Lies. Alternative facts. Demonizing the opponent. Former Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) has been dead for 63 years, but the political tools and techniques that he pioneered are very much alive. They are as fresh as today’s headlines. The Free Library is proud to present “Trust No One: Joe McCarthy and the Politics of Fear,” a special series that explores the life of an American demagogue and the dangerous legacy he left behind.

“The Strange Afterlife of Roy Cohn” is the final lecture in this five-part series. The Army-McCarthy Hearings may have destroyed Joe McCarthy, but Roy Cohn re-invented himself as a New York power broker and the mentor of Donald Trump. Investigative reporter and writer-at-large for Vanity Fair Marie Brenner will take a look at Cohn’s long shadow.

This free virtual program will be presented on Zoom. To register, please click here.

"Trust No One: Joe McCarthy and the Politics of Fear" is made possible by generous support to the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation from Elizabeth Gemmill and Murray and Lonnie Levin.