How far should the government go to protect America?

How far should the government go to protect America?

From Sources & Methods by NPR

June 29, 2026 · 34 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the balance between national security and democratic values in the aftermath of 9/11.

This September marks 25 years since terrorists hijacked planes and steered them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. They steered a third plane into the Pentagon. A fourth was headed for the U.S. Capitol, but crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after its passengers overpowered their attackers. In the days — and years — that followed America’s leaders walked a fine and sometimes blurry line: how to prevent an attack like that from ever happening again? And how to do so without trampling American laws and democratic values? As part of a conversation about the legacy of 9/11 at The Aspen Ideas Festival, host Mary Louise Kelly spoke with two of the country's leaders during that time: Alberto Gonzales, who was serving as White House counsel, and Jeh Johnson, who became Homeland Security Secretary under President Obama. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org NPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

People in this episode

Host: Mary Louise Kelly

Guests: Alberto Gonzales, Jeh Johnson

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NPR, Homeland Security, The Aspen Ideas Festival

Places: World Trade Center, Pentagon, U.S. Capitol, Pennsylvania

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