J. Edgar Hoover was a controversial figure who served as the director of the FBI for nearly five decades. In this episode, we explore his life and legacy with Beverly Gage, a professor of 20th-century U.S. history and author of the Bancroft Prize-winning biography "G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century."

We discuss

The context in which Hoover developed his anti-communist worldview, and how this shaped his approach to law enforcement.
The deportation of anarchists to Bolshevik Russia.
Similarities between Hoover and Xi Jinping.
The role of FBI informants, including one who met with Mao Zedong.

Outro music: G-Man Hoover by Van Dyke Parks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E566LbON5QA

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Hoover, Communism, and the FBI