S1E19 Torture

S1E19 Torture

From John Kiriakou's Dead Drop by John Kiriakou & Alan Katz

March 16, 2026 · 26 min · Season 1 · Episode 19

About this episode

This episode explores how American policy came to legitimize torture, focusing on the role of key figures like Dick Cheney and the Bush Administration's manipulation of language around the issue.

THE BLURB: If this story has a heart of darkness, this is it. How did American policy find its way to legitimizing torture? In this episode, we'll take you down that terrible road. America became a torturer because certain people - including then Vice President Dick Cheney - wanted us to be that thing. We'll also describe how the Bush Administration's wordplay, dancing around the word "torture", made torture inevitable. SHOW NOTES For more great podcasts like Dead Drop, please visit https://costardandtouchstone.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Hosts: John Kiriakou, Alan Katz

Topics covered

  • torture
  • American policy
  • Bush Administration
  • Dick Cheney
  • legitimization of torture
  • historical analysis

Keywords

  • torture
  • American policy
  • Dick Cheney
  • Bush Administration
  • legitimization
  • historical context
  • war on terror

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bush Administration

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