Nathaniel Raymond, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, joins me to talk about Francis Ford Coppola’s masterful 1974 film, The Conversation. Nathaniel makes a compelling argument that the movie was a history of the future – with Coppola accurately documenting the profound shift that surveillance technology would have on individuals and society. As Nathaniel says in our discussion: the movie is somehow more relevant to society today, 50 years after it was made.

Many thanks to Natty for coming and doing this with me. He was the absolute best person I could have on to discuss The Conversation.

Notes!

• “New ways of seeing create new ways of being blind” - Interview with Nathaniel about monitoring atrocities in Sudan
• The Conversation (1974) Behind the Scenes with Francis Ford Coppola
• Treasures from the Yale Film Archive: The Conversation
• Noli Tangere Cordis, do not touch the heart: a story of medical progress and shifting ethics
• The historic Blue Baby operation
• The revelation of MKUltra in 1973
• The Satellite Sentinel Project
• Recap of the discussion of Internet Power talk at Yale
• The Conversation final scene

Listen next month for a discussion with Gina Trapani about Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

Happy Holidays!