author, screenwriter, staff writer New Yorker
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and screenwriter, and staff writer for The New Yorker; author of The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State; former fellow at the Center on Law and Security at New York University
Lawrence Wright says Texas is the future, like it or not Texas and California are political opposites. California likes to think it represents the future, but does it? We talk to a longtime Texan about what’s good and bad about his home state. Author Lawrence Wright. Photo by Kenny Braun.
Lawrence Wright and Ali Soufan on ‘The Looming Tower’ The Hulu series ' The Looming Tower ' traces events leading up to 9/11, with a focus on the FBI’s attempts to track down Al Qaeda terrorists before they could strike on American soil. The story depicts the CIA as repeatedly refusing to to share critical information with the Bureau, frustrating efforts that might have prevented the attack that altered the course of history. Based on the book of the same name by journalist Lawrence Wright, Hulu's 'The Looming Tower' begins just before the 1998 Al Qaeda bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. In the series we see young, Lebanese-born Ali Soufan--played by French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim--joining the FBI as a special agent around that time. When he joins, he's one of only 8 agents in a force of 10,000 who speaks Arabic. Our guests today are the real Ali Soufan and Lawrence Wright. Wright is one of the co-creators of the Hulu series, along with Alex Gibney and Dan Futterman. Soufan serves as a consultant and producer on 'The Looming Tower.' Wright has seen his books adapted before--Kim Masters was a talking head in Alex Gibney’s Scientology documentary based on his book ‘Going Clear.’ In the case of 'The Looming Tower,' Wright says there was a time when he doubted it could ever be dramatized on a screen large or small. They tell us why they were hesitant to adapt it at first, and what changed recently that made them feel it was time to go ahead. Plus, Soufan talks about the strange experience of watching himself portrayed by French film star Tahar Rahim, and how he got an initially hesitant Rahim to take the role in the first place. And both men offer their perspectives--and a warning--about Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent courting of Hollywood honchos.
America and the threat of terrorism, 15 years after 9/11 The September 11 attacks on American soil changed the national consciousness by creating a new awareness about al-Qaeda and the threat of jihad. Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright has written extensively about how much has changed in the past 15 years. He's collected ten essays he produced for the New Yorker magazine in the book The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State .
The Secret Civilian Effort to save American ISIS Hostages What would you do if a loved one were taken hostage overseas? For the families of five Americans held in Syria, the answer was "anything and everything." Then they ran up against American law. In May of last year, "Five American families, each harboring a grave secret, took their seats around a dining table… in Washington, DC." That's the beginning of a lengthy story on the web site of the New Yorker magazine about families whose children had been captured by terrorist groups in Syria. They felt that "US officials had abandoned them. So they secretly joined forces." Lawrence Wright is the reporter. Journalist James Foley with his one of his ISIS captors Photo by Elmar Eye Special thanks to Paul von Zielbauer for production assistance.
Thirteen Days in September Peace in the Middle East seems pretty hopeless most of the time. There was a moment, though, when it didn’t. In 1978, Egypt and Israel negotiated an historic peace agreement -- one that survives to this day. We hear from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright, who has written a behind-the-scenes look at the Camp David accords.
Scientology and Hollywood Lawrence Wright is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and writer for The New Yorker magazine. His 2011 profile of former Scientologist and Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Paul Haggis led to the publication of Wright's new book, Going Clear : Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief. Wright talks with Kim about the origin of the religion and its founder L. Ron Hubbard 's philosophy. They also discuss the close link that the Church and its leader, David Miscavige, has with Hollywood. Tom Cruise and John Travolta are the two most high-profile members. KCRW reached out to the Church of Scientology for comment. They sent a letter denouncing the contents of Wright's book. You can read that letter and hear the largely unedited version of the interview is at KCRW.com/Scientology .
Scientology and Hollywood When L. Ron Hubbard founded Scientology , he hoped to recruit such figures as Walt Disney, Marlene Dietrich and Jackie Gleason. A new book reports on the church and its relationship with Hollywood. Kim Masters, host of KCRW's The Business , recently sat down with Lawrence Wright, a Pulitzer Prize winner whose latest book is Going Clear : Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief. (In response to our request for comment, the Church of Scientology sent a four-page letter saying that Wright's book is "riddled with mistakes, unfounded statements and utterly false and unsupportable facts." The complete interview is available at KCRW.com/Scientology , where you can also find a transcript and the full text of the church's letter.)
Settlements, War Crimes and Middle East Peace In Marrakesh, Morocco, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Arab leaders the US will deliver on President Obama's promise of a "new start" with the Muslim world. But first she backed away from earlier statements denounced by some of those same leaders as threatening to set back the Israeli-Palestinian peace process by ten years.
Settlements, War Crimes and Middle East Peace President Obama has promised a "new start" with the world's Muslims, but Secretary of State Clinton is finding again that's easier said than done. In Morocco, she told Arab leaders the US will deliver on President Obama's promise of a "new start" with the Muslim world, but first backed away from earlier statements denounced by some of those same leaders as threatening to set back the Israeli-Palestinian peace process by ten years. In the meantime, Congress is about to formally agree with Israel and denounce the UN's " Goldstone Report " about war crimes before and during the invasion of Gaza. We update US diplomacy in the Middle East and the prospects for getting peace talks started again.
The Father of Radical Jihad Calls for Restraint Despite recent warnings about al Qaeda, CIA Director Michael Hayden has told the Washington Post the terrorist movement is "essentially defeated in both Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive through much of the rest of the world." This week's New Yorker magazine reports that radical Islam is "confronting a rebellion within its ranks." Lawrence Wright is a New Yorker staff writer.
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
