Podcst
J. Edgar Hoover's FBI - The Bobby Sox Bandit Queen | 3 by Wondery

J. Edgar Hoover's FBI - The Bobby Sox Bandit Queen | 3

from American History Tellers

by Wondery

Published: Wed Apr 24 2019

Show Notes

During the mid-1930s,the FBI’s public relations department had effectively changed the image of its agents from accountants into action heroes; and its director, from a bureaucrat into an American icon. They pushed stories about heroic G-men facing off against violent foes, gunning them down in self-defense. And the press ate it up. But in April 1939,an FBI agent shot and killed a small town bank robber — in the back. The real story didn’t fit the FBI’s new heroic narrative. So Hoover changed it. Using his public relations machine, Hoover would twist the average story of a small-time midwestern criminal into one final, heroic, spellbinding triumph of the FBI.


Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.