Soledad O'Brien
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Cord hoped the agency could help quell the threat of nuclear war.
Cord hoped the agency could help quell the threat of nuclear war.
If Kord couldn't work toward world peace through international cooperation, maybe this was the next best option. Kord took the job.
If Kord couldn't work toward world peace through international cooperation, maybe this was the next best option. Kord took the job.
In 1951, Mary, her husband Cord, and their three young boys moved to a well-to-do suburb of Washington, D.C. Mary was excited. Now she could take care of her boys in a big farmhouse. And she could meet up with old Vassar friends who had settled in the district.
In 1951, Mary, her husband Cord, and their three young boys moved to a well-to-do suburb of Washington, D.C. Mary was excited. Now she could take care of her boys in a big farmhouse. And she could meet up with old Vassar friends who had settled in the district.
Their shared hopes for a peaceful future had all but vanished. Here's Nina Burley again.
Their shared hopes for a peaceful future had all but vanished. Here's Nina Burley again.
They started taking their grievances about each other to an especially personal space, Cord's diary.
They started taking their grievances about each other to an especially personal space, Cord's diary.
I know it sounds odd or even unhealthy, but it indicates how unhappy they were. Still, for Cord, his diary was the place he felt comfortable expressing his frustrations.
I know it sounds odd or even unhealthy, but it indicates how unhappy they were. Still, for Cord, his diary was the place he felt comfortable expressing his frustrations.
His diary wasn't something that was meant to be kept private from his wife, at least not according to Mary's handwritten annotations inside of it.
His diary wasn't something that was meant to be kept private from his wife, at least not according to Mary's handwritten annotations inside of it.
Cord would write about his disappointments over his career and the dimming prospects of peace. And then Mary would dive in.
Cord would write about his disappointments over his career and the dimming prospects of peace. And then Mary would dive in.
Mary was not a gentle editor.
Mary was not a gentle editor.
It wasn't easy to be the wife of a CIA man. To begin with, what do you tell the children?
It wasn't easy to be the wife of a CIA man. To begin with, what do you tell the children?