Empire of Secrets: Behind-the-scenes
What went into the making of Empire’s episode on the clandestine world of government secrets and surveillance?
Host Marwan Bishara and Larry Beinhart discuss Empire’s episode on the clandestine world of government secrets.
Who is watching the watchers is not simply questioning whether governments should surveil citizens, but also wonders when government secret-keeping crosses from democracy over to dictatorship.
The issue was brought to attention with recent revelations about a secret surveillance programme run by the US National Security Agency (NSA), but it carries far beyond the US.
As director Oliver Stone put it in our interview, “It’s a global security state, it’s not a national security state.”
Beinhart is the author of the book American Hero , which was later adapted as the Hollywood movie Wag The Dog. He joined Empire this month as a behind-the-scenes consultant to the show. The pair explain the production team’s editorial decisions, why Empire is tackling the issues that it is and what to expect from the programme.
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