“The Troubled Air” book cover

I was in college, in the late 1950s, when I first read The Troubled Air, the book Irwin Shaw wrote in 1951 after the great success of his outstanding World War II novel, The Young Lions. The Troubled Air was written in 1951 when McCarthyism was still rampant. I read it again recently and, as is often true when you re-read a book you’ve enjoyed before, found it even more pleasurable and engrossing. I did not anticipate, however, finding it as relevant to our time as it is.


Today, Friday, June 13th, 2025, the House of Representatives voted to discontinue some of the funding for public broadcasting—the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (NPR)—as well as foreign aid: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/us/politics/house-foreign-aid-public-broadcasting-funds-trump.html

Tomorrow, a huge and expensive military march will take place in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Army—an appropriate celebration—and, surprise-surprise, the 79th birthday of the draft-dodging felon, sexual abuser, pro-terrorist, seditionist, misogynistic, chronic lying narcissist who presumes to occupy the oval office where decent, mostly honest, periodically heroic Americans once sat.

At the same time, millions of Americans will gather in more than 1500 cities, in all 50 states, to “peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” It is also Flag Day and I suspect some of the flags shown will be upside down, a traditional sign of distress.

Here is a transcript of the First Amendment of the original copy of the Constitution of the United States of America, which, at least in my observations, has not been read or, if read, not understood by most of the people in Congress who sit on the right (but also wrong) side of the aisle.

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Also on June 14th, at 2:30 PM local time, Pope Leo XIV will virtually address people gathered in Rate Field Stadium in Chicago, home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. Chicago is the Pope’s hometown and the White Sox his favorite team. His remarks will, of course, be seen by many more people than those filling that stadium.

My connection to baseball is greater than to the Pope as my first personal hero was Jackie Robinson. I have written about him before in a posting to this blog page (The Dodgers, once and forever – October 5, 2014 – http://www.stephenageller.com/2014/10/05/the-dodgers-once-and-forever/) and I will not repeat that here except to note that, for me and so many others, Robinson represented our getting closer to the realization of the promise of America. He was extraordinarily talented as a ball player and inspirationally courageous as a human being. I lived close enough to Ebbets Field, where the only Dodgers team played, to ride my bike there and I can still remember many thrilling games.

My second hero was Edward R. Murrow, who I first learned about in the years following World War II. Last week, CNN broadcast a live Broadway performance of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” written and produced by the actor and political activist, George Clooney. We were fortunate enough to see the Broadway production in person and to again see it on CNN.

Playbill featuring George Clooney as Edward R. Murrow

It tells of the historic months in 1954 when Edward R. Murrow, the legendary and courageous CBS newsman, helped expose the misinformation campaign and outright lies promulgated by Joseph R. McCarthy, the junior senator from Wisconsin, who claimed there were thousands of communists working in the federal government but was never able to document a single one. Thousands of lives were ruined by McCarthy, and his evil counsel, Roy Cohn, who served as chief counsel for McCarthy’s Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations. It is not difficult to accept the fact that one of Donald Trump’s principal mentors was Roy Cohn, a public homophobe who was in private himself homosexual (Cohn is a key character in Tony Kushner’s brilliant and acclaimed two-part play, Angels in America).

Edward R. Murrow in London during WW II

There are three thoughtful Murrow biographies (Prime Time – the Life of Edward R. Murrow, by Alexander Kendrick, 1969; Murrow: his life and times, by A.M. Sperber, 1986; Edward R. Murrow – an American Original, by Joseph E. Persico, 1988). I like them all but, if you can only read one, I recommend the Sperber book. I also wrote briefly about Murrow (Are We a Fearful People? – August 12, 2024 – https://stephenageller.com/2024/08/12/are-we-a-fearful-people/) during the months before the last election.

During World War II Murrow aired his reports from the rooftop of Broadcast House, a BBC affiliate, while bombs were falling on London during the German blitz. He memorably began his reports by saying, “This is London,” and ended them with, “Good night and good luck,” a phrase used by Londoners to end their evening conversations when they were not sure they’d see one another the next day. Once, standing in front of St. Martin in the Fields church, he placed his microphone on the ground to record the sounds of Londoners calmly walking to bomb shelters, to show there was no panic in London, likening the sounds to “ghosts shod with steel shoes.” All of his reports were live, none were recorded, and he used metaphors and rich descriptions to enthrall his audience. Still thrilling to hear and clear evidence of his great talent are those London broadcasts; try this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7e3G2WUhD4) and this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za2Lus0CkRc). Murrow also made me an Anglophile as he described the bravery and the grace of the English people under bombardment.

His broadcast, at the end of the war, from the Buchenwald concentration camp may make you weep (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkdVDLWo3EY ).

Clooney’s play, and the preceding 2005 movie, vividly highlights the months leading to Murrow’s confrontation with McCarthy. You may still be able to watch it on Max or the CNN website.

The film and the play both emphasize the importance of journalistic integrity and the dangers of unchecked political power. These are the same messages provided by Shaw’s The Troubled Air. Clooney’s and, through him, Murrow’s other message is that ordinary people can challenge powerful figures and uphold their beliefs in the face of adversity. This is also Shaw’s message.

Here is Murrow’s historic, courageous, thoughtful, honest report about Joseph R. McCarthy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwGQGM9X69o. Keep watching, there is a short introductory statement and then you will see McCarthy condemn himself.

To paraphrase Murrow, “we must not confuse dissent with disloyalty.” He went on, “This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy’s methods to keep silent.” He went on, “There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibility.” Clearly, there is no concern for other nations in the White House today but, as Murrow emphasized, “We can not defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.”

Murrow and his team chose to directly oppose the fear and paranoia of his time. Similarly, this is no time for anyone to remain silent in the face of the ongoing attacks on civil and human rights, in blatant opposition to the Constitution. If there is a “No Kings” demonstration in your city, join it. The numbers of people present will speak louder than whatever speeches are made.

Joseph N. Welch

The third hero on my list joined during the McCarthy hearings. Joseph N. Welch was a soft-spoken dignified Boston attorney who served as chief counsel for the U.S. Army and responded to McCarthy’s direct attack on a young service man who had been in Welch’s firm. Welch said, “Until this moment, Senator, I think I have never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. Fred Fisher is a young man who went to the Harvard Law School and came into my firm (then called Hale and Dorr) and is starting what looks to be a brilliant career with us … Little did I dream you could be so reckless and so cruel as to do injury to that lad. It is true he is still with Hale and Dorr. It is true he will continue to be with Hale and Dorr. It is, I regret to say, equally true that he shall always bear a scar needlessly inflicted by you. If it were in my power to forgive you for your reckless cruelty, I would do so. I like to think I am a gentleman, but your forgiveness will have to come from someone other than me.” When McCarthy continued his attack, Welch angrily interrupted and said, “Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir. At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” Here are Welch’s last words in that hearing: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7x8RkdG6I0).

This nationally broadcast hearing, which I so clearly remember seeing on our Dumont television set as it was being aired live, is forever with me. When will someone—a congressman, a senator, a journalist—stand up to our would-be king and say, “Have you no sense of decency?”

Welch’s impassioned defense of his client, coming months after Murrow’s broadcast, soon led to McCarthy’s censure by the full Senate (there were many Republicans with integrity in those days). There is, of course, much more to this story, including the important role played by the Supreme Court led by Justice Earl Warren, but that will have to await another day.

Irwin Shaw in the 1960s

In The Troubled Air, Shaw confirms his excellence as a writer. The novel tells the story of Clement Archer who is the director of a well-regarded weekly radio program in the early 1950s. The small cast of regulars have been with the show for some years. Previously, Archer was a college teacher in a small town when one of his former students, now a well-regarded actor, convinced him to come to New York to direct a new serial. Clement is told by his producers to fire four actors and one musician from his show because of alleged Communist sympathizing. To save the show and to answer the calls of his own conscience, Archer is granted a two-week deferral. He starts his own investigations. You will need to read the novel to learn the denoument.

Shaw drew on his own experiences for this novel, after working with Himan Brown, a well-known and successful radio producer in the post-WW II years. Shaw himself was named a communist in 1951 in a right-wing pamphlet, Red Channels, because he called on Congress to review the convictions of fellow screenwriters Dalton Trumbo (the film, Trumbo, about these years is excellent) and John Howard Lawson, one of the first screenwriters to write for “talkies.” Shaw commented on the novel, which never mentions McCarthy, by saying, “he wanted to show the decent and average American faced with social pressures of which he does not approve.” Regardless of the lack of evidence against him, Shaw was blacklisted and, a year later, moved to Europe where he stayed for 25 years. He maintained a highly productive career, authoring many successful novels (e.g. Voices of a Summer Day, Lucy Crown, Two Weeks in Another Town, Rich Man, Poor Man, and others) and screenplays.


Terry Moran, an ABC journalist for almost 30 years, was recently fired for criticizing a Trump minion. This administration has repeatedly demonstrated its animus towards journalists and journalism. Read The Troubled Air. The parallels to our time are unmistakable. Yesterday, Senator Alex Padilla of California was kept from asking a question of Kristi Noem, the HHS Secretary. He was thrown to the floor and handcuffed. By all accounts, Padilla is a gentleman and a gentle man.

What’s next?

Add me to the numbers at one of New York City’s “No Kings” rallies. What about you?