Fiasco
Leon Neyfakh transports listeners into the day-to-day reality of the country's most pivotal historical events, bringing to life the forgotten twists and turns of the past while shedding light on the present.
- 2021-2021
- 1 season
- I
- Documentary
Leon Neyfakh transports listeners into the day-to-day reality of the country's most pivotal historical events, bringing to life the forgotten twists and turns of the past while shedding light on the present.
Season 1 Episode Guide
6 Episodes 2021
Episode 1
Setting the Stage
Sun, Sep 19, 2021 54 mins
The first episode looks at the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the ensuing hostage crisis. Leon Neyfakh narrates that while the Iran-Contra affair was known as "Ronald Reagan's scandal" the stage was set by President Jimmy Carter. The 1979 oil crisis causes frustration among American citizens because of empty gas pumps. In July 1979, Carter delivered his "Crisis of Confidence" speech. When Mohammad Reza Shah arrives in the United States for cancer treatment, some Iranian pro-Khomeini protesters claims that the Iranian king is malingering to plot a return to Iran to stage a counter-revolution. Abbas Milani says that while the Iranian king suppressed and arrested the communists, he allowed the Islamic clergy to organize and mobilize to "fight communism." ABC News's Nightline was started to give broadcast time on national television to the families of the 1979 American hostages held in Tehran. In April 1980, eight American service members die when their helicopter crashes in Iranian desert (Operation Eagle Claw). Ralph Reed says,"Even though he [Ronald Reagan] was divorced [twice] and came out of Hollywood," the Evangelical Christians welcomed him. Modern interviews and archival footages are shown.
Episode 2
Body and Soul
Sun, Sep 26, 2021 54 mins
After Nicaragua, the Reagan Administration is convinced the Soviet Union is on the march; Lt Colonel Oliver North is tapped to support the Contras.
Episode 3
A Difficult Dilemma
Sun, Oct 3, 2021 50 mins
A civil war in Lebanon results in a new hostage crisis; National Security Advisor Robert "Bud" McFarlane's proposal.
Episode 4
The Trip to Tehran
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 50 mins
Reagan's cabinet strikes an illegal weapons-for-hostages deal with an Iranian arms merchant; proceeds pay for the Nicaraguan civil war.
Episode 5
Shot Out of the Sky
Sun, Oct 17, 2021 46 mins
Bizarre events in Iran and in Nicaragua, spark a frenzy among the press and public; Reagan's team debates how best to respond.
Episode 6
The Fall Guy
Sun, Oct 24, 2021 55 mins
The Justice Department launches an investigation into the Reagan administration's deals with Iran; one man is chosen to take the fall for the president.