The Diem Experiment (Part Five)

07/18/20 • 113 min

In November 1963, a faction of South Vietnamese generals overthrew and assassinated Ngo Dinh Diem with the support of the Kennedy administration. In the final part of this series, we'll explore how infighting, ambition, and miscommunication sealed the fate of the Diem Experiment and set South Vietnam on the path to disaster.

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The Diem Experiment (Part Four)

After destroying his rivals in the Battle of Saigon, President Diem sets out to build a new nation in South Vietnam. On the one hand he offers land reform and a glittering new middle class, built on a tide of American aid. On the other hand is a ruthless anti-communist campaign of denunciations, torture, and re-education camps. A sprawling cast of characters comes together in this complex chapter: Saigon oligarchs, French philosophers, American New Dealers, landlords, peasants, Viet Cong guerillas, communist double agents, and rebellious paratroopers all help to shape the fate of the Diem experiment in its tumultuous early years.

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Selling Out

In 1968, Jerry Rubin was sure that the baby boomers were the vanguard of a second American Revolution. A leader of the countercultural Yippies, he pioneered a new kind of absurdist political theater aimed at turning the young against the establishment: exorcising evil spirits from the Pentagon, throwing blood at ambassadors, and nominating a pig for president. But by 1980, Rubin had morphed into a New Age yuppie who believed that health foods, inner well-being, and the power of money would save America. In this episode, we'll explore Rubin's transformation - and what his story reveals about the demise of '60s idealism.