Slow Burn – "Extra, Extra" (Jan 23, 2018)

Host: Slate Podcasts
Episode Theme:
This bonus episode offers a curated selection of interviews from Slow Burn’s Slate Plus series, providing deeper insight into the Watergate scandal through voices seldom heard in the main episodes. The host introduces snippets from discussions with a talk show host, a Congressional staffer, a passionate fan club founder, and an FBI agent, revealing not just hidden details of Watergate but the personal experiences and emotions surrounding its unraveling.

Main Segments Overview

1. Dick Cavett Recalls Covering Watergate on TV
2. Jane D’Arista and the Fear of White House Wiretapping
3. Rob Coughlan and the Sam Ervin Fan Club
4. FBI Agent Paul Magallanes on Breaking Watergate—and Credit Misplaced

1. Dick Cavett: Early Media Attention & Backlash

[00:00–08:29]

Key Topics:

• Cavett’s role in bringing Watergate to his ABC talk show while most networks ignored the scandal.
• Political guests: Ted Kennedy, who speculated on camera about Nixon’s campaign involvement; Attorney General Richard Kleindienst, who downplayed the break-in’s scope.
• Cavett’s intuition that Watergate was significant, even as it was largely dismissed in media.
• The intense viewer backlash he faced, including hate mail and network anxieties.

Memorable Quotes:

• Dick Cavett [03:21]:
  “I sensed something was there that simply had to be attended to... Little did we dream that someday we would have available to us an audio tape of the President... ranting, screaming, railing at the anti war movement, railing at the press, his record breaking obscenities against Jews and fags, and just about anything you could think of. He was really a vile man...”
• Cavett [04:07]:
  “If I ever need a lift, I just go to YouTube and Cavett Nixon and there he is saying to hold him and Cavett, there must be some way we can screw him. When the most powerful man in the world wants to screw you—well, there are several jokes you can make about that.”
• On Hate Mail [06:58]:
  “Dear Dick Cavett, you little sawed off faggot communist shrimp... And I wrote back, ‘I’m not sawed off.’ I don’t know if they got it.”

Notable Moments:

• Cavett highlights the strangeness of high-ranking officials agreeing to be grilled on TV when they knew the risk.
• Admits enjoying the reactions to booking Watergate figures as the scandal deepened but denied being motivated by a crusade to topple Nixon.

2. Jane D’Arista: Congressional Investigators Under Siege

[08:29–11:35]

Key Topics:

• D’Arista’s time as staffer for Rep. Wright Patman, who led early (and stonewalled) Watergate probes.
• The climate of fear: Staff strongly suspected their phones were wiretapped—audible clicks, buzzing, but no traceable evidence.
• Deliberate distance: D’Arista refrained from deep involvement in the probe to protect herself and the investigation’s inner circle.
• Harassment by authorities: Their staff director faced spurious D.C. tax scrutiny, likely as intimidation.

Memorable Quotes:

• Jane D’Arista [09:04]: “We had pretty good indication that we were being tapped... Every now and then the phone would go buzz... They assured us that that was not true. But in point of fact, we really did... It went on, and it was obvious to us that there was an interest in doing so.”
• On Harassment [10:48]:
  “The staff director was called up about his D.C. income tax, and it became very harassing. It was not the IRS, and that was rather clever... It was just a harassing action.”

3. Rob Coughlan: National Sam Ervin Fan Club

[11:35–16:19]

Key Topics:

• A political junkie but not a natural fan of conservative senator Sam Ervin, Coughlan gained admiration for Ervin’s wit and integrity during the Watergate hearings.
• Inspired to found a fan club as kitsch-collecting and tongue-in-cheek homage, leveraging the “card-carrying” language of the era.
• Organizing a press conference for the club’s launch, Coughlan and co-founders were shocked by an overwhelming media turnout that went nationwide.

Memorable Quotes:

• Rob Coughlan [12:29]:
  “His bouncing eyebrows. They were fabulous. They’re like, you know, pogo stick eyebrows going up and down.”
• On Press Conference [15:13]:
  “We had it set up with the bust of Abraham Lincoln and a picture of the family and an American flag behind me, just like the Nixon Oval Office type of thing... The women passed out chocolate chip cookies on red, white and blue plates.”

4. Paul Magallanes: FBI Investigator on the Real Breakthrough

[16:19–21:04]

Key Topics:

• Magallanes recalls the first real break in Watergate: When bookkeeper Judy Hoback decided to trust him and divulge the deep financial machinations within the Committee to Re-Elect the President (“CREEP”).
• Emotional strain: The case’s scope hit home—“we’re investigating the presidency.”
• Hoback’s relief in finally talking, and later her anguish when her interview details appeared (nearly verbatim) in the press credited to Woodward & Bernstein.
• Magallanes’s deep frustration at the legend that the press “broke the case,” asserting the essential role of law enforcement.

Memorable Quotes:

• Paul Magallanes [17:42]: “This is the first breakthrough. This is an investigation that involves the presidency and his men... It was really a dramatic turn and heartbreaking because, you know, we’re investigating the presidency.”
• On Judy Hoback [18:27]:
  “She was relieved to tell us all of the information she had because she knew it was wrong... She wasn’t nervous... she was kind of very confident. She knew numbers, she knew dates, she knew names.”
• On Journalistic Credit [20:18]:
  “It’s the greatest myth in the history of journalism. I think they got all of the information from Mark Felt... and so they take credit for everything that we did. And they’re the ones that saved the Republic.”

Timestamps of Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamps | Topic | |---------|--------------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 1 | 00:00–08:29 | Dick Cavett’s Watergate coverage and public backlash | | 2 | 08:29–11:35 | Jane D’Arista and suspicion of wiretaps | | 3 | 11:35–16:19 | Rob Coughlan launches the Sam Ervin fan club | | 4 | 16:19–21:04 | Paul Magallanes on FBI’s breakthrough and the media myth |

Tone & Style

The episode is reflective, at times humorous, and often candid—pulling back the curtain on both the stress and absurdity of Watergate’s backchannels. Each guest’s voice emerges distinct: Cavett’s mordant wit, D’Arista’s cautious professionalism, Coughlan’s playful activism, and Magallanes’s mix of pride and frustration. The host keeps the conversations brisk, offering context but letting guests tell their own stories and reveal their own motivations.

Conclusion

"Extra, Extra" offers a rich mosaic of Watergate from unique personal perspectives—showing how a scandal this vast not only shaped public history but deeply touched the lives and careers of those who engaged with it. From media icons and congressional foot soldiers to fans and federal agents, the episode demonstrates how the Watergate narrative is more complex—and more personal—than legend often allows.