S8 Ep1118: The Hiss Perjury Conviction and the Ignition of the McCarthy Era GUEST: Nick Bunker On January 25, 1950, the conviction of Alger Hiss for perjury electrified American politics, seemingly validating Republican claims that Washington was "full of communist
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 12 July 2026
⏱️ 10 minutes
🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Hiss Perjury Conviction and the Ignition of the McCarthy Era GUEST: Nick Bunker On January 25, 1950, the conviction of Alger Hiss for perjury electrified American politics, seemingly validating Republican claims that Washington was "full of communist subversives." Seizing the moment, Dean Acheson made a controversial statement of personal loyalty to Hiss, which Joe McCarthy immediately used to launch his crusade. In February, McCarthy famously alleged in Wheeling, West Virginia, that he had a list of 56 card-carrying communists in the State Department. Democratic Majority Leader Scott Lucas failed to stop McCarthy, finding himself outmaneuvered by the Senator's "aggression" and "inventiveness." Lucas made a critical historical error by agreeing to a Senate subcommittee to investigate the allegations, providing McCarthy with a national stage to harry the President during an election year. This platform allowed the scandal to grow publicly, transforming McCarthy from a "wild card" into a powerful national figure who dominated the political scene. (5)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Every time you buy crypto, sell crypto, swap crypto, you lose money to fees. |
| 0:06.0 | Not with IG. Now you can buy, sell and swap Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, commission-free, |
| 0:12.0 | because we believe your money belongs in your portfolio, not in someone else's pocket. |
| 0:16.0 | Download the IG app and invest with a platform that backs you. |
| 0:19.0 | IG, trade, invest, progress. |
| 0:22.6 | IG charges zero commission. |
| 0:23.6 | Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. |
| 0:25.6 | This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. |
| 0:29.6 | This is CBSI and the World. I'm John Batchel, continuing with a historian Nick Bunker, |
| 0:36.6 | his new book in the |
| 0:37.6 | Shadow of Fear, America and the World in 1950. The quote from Bertrand Russell, all at |
| 0:44.8 | present, all except the most thoughtless, live under the shadow of fear. It is January, 1950. |
| 0:52.0 | These events, among many, the Korea bill is defeated in Congress. |
| 0:58.2 | The B-36 is in abeyance as a plane that's too slow and will be easily shot down by the |
| 1:06.5 | MiG-15 just introduced in Moscow. |
| 1:09.9 | The President approves research for the super bomb, the H-bomb. |
| 1:14.2 | The USS Missouri, the last battleship in the fleet, runs aground because they mistake |
| 1:19.9 | buoys in Virginia. |
| 1:22.3 | Everybody laughs at the President. |
| 1:23.9 | That, of course, is where the peace deal was signed in 1945 in Tokyo Harbor. And |
| 1:31.2 | Carl Munt and Joe McCarthy and I'll take advantage of an event that we're going to go to right now. |
| 1:39.8 | January 25th, Manhattan, the courthouse, and the way Nick presents it is vivid. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 17 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Batchelor, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John Batchelor and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.