48 Hours - EP 2: The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs. The Keepers of America's Secrets - The Spymasters

Episode Date: May 17, 2016

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Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Hi, I'm Chris Whipple, the writer and one of the executive producers of the documentary The Spyymasters, CIA and the Crosshairs. What are the rules for America's spymasters in their race to prevent

the next terrorist attack? What should the agency's mission be in the future? The Spymasters shows viewers the CIA as it's never been seen before through the eyes of all 12 living directors of the agency. Narrated by Homeland's Mandy Patinkin, The Spymasters focuses on the CIA during one of the most controversial periods of its history, marked by unheeded warnings before the 9-11 attacks, the use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, secret prisons, and drone warfare. Has the agency become a covert killing machine at the expense of gathering intelligence?

How far should the CIA go to prevent another terrorist attack? What's fair game against a ruthless enemy? Presidential candidate Donald Trump says he would bring back waterboarding and a whole lot more. You'll be surprised to hear the director's answers about what the CIA would do. 48 Hours presents the broadcast premiere of The Spymasters, CIA and the Crosshairs, Saturday, May 21st, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. Here's a sneak peek. Inside the CIA. I'm forced to make decisions every day. Director John Brennan carries the burden of command. A lot of decisions that we recognize have risks associated with them,

significant risks, that sometimes can result in deaths. The CIA's actions a decade ago are a stain on our value and on our history. The Senate report has publicly revealed graphic new details. The Senate report has publicly revealed graphic new details... And the report says detainees were kept in total darkness, shackled to the wall in 45-degree temperatures. You can't claim that tying someone to the floor and have them freeze to death is not torture. Torture was what the al-Qaeda terrorists did to 3,000 Americans on 9-11.

was what the Al-Qaeda terrorists did to 3,000 Americans on 9-11. I wish the world were simpler. I wish we didn't have these complex challenges that we face. Where there is not a right and wrong answer, where it's not black and white. On those days when I'm thinking about the things that worry me most, there is the biological agent, there is the devastating strategic type of terrorist attack,

because we know that these individuals are so determined to cause as much havoc and destruction and death as possible. How do you deal with this phenomenon that we're facing as far as terrorism? Like ISIS. And their wanton, murderous activities. ISIS rules with brutality and fear, publicly executing those who offend its strict version of Islamic law. We can let these terrorist organizations thrive and not take action against them. Or we can try to take action that's going to disrupt their plans. In a conflict against a ruthless enemy.

What are the rules for America's spymasters? You are now clear to engage the moving vehicle. Does the CIA go too far? We're not far enough. Sometimes I think we get ourselves into a frenzy, into believing that killing is the only answer to a problem, and the truth is it's not. Has the CIA become a secret army?

A killing machine? You're sitting there in the middle of nowhere in Nevada, and you're looking at a screen that is televising what looks for all the world like a big video game, and push a button, and a pickup truck explodes half a world away. I mean, if they're bad guys and they're doing us harm, I have no problem with that. Now the dark side.

You know, you can't be perfect. There is collateral damage. We feed the jihadi recruitment video that these Americans are heartless killers. Anything except full confidence in our restaurants. If we wanted to cook the books. Violence on our enemies. Only 12 men alive today have made the life and death decisions that come with running the world's most powerful intelligence agency. Let me bare my soul just a little bit more. The keepers of America's secrets.

The spy masters, and their top operatives share their convictions and for the first time their passionate disagreements about the agency's past, its current mission and its future. It is a battle for the soul of the CIA. When you're confronting an enemy that's prepared to blow up and kill innocent men, women, and children, you have to go at them

using the capabilities that we have. If we fail to do this, and God forbid this country faced another 9-11, you know what the first question would be. Why the hell did you let this happen? Why the hell did you let this happen? Why the hell did you let this happen? Be sure to tune in to CBS Saturday, May 21st, starting at 9 p.m.

for the two-hour broadcast network premiere of 48 Hours Presents, The Spymasters, CIA and the Crosshairs. Chat with members of the Spymasters team during the broadcast on Twitter and Facebook, and follow 48 Hours on Instagram. I'm Chris Whipple. Thanks for listening, and be sure to watch. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harbored a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones and for almost two

years I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction.

Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. The scary cult classic was set in the Chicago housing project. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror.

Candyman. Candyman? Now we all know chanting a name won't make a killer magically appear. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. We're going to talk to the people who were there, and we're also going to uncover the larger story. My architect was shocked when he saw how this was created. Literally shocked.

And we'll look at what the story tells us about injustice in America. If you really believed in tough on crime, then you wouldn't make it easy to crawl into medicine cabinets and kill our women. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, wherever you get your podcasts.