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Wiretapping: a secret history

Brian Hochman reveals how wiretapping has been part of American life for centuries, used by criminals and law enforcement alike

Published: April 8, 2022 at 12:19 PM

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Wiretapping has a chequered past in the United States, from civil war soldiers who were seen as heroes for tapping enemy wires to the political scandals that rocked the 20th-century establishment. Brian Hochman, the author of The Listeners: A History of Wiretapping in the United States tells Rhiannon Davies about the history of electronic eavesdropping.

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Brian Hochman is the author of The Listeners: A History of Wiretapping in the United States (Harvard University Press, 2022)

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Authors

Rhiannon DaviesFreelance journalist

A former BBC History Magazine section editor, Rhiannon has long been fascinated by history and continues to write for HistoryExtra.com. She has appeared on the award-winning HistoryExtra podcast, interviewing experts on a variety of subjects, from Lucy Worsley discussing Agatha Christie to Sir Ranulph Fiennes on the perils of polar exploration

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