Neal Conan special: Presidents, Politics and the FBI

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller
FBI Director Robert Mueller speaks during a farewell ceremony in Mueller's honor at the Department of Justice on Aug. 1, 2013. Mueller retired from the FBI after 12 years as director.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images 2013

Former NPR host Neal Conan explores the history of political influence at the FBI. There's often been politics at the FBI since its founding in 1908... is it different today?

Neal's guests are:

Asha Rangappa, a former FBI agent who specialized in counter-terrorism and now senior lecturer at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale. Neal talked to her about declassified memos, smoking guns, and the culture of the FBI.

Ron Elving is senior editor at NPR's Washington Desk and an adjunct professor at American University. He discussed the political history of the FBI, from gangbusters to Watergate.

Garrett Graff is contributing editor at Wired, and the author of several books including, "The Threat Matrix: Inside Robert Mueller's FBI." He talked about the transformation of the FBI since 9/11.

From Neal Conan's "Truth, Politics and Power" series. Truthpoliticsandpower.org