We were honored to interview Michael Meeropol for this episode. Michael Meeropol is one of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg’s two sons, both of whom were still children when their parents were arrested. The two brothers, Michael and Robert, spent decades investigating their parents’ case. But as Michael shows in this fascinating interview, they used their training — Robert’s as a lawyer, Michael’s as a historian and political economist — to really understand the situation and try to find the truth, not to present their parents as martyr-saints. This means we get to get into the nitty gritty of the case, of who knew what when, of how the government framed a guilty man and an innocent woman, and how the myths of the case, right and left, got made. Michael is a great guest, knowledgeable, witty, and warm, and we had a great time recording this, and think you’ll have a great time listening.

Special thanks to Komakino, Ubuntu 444, Junkyard Shaman, and, yes, a young Mike Meeropol for the music on this episode. Thanks as well to all our subscribers, this episode is a little late but worth the wait.

The documents, folks: 

1) Michael and Robert's 2016 Petition to Exhonerate their mother, Ethel Rosenberg, which garnered 60,000 signatures: https://www.rfc.org/petition.

2) Michael and Robert's 2022 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for NSA materials regarding Ethel Rosenberg: https://www.rfc.org/2022-foia-request

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