1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:04,400 Speaker 1: Welcome back to DRILL. I'm Amy Westerveldt. The Conference of 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: the Parties or COP the annual Global un climate negotiations 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: have kicked off in Egypt, and I'll be digging into 4 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: a few aspects of it over the next couple of weeks. 5 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 1: This week, I want to talk about greenwashing and how 6 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: it's made its way into these proceedings really since they 7 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: began back in the early nineties. You might remember a 8 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: guy named E. Bruce Harrison who's come up quite a 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: bit in this podcast over the years. Back in the 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: late nineteen eighties and early nineteen nineties, Harrison saw these 11 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: international climate meetings coming a mile away, and he helped 12 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: his oil and gas clients strategize to ensure that climate 13 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:54,279 Speaker 1: commitments would always be voluntary, not mandatory. He created an 14 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: industry group called the Global Climate Coalition, whose job was 15 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: to make sure that international climate talks never resulted in 16 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: anything binding. Here's Brown University environmental sociologist Bob Rule explaining 17 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: the GCC's role. 18 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 2: I mean, the GCC supported the passage of the United 19 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 2: Nations Framework Convention on Climate CHAP. They supported that in 20 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 2: ninety two. 21 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 3: Because it was toothless, you know, oh, yes, well we 22 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 3: need to further study, and of course we need to 23 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,399 Speaker 3: do this and everything will be voluntary. And then of 24 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 3: course when Clinton says mandatory, they go, oh no, no, no, 25 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 3: you can't have that. 26 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 2: And you know, they lobby like hell and get a 27 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 2: voluntary action plan, voluntary initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, YadA, YadA, YadA. 28 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 2: So by ninety two we already have they already got 29 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 2: a template, they already got an organization, they've got their 30 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 2: rhetoric down, they've got the organization down. There is a playbook. 31 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: When the world did get close to enacting a binding 32 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: treaty on climate, the Kyoto Protocol back in nineteen ninety seven, 33 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,559 Speaker 1: and it was the GCC that killed it. Here's brule again. 34 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 4: These are the guys like, well, what do we do, Well, 35 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 4: let's do this, and they, you know, they screwed around 36 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:12,679 Speaker 4: and made a couple of mistakes here and there, but 37 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 4: they got the playbook and they got it down and 38 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 4: they destroyed the Kyoto Protocol. 39 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 3: And well, now we know how to play this game, 40 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 3: and we've got a playbook, and we have a cadre 41 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 3: of people that know how to make this happen. 42 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 2: They say, what works well when you can attack the science, 43 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 2: do okay, play up the economics. Play up the economics, 44 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 2: play up the threat to the American way of life, 45 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 2: talk about international inequality, talk about energy security. 46 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: A lot of the talking points they crafted back then 47 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: are the same ones that are being trotted out today. 48 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: The Global South has been used as an excuse for 49 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,399 Speaker 1: the global North not to act on climate. Now it's 50 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: being used as an excuse for the global South not 51 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: to act on climate. The industry changes its narrative there 52 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: depending on what suits it. 53 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,519 Speaker 2: Cultural opportunists, I mean, with all this compassion for global 54 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:11,239 Speaker 2: poverty and the only way to get them out of 55 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 2: it is fossil fuels, which one and know that's not true. 56 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 4: And two what you know, this is. 57 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 2: A colonialist attitude of telling people how to figure out 58 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 2: their own lives, Thank you very much. They can reason 59 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 2: for themselves folk concern over the global South, because if 60 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 2: it's their argument, and so anything that supports their position 61 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 2: they'll grab onto for Right now, it's just it's just 62 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 2: opportunism as far as I'm concerned, because if they were 63 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 2: really concerned, they would have done. You know, there's all 64 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 2: kinds of things you can do. I don't see you 65 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 2: joining any of those groups. 66 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,119 Speaker 1: So from the very first, cop oil companies and importantly 67 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: their PR firms, have played a major role in determining 68 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: the outcome of global climate negotiations, which is why it 69 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: was pretty shocking to learn that the government of Egypt, 70 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: this year's host country, selected the firm Hill and Knowlton 71 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: to handle media for cop hillan Milton have been handling 72 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: briefings and press conferences for months leading up to the conference. 73 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 1: That name might sound familiar to listeners of this podcast too, because, 74 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: like Harrison, their founder, John Hill was the focus of 75 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: an episode in our mad Men season a couple of 76 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: years back. Hillan Noulton not only masterminded Big Tobacco's deception 77 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,479 Speaker 1: strategy back in the sixties, they also worked for the 78 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: fossil fuel industry during those years and were a conduit 79 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: of information between the two industries. Talking about the similarities 80 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: between Big Tobaccos and Big Oil's strategies without talking about 81 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 1: John Hill leaves out an important piece of the history, 82 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 1: and Hillan Nolton's conflicts of interests aren't in the distant 83 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: past either. Today the firm handles media for the oil 84 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: and Gas climate Initiative, a coalish of the world's twelve 85 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: largest oil and gas companies and a central hub for 86 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,480 Speaker 1: all of their greenwashing messages, from Meaningless that Zero pledges 87 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: on carbon to the hilariously named Aiming for Zero Methane 88 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: Emissions Initiative, which will be a major force in negotiations 89 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: on methane emissions at COP this year. It's hard to 90 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: imagine that the Hill and Milton team handling pr for 91 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: COP isn't feeding back immediately to the team that handles 92 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,279 Speaker 1: the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. With that in mind, 93 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:35,479 Speaker 1: I thought it might be worth rerunning our episode on 94 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: hilln Nolton, its founder John Hill, and its role in 95 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: crafting climate denial that's coming up right after this quick break. 96 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 5: When you look behind the veil, you find that it's 97 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 5: the same companies, it's the same firms. Often it's the 98 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 5: same people providing these services. And nowhere is that clearer than, 99 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 5: for example, with the role of Hill and Nolton. 100 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: Remember a couple of weeks ago, I said I'd found 101 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: some new leads that were relevant to this season. One 102 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: of them was the guy you just heard talking there, 103 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: Carol Muffett, who runs the Center for International environmental law. 104 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:21,600 Speaker 1: I already knew about Carroll and his organization, of course, 105 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: but what I didn't know was that he had quite 106 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: a bit of information and documentation that has never been 107 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: published on the various public relations firms that have worked 108 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 1: with the fossil fuel industry, and specifically with both the 109 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: fossil fuel industry and tobacco. 110 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 5: Hilen Nolton, which is widely recognized as a lead advocate 111 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 5: for the tobacco industry and the tobacco wars. Helen Milton, 112 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 5: was simultaneously and from a very early stage, also actively 113 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 5: representing an array of oil and gas companies on issues 114 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 5: of concern to them, and often the same account leads 115 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 5: on the tobacco campaigns were also account leads for oil companies. 116 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: As we learned in earlier episodes this season, these two 117 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,039 Speaker 1: industries have a long history of influencing each other, and 118 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaker 1: at the center of that influence are a few key 119 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: spinmasters there the guys were focusing on this season. I'm 120 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,679 Speaker 1: Amy Westervelt and this is Drilled, season three, the mad 121 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: Men of Climate Denial. Today we're going to dig into 122 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: the story of John Hill, founder of Hill and Milton. 123 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: John Hill was born on a farm in Indiana in 124 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety. His grandfather had been wealthy, but his father 125 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: lost all the family's money in a series of business 126 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: deals gone wrong, and Hill would spend the rest of 127 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: his life chasing the company and approval of rich men. 128 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: Like a lot of our other mad men, he started 129 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: his career as a journalist, but unlike the others, he 130 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: seems to have been fairly good at it, while they 131 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: each spent a year or to struggling to make journalism happen. 132 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 1: Hill was a financial and business reporter for seventeen years 133 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: before he got into the PR game. He even started 134 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: a couple of newspapers himself, although he struggled to keep 135 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:25,320 Speaker 1: them afloat. Some things never change. His first foray into 136 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: PR came in nineteen twenty in Ohio, when he took 137 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: a gig creating a newsletter that Cleveland's Union Trust Company 138 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: wanted to send out to local executives. By this time, 139 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:39,559 Speaker 1: he was the financial editor of a steel industry trade 140 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 1: magazine because Ohio. These jobs put him in regular contact 141 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,200 Speaker 1: with executives, who complained to him constantly that most reporters 142 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: were inept at numbers. They also introduced him to a 143 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 1: lot of influencers and executives in the area, and eventually 144 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 1: Hill saw a niche that he could fill helping companies 145 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 1: explain themselves to reporters who he didn't get it quite 146 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: as well as he did. Hill opened up his own 147 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: firm in nineteen twenty seven, with Union Trust and Otis 148 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 1: Steele as his first clients. Because Hill was well liked 149 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: by local executives, word spread fast, and within a couple 150 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 1: months he'd built an impressive roster. It included United Alloy Steel, 151 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: Republic Steel, and Standard Oil of Ohio. The Standard Oil 152 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: account was an important win for Hill because guess what, 153 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 1: he was a huge Ivy Lee fan, our first featured madman. 154 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,520 Speaker 1: Lee may have tapped Edward Burneize as his successor, but 155 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: John Hill was probably the more natural fit for that role. 156 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 1: Hill hated how flashy Berneise and many of the other 157 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 1: PR guys of his day were. He preferred Lee's distinguished 158 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: Southern gentleman shtick, and he emulated it. Like Lee, he 159 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: preferred to stay behind the scenes, although Hill took it 160 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 1: to an extreme, almost never appearing in the press. When 161 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: he did show up in public, it was always in 162 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: a conservative suit, clean shaven, hair slicked back, wire rimmed glasses. 163 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:05,319 Speaker 1: But just when his business was starting to take off. 164 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 6: The tremendous crowds which you see gathered outside the Stock 165 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,840 Speaker 6: Exchange are due to the greatest crash in the. 166 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 5: History of the New York Stock Exchange and market prices. 167 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: Hill's steel and oil clients weathered the financial storm okay, 168 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,079 Speaker 1: and Republic Steel had just helped to score the firm 169 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: a whale the American Iron and Steel Institute, the trade 170 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: group for the whole industry. They requested that Hill and 171 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: Nolton open up a New York branch near their headquarters 172 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 1: in the Empire State Building. That same month, Franklin Delano 173 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:37,679 Speaker 1: Roosevelt took office. 174 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 2: I my Well. 175 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 4: Doing new deal for the American Paper. 176 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: Hill hated the new deal, and so did most of 177 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: his clients. Standard Oil had him write up an advertorial 178 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,600 Speaker 1: assuring people American business would be okay, and his steel 179 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: clients had the firm cranking out pamphlets emphasizing the great 180 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 1: relationship between steel workers and their managers. The reality, of course, 181 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 1: was that steel workers and their bosses had been fighting 182 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: for a long time, and America's big steel companies had 183 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:16,080 Speaker 1: done everything they could to repress unionization. As the largest 184 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 1: industry in the country and the largest employer, the steel 185 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 1: industry kind of viewed itself as the last defense against unionization, 186 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: a protector of American business, defender of bosses everywhere. They 187 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:31,400 Speaker 1: were helped in their efforts by near constant concern about 188 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: creeping communism in the US, Starting with the nineteen nineteen 189 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: Red Scare and continuing for decades, anti union pamphlets Helen 190 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 1: Nolton made for Republic Steel highlighted how union shops actually 191 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: infringed on workers' rights. A closed union shop denies the 192 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: right of the individual worker to make his own choice 193 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,240 Speaker 1: as to whether he wishes to belong to a union. 194 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: It's the exact same line you see in anti union 195 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:58,359 Speaker 1: ads today. Another hell and Olden client, the National Association 196 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:02,320 Speaker 1: of Manufacturers, one of the earliest industry trade groups, went 197 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:06,800 Speaker 1: beyond pamphlets to sponsor a weekly pro business, anti New 198 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,440 Speaker 1: Deal radio drama called The American Family Robinson. 199 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,439 Speaker 6: It's time to join the American Family Robinson again in 200 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:21,079 Speaker 6: birch Faull. 201 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 7: But one thing this army situation ought to get credit 202 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:27,240 Speaker 7: for is bringing everybody face to face with the call fax. 203 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:29,839 Speaker 7: That's right and in order to remind the country is 204 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:34,080 Speaker 7: something more specific. It's only business and industry that can 205 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 7: provide soldiers and sailors with the proper equipment. 206 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 4: Sure, that's what I say. 207 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: But after more than a decade of suppression, the labor 208 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 1: movement was gaining steam again. A few years after opening 209 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: his firm's New York office, John Hell faced his first 210 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: big challenge in pr and just like with his hero 211 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: Ivy Lee, it came in the form of a violent 212 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 1: labor strike. Steel Workers were starting to band together by 213 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty seven, forming the Steel Workers Organizing Committee within 214 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,760 Speaker 1: one of the country's biggest unions, the CIO. This officially 215 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: freaked steel bosses out. The American Iron and Steel Institute 216 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: put HILLN. Nolton on the case, and they wrote up 217 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:15,880 Speaker 1: full page ads with a manifesto for the industry. The 218 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:20,120 Speaker 1: ads suggested that outside agitators had coerced employees into joining 219 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 1: the union. On the last day of June and the 220 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:26,240 Speaker 1: first day of July nineteen thirty six, the trade group 221 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:31,160 Speaker 1: sponsored full page ads in three hundred eighty two newspapers 222 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:35,320 Speaker 1: in thirty four states, but the unions persisted. In nineteen 223 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: thirty seven, US Steel agreed to recognize the unions and 224 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:41,440 Speaker 1: negotiate a contract that made it more difficult for the 225 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: other companies to resist. But there was one holdout, Little Steel, 226 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: an umbrella group that included all the smaller independent steel 227 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: companies led by a man named Tom Girdler, president of 228 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 1: Republic Steel, Hilen Nolton's client. They refused to have any 229 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:59,559 Speaker 1: sort of contract with a union, and then in May 230 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty seven, Girdler was elected president of the trade group. 231 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,480 Speaker 1: Apparently by this point he had been stockpiling weapons for months, 232 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: planning on some kind of armed battle with the union. 233 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:15,559 Speaker 1: Later that month, a strike began at the Republic Steel 234 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:16,920 Speaker 1: plant in Chicago. 235 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 6: Armed rikers and armed police in front of a South 236 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:31,400 Speaker 6: Chicago steel plant, tear gas and clubs and bullets, casting 237 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 6: an ugly cloud over an American scene. Ten people dead 238 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 6: and ninety people injured because tempers on both sides had 239 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 6: overcome reason. 240 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,239 Speaker 1: The union quickly braided the event the Memorial Day massacre. 241 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:49,000 Speaker 1: They held a mass funeral in Chicago attended by hundreds 242 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: of working class residents. Then another riot broke out at 243 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: another Republic plant, this time in Youngstown, Ohio. The FDR 244 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 1: administration was having none of this. By October or the 245 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 1: National Labor Relations Spoort had ordered the companies to reinstate 246 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 1: more than seven thousand workers with backpay. Then the Senate 247 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:11,600 Speaker 1: launched investigations into the steel Boss's methods because of Hill's 248 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: involvement in pushing anti union messages and ads and newspapers. 249 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 1: He was caught up in this investigation too. Senator Bob 250 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 1: Laffolette discovered that not only had John Hill placed ads, 251 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: he had successfully bribed a journalist. George Sikolski, a columnist 252 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: for the New York Herald Tribune, frequently wrote about free 253 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 1: enterprise and anti unionism in magazines like The Atlantic Monthly. 254 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 1: From nineteen thirty six to nineteen thirty eight, Sakolski received 255 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: twenty nine thousand dollars from Helen Nolton to write anti 256 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: union articles for the Steel Industry Trade Group, and it worked. 257 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:48,920 Speaker 1: He wrote stories in prestigious newspapers and magazines about how 258 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: the riots were all the union's fault, never disclosing his 259 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: connection to Helen Milton or the steel industry. Sekulski also 260 00:15:56,360 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 1: regularly ranted on the radio for the National Association of 261 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: Man Manufacturers and various other pro business groups. Here he 262 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:08,520 Speaker 1: is complaining about that terrible socialist policy, social security. 263 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 2: The Federal government Social Security Act passed by Congress, assigned 264 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 2: by the President. 265 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 7: Now in all the land, when we talk of that, we. 266 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 2: Have something very specifically for us, pretty. 267 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 4: Close to five billion dollars annually within the next fifteen. 268 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 2: Years to be met by texts which were produced increased prices, 269 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 2: reduced profits, and possibly even reduced employment of labor. 270 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: The dude was like a progressive era Rush Limbaugh. 271 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 6: Oh the girl who loves a soldier, here's the girl 272 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 6: who adores. 273 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: Ultimately, World War Two rendered the whole labor argument moot. 274 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: The factories were required to unionize, but there were also 275 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: kicked off, another red scare, further solidifying Hill's conservative, pro business, 276 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: anti government ideology. And it's that ideology that fueled his 277 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: work for his next big and lethal client. More on 278 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: that after the. 279 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 6: Break, simply conview, Oh. 280 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,960 Speaker 1: World War Two had just put an end to year's 281 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:24,920 Speaker 1: worth of labor strikes in steel mills. John Hill was 282 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: hired to help the industry through it all, but his 283 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,640 Speaker 1: work on that front was basically a failure. Not only 284 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,120 Speaker 1: had his clients lost the war with labor, but their 285 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,680 Speaker 1: goonish tactics had been outed in the press. They looked 286 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,920 Speaker 1: just like the evil bosses they were pretending really hard 287 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:42,399 Speaker 1: not to be. A lot of people would have lost 288 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:46,080 Speaker 1: those accounts for bungling the labor strikes. So thoroughly Hill 289 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:49,359 Speaker 1: had read the room entirely wrong. And not only that 290 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:53,360 Speaker 1: he'd gotten busted bribing a journalist, but by this point 291 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: the steel and oil barons who made up Hill's client 292 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: tell considered him a friend, an equal, a trusted confidant, 293 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: and he spent almost as much time managing how his 294 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,400 Speaker 1: clients saw him as how the public saw them. By 295 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: this point, Hill had also learned a very important lesson. 296 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,120 Speaker 1: His job was not to sell the public on any 297 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:16,960 Speaker 1: particular product, company, or industry. It was to sell Americans 298 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,959 Speaker 1: on the importance of American business in general, and particularly 299 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:25,359 Speaker 1: big business. He was pushing ideology, creating social license for 300 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:29,479 Speaker 1: American industry, and that meant working in Washington too. Shortly 301 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: after the war, Hill and Nolton became the first PR 302 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: firm to have an entire branch dedicated to public policy work. 303 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:39,600 Speaker 1: The Washington office didn't have its own accounts. It existed 304 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:42,960 Speaker 1: solely to handle government relations for the firm's New York 305 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,080 Speaker 1: and Cleveland clients by this point, that meant they had 306 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: their hands in everything from energy policy to agriculture and 307 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:55,640 Speaker 1: all points between. For clients like Texaco, Marathon Oil, Coca Cola, Monsanto, 308 00:18:55,800 --> 00:19:02,800 Speaker 1: and a big new client, the Tobacco Industry Research Committee. 309 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:08,919 Speaker 7: Listen while I tell you a story, the tale of 310 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,399 Speaker 7: the Marlborough brand. It came out of Bridge. 311 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 1: We're gonna spend a fair bit of time talking about 312 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:20,760 Speaker 1: the Tobacco Industry Research Committee for a few reasons. First, 313 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 1: it's a really good example of the type of strategy 314 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,800 Speaker 1: Hill would typically recommend for industries. Second, it shows how 315 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: a dept he and his firm were at manipulating the press. 316 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:35,680 Speaker 1: And third, because Hill is a huge link between tobacco 317 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 1: and oil. Not only did he have oil clients early 318 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 1: on who informed some of his work on tobacco and 319 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: vice versa, but he often brought them together in the 320 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,960 Speaker 1: same trade groups. R. J. Reynolds, for example, a key 321 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 1: member of the Tobacco Industry Research Committee, also had their 322 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:54,679 Speaker 1: research arm join the American Petroleum Institute, a client of 323 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,119 Speaker 1: John Hill's by this point. And then there was the 324 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: more direct intersection which attorney Carol Muffett poin out to me. 325 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:06,000 Speaker 5: Gas stations were the most important retail outlets for cigarettes 326 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:10,360 Speaker 5: for decades, and for the oil companies, cigarettes were their 327 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:15,400 Speaker 5: most important retail product other than gasoline itself. 328 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: Fascinating, right, but it makes complete sense when you think 329 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,639 Speaker 1: about it, and also helps explain why there were so 330 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,960 Speaker 1: many overlapping ad campaigns between the companies. Muffett says, there 331 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,680 Speaker 1: are two things that make this remarkable. 332 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 5: One was the joint marketing strategies and documents and analysis 333 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 5: that the oil companies would do together with the tobacco companies. 334 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:42,720 Speaker 1: The tobacco industry archives are filled with these strategies and reports, 335 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,879 Speaker 1: and many of the joint ventures were between two Helln 336 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: Milton clients. 337 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 5: So by the time you get to the nineteen eighties 338 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 5: and nineteen nineties, we were finding joint meetings of advertising 339 00:20:55,960 --> 00:21:00,880 Speaker 5: managers from Exxon Mobil and Rjr. Or for Evron and 340 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 5: Philip Morris. 341 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: And these meetings were not just quick debriefs either. 342 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,600 Speaker 5: They would often include detailed requirements about where the cigarettes 343 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 5: would be posted, what aisles they would be visible to, 344 00:21:13,119 --> 00:21:15,480 Speaker 5: ensuring that they were set up next to the candy. 345 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 5: One of These reports runs to two hundred pages and 346 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:25,840 Speaker 5: includes incredibly detailed analysis that broke people down by demographics, 347 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:31,119 Speaker 5: by neighborhoods, by socioeconomic status, with the goal of targeting 348 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 5: them very individually. 349 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:36,760 Speaker 1: Muffett tells me their entanglements eventually went beyond advertising, and. 350 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 5: So it's perhaps unsurprising, though it's also very little known 351 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,959 Speaker 5: that the oil and gas companies actually ended up as 352 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 5: defendants in the tobacco suit. 353 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 1: I did not know that, but it's true. I double 354 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:53,880 Speaker 1: checked the tobacco industry archives and there they are Texco, Chevron, Exxon, SOO, 355 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 1: and more, all named defendants in the tobacco suits. 356 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 5: Even less understood. And the thing that I think we 357 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:09,119 Speaker 5: found most striking was that when tobacco companies needed to 358 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:13,320 Speaker 5: assess the toxics in their cigarettes and in cigarette smoke, 359 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 5: the people they turned to to do it were the 360 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:16,680 Speaker 5: oil companies. 361 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 1: Hold on, what why would they do that? Well, remember, 362 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,879 Speaker 1: by this point, the oil companies had had their own 363 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,520 Speaker 1: air pollution issues because of smog and lead and gasoline, 364 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:29,879 Speaker 1: so they had all the equipment necessary to do this 365 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,400 Speaker 1: sort of testing at the time. And it's also worth 366 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: repeating that John Hell repped both the main oil industry group, 367 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:40,399 Speaker 1: the American Petroleum Institute, and the mean tobacco industry group, 368 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,880 Speaker 1: the Tobacco Industry Research Committee. Here's Muffett again. 369 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 5: And when the oil companies reported back to the tobacco 370 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 5: companies on the toxins they were funding in that smoke, 371 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:54,800 Speaker 5: you know what did they do with the information? Did 372 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,080 Speaker 5: they go public and say there's a massive risk here. 373 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:02,560 Speaker 1: No, Instead, they into a joint enterprise with the oil companies, 374 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,159 Speaker 1: agreeing to make cigarette filters for Big Tobacco, a product 375 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:07,760 Speaker 1: Muffet calls one of the. 376 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 5: Most ubiquitous plastic pollutants in the world, cigarette filters, and 377 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:17,119 Speaker 5: the leaders in developing them were Exxon and Shell. And 378 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,399 Speaker 5: they did it because they saw a marketing opportunity and 379 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:24,640 Speaker 5: a market opportunity in capturing the smoke. 380 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,280 Speaker 1: And of course for tobacco, it wasn't just a handy 381 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,840 Speaker 1: defense against rising health concerns around smoking. It was also 382 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 1: a chance to sell more cigarettes. 383 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:34,040 Speaker 6: My barber is. 384 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:39,120 Speaker 7: Always right, listen, real, which filter cigarette do you recommend? 385 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 6: La marras pilot. Marris makes a filter, the filter that's 386 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:43,840 Speaker 6: full of flavor. 387 00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:47,560 Speaker 5: It's really worth recognizing that as part of the tobacco litigation. 388 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 5: It came out that both the filter manufacturers and the 389 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 5: tobacco companies understood all along that those filters were a 390 00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 5: marketing tool, that they did virtually nothing to reduce the 391 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 5: toxic nature of cigarette smoke, and those filters are not 392 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:09,440 Speaker 5: just you know, they did more than just create a 393 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:13,000 Speaker 5: new product stream for the oil and gas companies and 394 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 5: creating an excuse for the tobacco industry to continue selling cigarettes. 395 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:23,200 Speaker 5: They also started showing up in the environment over and 396 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 5: over as the cutting edge of the plastics crisis. 397 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:31,160 Speaker 1: It's true, every time you see one of those inventories 398 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 1: from beach cleanups or big ocean plastic cleanups, one of 399 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:38,399 Speaker 1: the top five items they collect is always cigarette butts 400 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:40,960 Speaker 1: because of the filters. Well, of course, I know that 401 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 1: oil companies are in the petrochemical business and definitely linked 402 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,760 Speaker 1: to plastic. I had had no idea that they had 403 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:50,640 Speaker 1: come up with the cigarette filter or that filters were 404 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:53,920 Speaker 1: complete bullshit, and they knew it that they were just 405 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: made to throw up a smoke screen for tobacco and 406 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 1: create a new revenue stream for big oil. So while 407 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,000 Speaker 1: all of this back and forth is happening between the 408 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,720 Speaker 1: oil guys and the tobacco guys Hill and Nelton has 409 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: their staff funding and sourcing research on all the other 410 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,800 Speaker 1: things connected to lung cancer, and they're looking for scientists 411 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: to sign on to the advisory board of the Tobacco 412 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:22,000 Speaker 1: Industry Research Committee. This was all Hill's brainchild. The tobacco 413 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: companies initially argued with him. They didn't want to do 414 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,640 Speaker 1: a whole separate research committee. They'd already done their own 415 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: research and they thought that Hill should just be pushing 416 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,640 Speaker 1: that instead of trying to get them to fund more studies. 417 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:37,360 Speaker 1: They didn't need a whole independent research committee, but Hill 418 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 1: insisted they needed third party, independent research that would be 419 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:45,159 Speaker 1: perceived as more credible than the company's own research by 420 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,880 Speaker 1: the media. Eventually they gave in. In December nineteen fifty three, 421 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: the CEOs of all the major American tobacco companies met 422 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:55,200 Speaker 1: with Hill at the Plaza Hotel to launch the Tobacco 423 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:59,359 Speaker 1: Industry Research Committee. Now they just needed a reputable cancer 424 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:03,639 Speaker 1: research as their scientific director, and that was not easy 425 00:26:03,760 --> 00:26:05,800 Speaker 1: to find. So in the first several months of the 426 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:10,720 Speaker 1: committee's existence, its research was conducted by hillan Nolton staffers. 427 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,480 Speaker 1: There are all of these internal staff memos from this 428 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:16,160 Speaker 1: time where they're giving updates on clients, and the oil 429 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:20,120 Speaker 1: tobacco connection is stark because you've got updates on Texaco, 430 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:24,440 Speaker 1: followed immediately by updates on this phony research committee with 431 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:28,399 Speaker 1: lots of the same staff on both. Eventually they hired 432 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:32,119 Speaker 1: doctor Clarence Cook Little. He went by CECI, and Helen 433 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: Nolton proclaimed him a world renowned cancer researcher, which was 434 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 1: a bit of a stretch. He'd been president of the 435 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 1: University of Michigan and had worked for a year as 436 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 1: the managing director of the American Cancer Society, but he'd 437 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:50,480 Speaker 1: never actually done any cancer research. The quote unquote cancer 438 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:55,359 Speaker 1: lab that Little ran raised mice for actual researchers to 439 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 1: use in the hands of hilln Nolton, though, Little became 440 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 1: a widely respected res researcher, so much so that in 441 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 1: May nineteen fifty five, when famed journalist Edward R. Murrow 442 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:10,200 Speaker 1: wanted to tackle the smoking controversy in a two part special, 443 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:12,159 Speaker 1: Little was introduced like this. 444 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,840 Speaker 7: The cigarette industry, aware of this fact and fully cognizant 445 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:21,360 Speaker 7: of its responsibility, has organized the Tobacco Industry Research Committee. 446 00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 7: Its scientific director is the eminent cancer investigator, doctor Clarence 447 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:30,960 Speaker 7: Cook Little, head of the Jackson Memorial Laboratory at Bar. 448 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 6: Harbor, Maine. 449 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 1: The research group arranged for Murrow to talk to two 450 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:38,800 Speaker 1: other quote unquote independent scientists, both of whom were also 451 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 1: on Tobacco's payroll, unbeknownst to Murrow, and the resulting documentary 452 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,480 Speaker 1: actually had the effect of making the legit scientists who 453 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 1: hadn't gone through hillan Nelton's extensive media training look like activists, 454 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 1: and the industry plants looked like the serious, logical adults 455 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:55,920 Speaker 1: in the room. 456 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 7: Doctor Little, have any cancer causing agents been identified? Cigarettes? No, none, whatever, 457 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:09,640 Speaker 7: either in cigarettes or in any product of smoking as such. 458 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:14,120 Speaker 1: Although he officially retired in nineteen sixty two, John Hill 459 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,479 Speaker 1: remained very involved in his firm, going to the office 460 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,119 Speaker 1: daily right up to a month before he died at 461 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 1: the age of eighty six in nineteen seventy seven. Hill 462 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:25,760 Speaker 1: had stayed true to his commitment to stay out of 463 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 1: the press himself, and none of his industrial machinations were 464 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:31,480 Speaker 1: well known at the time of his death. His New 465 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 1: York Times obituary sounds like it could have been written 466 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:37,920 Speaker 1: about any kindly octogenarian at the time, always conscious of 467 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:41,200 Speaker 1: his health, mister Hill lunched daily on cottage cheese and 468 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: fruit or prune whip, and claimed that he worked out 469 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: in a gym two nights a week. He reads. He 470 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 1: rode his own horses around his place in Pauling, New York, 471 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 1: weekends frequently with business executives who also loved the sport, 472 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: and spent two weeks each year bareback riding in Arizona, 473 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 1: yepun up and bareback writing and manipulating Americans. That's John Hill. 474 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 1: Coming up next week, we'll meet the couple that spawned 475 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,760 Speaker 1: climate denial, and we've got two more episodes for you 476 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:30,440 Speaker 1: this season after that, So stay tuned. Drilled is produced 477 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 1: and distributed by Critical Frequency. The show is reported, written 478 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: and produced by me Amy Westervelt. Our editor is Julia Ritchie. 479 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 1: Our editorial advisor is Raka Murphy. Sound design and score 480 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:47,160 Speaker 1: by B Beaman. Katie Ross created the amazing artwork for 481 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:50,960 Speaker 1: this season special. Thanks to our First Amendment Attorney James 482 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 1: Wheaton and the First Amendment Project. Thanks for this episode. 483 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,760 Speaker 1: Also to researcher Karen Miller for her terrific book on 484 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:01,560 Speaker 1: John Hill, the voice of business journalist Dan Ziegert for 485 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,640 Speaker 1: sharing some of his reporting on Hill and pointing me 486 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: to the whole murrow of fiasco. Drilled is made possible 487 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:09,960 Speaker 1: in part by a generous grant from the Institute for 488 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 1: Governance and Sustainable Development. We appreciate their support. You can 489 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,160 Speaker 1: find Drilled wherever you get your podcasts. Remember to leave 490 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:19,840 Speaker 1: us a rating or review. It really helps people find 491 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 1: the show. You can follow us on Twitter at we 492 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:26,480 Speaker 1: are Drilled, and visit our website drillednews dot com for 493 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 1: more reporting on this subject and behind the scenes stories 494 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 1: from this season. Thanks for listening and we'll see you 495 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:33,200 Speaker 1: next time.