Countdown to Dallas

Sixty years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, veteran White House correspondent Paul Brandus provides an in-depth look at the seemingly unconnected events that led to that infamous afternoon in Dallas, Texas. He explores the troubled and broken life of Kennedy’s killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, and challenges six decades worth of conspiracy theories—none of which have been proven.

In this series (and in his book by the same name), Paul combs through tens of thousands of documents, all recently released by the National Archives and Records Administration, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Paul's findings take us back to 1939, to explore the transient childhood and often-violent teenage years of Oswald, a man who was focused on becoming famous by any means.

We follow the sordid and fascinating chapters of Oswald's life, including his tenuous time in the Marines, a short stint living in the Soviet Union, and one rash attempt to defect to Cuba by hijacking a plane.

Paul dives into the cultural and political climate of the 1950s and early 1960s, offering a unique perspective on a time he calls a “more innocent era.” He unpacks mounting tensions with Cuba, Vietnam, and the Soviet Union, and reveals lesser-known details that debunk long-held—but still unproven—conspiracy theories that continue to hover over the assassination.

Interested in reading the book first? Countdown To Dallas by Paul Brandus is out now in bookstores near you. Also pick up Paul's Amazon best-seller, Jackie—a colorful biography of Jacqueline Kennedy in the years between her two marriages—and listen to its companion podcast, From First Lady to Jackie O, which has already received over 100,000 downloads. Or for more amazing stories about how false information turns our world inside out, listen to Paul's podcast, Disinformation.

"One of the top Washington Insiders You Should Follow on Twitter," according to The Atlantic, Paul manages the famous @WestWingReport, which earned him the Shorty Award for "Best Journalist on Twitter" in 2011. You can also connect with Paul via his LinkedIn profile here.