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“We tortured some folks.” Katherine Bigelow and Mark Boal’s blockbuster on the leadup to Bin Laden’s assassination was alternately ballyhooed and panned upon its release. Fans praised its purported cinematic achievements while critics lamented its alleged militarism or pro-torture sympathies. What’s remarkable today is the attention it received in all directions, perhaps a universal attention no longer possible in a society so fragmented and lost. Van and Lyle try to make sense of the movie as a contested event, and what its ambiguous ending might tell us about what came next. They also recall where they were when Obama ordered Seal Team Six to pull that trigger.

Further Reading

Alfreda Frances Bikowsky, Wiki Entry

Michael Scheuer, Wiki Entry

Imperial Hubris (2004), by Michael Scheuer

“Fake CIA Vaccine Campaign” (2014), by Todd Summers and J. Stephen Morrison

Reign of Terror (2021), by Spencer Ackerman

Subtle Tools (2021), by Karen Greenberg

Homeland (2024), by Richard Beck

Zero Dark Thirty Trailer

Teaser from the Episode