A Pumpkin Patch, a Typewriter, and Richard Nixon: The Hiss-Chambers Espionage Case
The Hiss-Chambers case gripped the nation in 1948 and still provokes controversy. Take a deep factual dive into the story of two brilliant, fascinating men, sensational Congressional hearings, spy documents hidden in a dumbwaiter shaft and a pumpkin, the trial of the century, and the launch of Richard Nixon’s career.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 16 minutes
- Episodes
- 38
- Years Active
- 2023
Chapter 38: Why do people still care about this case?
This is my final Podcast, and the shortest one — just my last thoughts after decades of study. The Hiss-Chambers Case will live on because it is important post-WWII American history, and also a grea…
00:04:41 |
Wed 20 Sep 2023
Chapter 37: What did not come out in court?
Whittaker Chambers
This Podcast, the second to last, is the longest one. The Hiss-Chambers Case did not die. Many new facts were discovered, the majority of them harmful to Hiss, starting in the 19…00:30:57 |
Wed 13 Sep 2023
Chapter 36: Hiss and Chambers After the Trials
As Chambers wrote to his friend Bill Buckley, most of us think the story of Oedipus ends when he learns he married his own mother and puts his eyes out. In fact, however, Oedipus lived for years af…
00:19:48 |
Wed 06 Sep 2023
Chapter 35: Forgery by Typewriter
Several people have told me that, of my 38 episodes, this is their favorite. See if you agree. It is all about the question Hiss could never answer: how, if Hiss is innocent, did the 64 Typed Spy…
00:23:23 |
Wed 30 Aug 2023
Chapter 34: The Impact of the Guilty Verdict on America
Alger Hiss is taken to prison Alger Hiss’s conviction — technically for perjury, but effectively for treason — was a major event. It was a disaster for The Establishment, especially liberal Democr…
00:27:13 |
Wed 23 Aug 2023
Chapter 33: The Summations, and the Verdict
Prosecutor Thomas F. Murphy
In this Podcast, we hear the closing speeches, and the verdict of the second jury. In a mirror image of the first trial, this time it was Hiss’s lawyer Claude Cross who …00:16:53 |
Wed 16 Aug 2023
Chapter 32: The Second Trial - The Surprise Witness
Edith Murray
This is a short podcast, describing a last-minute rebuttal witness for The Prosecution. Into court came a black woman named Edith Murray. Alistair Cooke (at 299) found her “lively.” …
00:05:10 |
Wed 09 Aug 2023
Chapter 31: The Second Trial - Chambers' Mental Condition
Psychiatrist Dr. Carl Binger
This Podcast presents the testimony of an eminent psychiatrist, Dr. Carl Binger. He opined that Whittaker Chambers suffered from a mental illness, called “Psychopathic P…00:24:20 |
Wed 02 Aug 2023
Chapter 30: The Second Trial - Introduction
Hede Hassing, a key witness in the 2nd trial
The second trial: new Judge (an elderly Republican), a new jury (seven women!), a new lawyer for Hiss (Boston’s distinguished, quiet Claude Cross), a new …00:13:25 |
Wed 26 Jul 2023
Chapter 29: The Summations and The Verdict
Pic: Hiss Defense Attorney Lloyd Paul Stryker
At last we hear the two great trial lawyers, Lloyd Paul Stryker for The Hiss Defense and Thomas Murphy for The Prosecution, sum up the evidence and loose…00:18:17 |
Wed 19 Jul 2023
Chapter 28: The Defense - the Catlett Family
Podcast #28 recounts the testimonies of three black Washingtonians named Catlett. Claudia Catlett, the Hisses’ household servant, had only one memory of Chambers being in the Hiss house. She’d like…
00:15:10 |
Wed 12 Jul 2023
Chapter 27: The Defense - Priscilla Hiss and the Character Witnesses
Podcast #27 is short, covering the testimony of Mrs. Priscilla Hiss and the “character witnesses.” Mrs. Hiss corroborates her husband down the line. However, she is notably nervous on the witness …
00:08:02 |
Wed 05 Jul 2023
Chapter 26: The Defense - Alger Hiss Testifies
In Podcast 26, Alger Hiss takes the stand! In the courtroom corridor, Hiss said: “I have been waiting for this a long time.” (Smith at 383.). Lloyd Paul Stryker walked him through his golden resume…
00:15:53 |
Wed 28 Jun 2023
Chapter 25: Intermezzo - The Sleeper Issue of Homosexuality
Each side in this Case had a male homosexual secret. Remember that we’re in 1949, when conservatives thought that male homosexuality was a sin and a crime and enlightened liberals thought that gay m…
00:16:56 |
Wed 21 Jun 2023
Chapter 24: The Prosecution - Were the two families friends, and for how long?
There were two disagreements between the Hisses and Chamberses. First was whether Hiss had been a Communist and Soviet spy with Chambers in the mid- and late 1930s. Who was telling the truth could …
00:14:16 |
Wed 14 Jun 2023
Chapter 23: The Prosecution: Henry Julian Wadleigh
This Podcast is the closest the trials get to high comedy. Dreamy, arrogant State Department economist, Henry Julian Wadleigh, worked in the same area as Hiss (several levels below Hiss). Wadleigh…
00:19:57 |
Wed 07 Jun 2023
Chapter 22: The Prosecution - Raymond Feehan
Photo: http://www.spartacus-educational.com
Now comes the witness who, in my opinion, dooms Alger Hiss. He gives expert testimony supporting Chambers’ claim that the typed spy documents were passed …
00:09:13 |
Wed 31 May 2023
Chapter 21: The Prosecution, the Documents
Robert Stripling & Richard Nixon
Everyone always asks about the topic of this Podcast #21: “What was in the secret State Department documents?” These are the 126 pages that Chambers introduced as t…00:16:33 |
Wed 24 May 2023
Chapter 20: The Prosecution - Whittaker and Esther Chambers
Lloyd Paul Stryker, Hiss's Defense Atty (Digital Commons)
Whittaker Chambers, and then his wife Esther, testify in court. Both their direct testimonies were rocky due to Stryker’s objections and Jud…00:21:29 |
Wed 17 May 2023
Chapter 19: The Opening Statements
Pic: Prosecutor Thomas Murphy
In this Podcast, I deliver, in my best courtroom voice, short versions of Prosecutor Murphy’s down-to-earth opening statement for the government and Lloyd Paul Stryker…00:12:55 |
Wed 10 May 2023
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