Created on 18 March 2026
In this episode, Professor Jeffrey Sachs and James W. Douglass, activist and writer, for an exploration of the assassinations of JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and RFK, and what their interrupted quests for peace reveal about American history.
They explore Douglass’s book ‘Martyrs to the Unspeakable: The Assassinations of JFK, Malcolm, Martin, and RFK’, which argue that these four leaders were killed not by isolated actors, but within a deeper context of national security power and Cold War politics. They discuss how each of these figures, in different ways, broke with prevailing orthodoxies, opposing nuclear brinkmanship, militarism, racism, and war, and how their evolving commitments to peace may have placed them in direct conflict with powerful institutions.
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About the Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs
The Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs is brought to you by the SDG Academy, the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). Hosted by Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the eminent thought-leader in economics and sustainable development, the Book Club features monthly interviews with renowned authors about their ground-breaking work in history, social justice, sustainable development, and more.
