Intelligence

The Lawfare Podcast: The Pigeon Tunnel: Errol Morris Interviews John le Carré

Jack Goldsmith, Errol Morris, Jen Patja
Wednesday, November 22, 2023, 8:00 AM
Errol Morris talks about his new film on the espionage novelist John le Carré
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The great documentary filmmaker Errol Morris is best known for films such as “The Thin Blue Line” and “The Fog of War.”  His latest film, “The Pigeon Tunnel,” is about the great espionage novelist John le Carré, whose real name is David Cornwell. 

Jack Goldsmith recently sat down with Morris to talk about “The Pigeon Tunnel.”  They discussed le Carré’s complex and contradictory attitudes towards the Cold War,  the influence of the traitorous British intelligence officer Kim Philby on le Carré's work, what Morris and le Carré have in common as documentarians, and how le Carré compares with Graham Greene and Joseph Conrad. Morris also reflected on his craft, including the difference between an interview and an interrogation and how he learned to interview a subject without saying anything.

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Jack Goldsmith

Jack Goldsmith

@jacklgoldsmith
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Jack Goldsmith is the Learned Hand Professor at Harvard Law School, co-founder of Lawfare, and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Before coming to Harvard, Professor Goldsmith served as Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel from 2003-2004, and Special Counsel to the Department of Defense from 2002-2003.
Errol Morris

Errol Morris

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Errol Morris is a celebrated documentarian whose films have covered an array of topics in law and national security.
Jen Patja

Jen Patja

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Jen Patja is the editor and producer of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.

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