The Big Lie

Jon Hamm is great as hard-boiled anti-Communist FBI Agent Jack Bergin. The drama is most nuanced and fun to listen to if you perform a thought experiment: assume it is true that some Communist operatives had infiltrated the entertainment industry, academia, the media and government. In other words, assume the "Conspiracy So Immense" was real. Soviet and FBI documents made public in the 1990s support that the Soviet-sponsored "International Communist Conspiracy" was not a figment of the imagination of "Red Baiters." But whether you agree or disagree, it is really fun while listening to assume this is true, as this provides incredible (unintended) nuance and suspense to the production. Will Agent Jack Bergin fall for the appealing spin of the Communists, or will he remain true to his anti-Communist principles? You will need to listen to the whole production to find out. The story's portrayal of attitudes and beliefs in the early 1950s was well done. This adds to this suspense, once you embrace this thought experiment.