during a time of war

0:47.2

it is hard to learn about and hard to comprehend i only include details to help you understand

0:52.7

the context of the times and and oddly enough, maybe,

0:56.5

the choices that were made. I'll let you know when the most horrifying particulars are about

1:01.4

to be discussed, that way you can skip them if you wish. Please take care.

1:18.1

Some crimes are so heartbreaking or shocking that they change laws, change society, or even earn the label, Crime of the Century. But the stories that made headlines in decades past

1:24.1

aren't necessarily remembered today.

1:33.2

I'm Amber Hunt, a journalist, an author, and in each episode of this show, I'll examine a case that's maybe lesser known today, but was huge when it happened.

1:38.9

This is Crimes of the Centuries.

1:55.0

Thank you. is crimes of the centuries. The village was already burning, dozens already dead.

2:00.0

When the word came to Charlie Company to round up the women,

2:03.6

children, old men, and grandmothers, and take them to a spot east of town. There, maybe 50 or

2:10.3

more were gathered, pushed by uniformed men with M-16 automatic weapons to stand on the rim

2:17.0

of a drainage ditch.

2:19.1

The commanding officer that day approached his second in command and said,

...

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