Claim OwnershipRachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order
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"Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order" is the story of one of the most shocking decisions in American history: the executive order to target and round up innocent citizens, Japanese Americans, at the outbreak of World War II. This six-episode narrative podcast will examine and shed new light on how that policy came to be, who was behind it, who attempted to stop it, and the heroism needed to end the policy for good. Brazen lies and stereotypes about a minority group being pushed by senior government officials. Desperate efforts to prevent the policy from going into place. A community terrorized on the streets by the U.S. military, grabbed from their homes and sent to faraway, hastily built detention camps. Government reports gathered up and set on fire to suppress the truth behind the policy. And a bombshell discovery in the unlikeliest of places that would ultimately expose it all. This is the story of the American government's decision to pursue and carry out an extreme and unconstitutional policy against its own citizens, and it's the story of what it finally took to stop it. Rachel Maddow's previous narrative podcasts -- "Bag Man," "Ultra," and "Ultra: Season 2" -- all reached #1 on the Apple podcast charts and have received an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award, a Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism, and most recently, a 2025 national Edward R. Murrow Award. Her new series, "Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order," premieres December 1, 2025.
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18"Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order" is the story of one of the most shocking decisions in American history: the executive order to target and round up innocent citizens, Japanese Americans, at the outbreak of World War II. This six-episode narrative podcast will examine and shed new light on how that policy came to be, who was behind it, who attempted to stop it, and the heroism needed to end the policy for good. Listen to the trailer here and follow the show. The first two episodes drop December 1st.
Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to get early-access to this show. Plus, receive bonus and ad-free content from this and other podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The bombshell discovery of a report that U.S. government officials had ordered burned has the potential to expose the truth about one of the most radical policy decisions in all of American history. A policy that one young Naval intelligence officer desperately tried to warn his superiors was unwarranted and unnecessary.
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In the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack, the man in charge of defending the American west coast has a serious case of the jitters... and also a bright, young aide who is busy drawing up plans to target a racial group in America en masse. With the clock running out, lawyers inside the Justice Department mount a furious effort to stop the policy from going into effect.
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The U.S. military is deployed on the streets of America, tasked with carrying out the mass round-up of innocent immigrants and American citizens labeled by the government as the "enemy" within. Tens of thousands of American families are forced to live in hastily constructed prison camps — enduring inhumane conditions — while government officials scramble to figure out what to do with them all.
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A principled politician puts his career on the line to stand up against the authoritarian actions of an emboldened federal government. While Americans largely sit by and watch their fellow Americans rounded up and stripped of their rights, a small group of brave resisters sets out to challenge the aggressive actions of the U.S. government and bring an end to them for good.
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As the cases of the four Japanese Americans challenging the U.S. government's mass incarceration policy arrive at the Supreme Court, a crisis suddenly erupts inside the Justice Department and the War Department as the true motivations behind the policy are now at risk of being revealed. A fierce battle is waged inside the government over whether to disclose the information to the courts, or cover it up.
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An incarceree-turned researcher and a federal inmate-turned Harvard educated lawyer comb through the archives and begin to peel back all of the layers of the government's program to mass incarcerate Japanese Americans. With their startling findings in hand, they and the Japanese American community set out to force the U.S. government to directly confront its actions.
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Rachel Maddow hosts a special conversation with guests from her "Burn Order" podcast, live from the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles to discuss the fight against the race-based incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II and how lessons from that episode in American history apply today.
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This makes me so proud and sad at the same time. Proud that at least there was a time when there were those in Congress and the Supreme Court who cared that justice was done for Japanese Americans. Sad that here now in 2025 the very same thing is happening yet again, worse, I'm not confident that this Congress and Supreme Court have what it takes to make this most recent injustice right.
Just as it is happening to brown people now. Is anyone listening? Or caring?
more ppl need to hear this...
This is proof that we can do better, we can recognize and repair our countries mistakes. But we must be honest about our history and demand accountability. This is the very crux of how we become better - as individuals and as a country - accept our imperfection. We need this more right now than ever. We can't rely on the integrity of leaders. They will lie. Rather, we have to remain tethered to our values and dogged in our search for the truth. Great work, MSNOW folks.
What an amazing sad story and a beautifully crafted retelling of it! The build-up and the parallels to today's America bring home the fragility of democracy.
Just finished this entire series. I was angry, and I cried. Unforgivable actions by our government then & now. I've seen Manzanar on CA-365, located east of the Sierra Navada range. It's hotter than hell in the summer and freezing in winter.
This series grips at the heart and the mind, a stark warning to all of us that we should guard against the erosion of civil liberties by racists, bigots, and those who peddle in disinformation. It is hard to imagine a more timely presentation. of this material, expertly executed as always
John De Witless
Wow! I’m in. I can’t wait to listen to the next episode. You make history so alive and if I know you, I’ll bet you’ll tie it in to what is happening today in the good old USA.