Hello, whistlestop listeners. I'm Leon Nefok, the host of a new slate mini-series called

Slow Burn, a podcast about Watergate. Over the course of eight episodes, we're exploring what it

was like to live through the greatest political scandal of the 20th century. You're about to listen

to the first episode. I hope you enjoy it. The first four episodes are available for download

wherever you get your podcasts,

and they'd make for a great holiday season binge listen. Learn more about the series at slate.com

slash slow burn. I'm going to start with a story that you've probably never heard. It takes

place in June of 1972, just a few days after five men broke into the Watergate office building

in Washington, D.C.

It's a story about a woman named Martha Mitchell, who was at the time very famous,

and whose life was destroyed in large part because of her proximity to the Watergate conspiracy.

Martha's husband worked in politics. His name was John Mitchell, and in June of 19, he was in charge of the committee to re-elect

President Richard Nixon. Before that, Mitchell had an even bigger job. He was the Attorney General

of the United States. Nixon called John Mitchell his most trusted friend and advisor.

Others simply called him deputy president.

Historians disagree on what exactly Martha really knew about Watergate.

But in the aftermath of the burglary, she was treated by Nixon's men as someone who knew too much.

That was the beginning of my being held a prisoner.

Later, Martha would tell David Frost of the BBC everything that happened to her that weekend.

You really were held a prisoner. That wasn't...

That wasn't...

First, she was kept against her will in a California hotel for days.

...