Sunday 4 'til 8 for Sunday 31 August 2014
4:07 War, Lies and Audiotape
The war between the United States and Vietnam cost over 1 million Vietnamese and 58,000 American lives. It left one country physically devastated and the other socially splintered. It began, President Lyndon Johnson told the world, with an "unprovoked attack" on American ships on the night of August 4, 1964.
What we know today is that the incident that was reported to have taken place in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam that night didn't ever happen. Yet three days later it was cited as the justification for the Gulf of Tonkin resolution: it authorised "the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression." The Gulf of Tonkin was the crucial turning point: in 1960 there were 900 American troops in Vietnam; by the end of 1965 there were nearly 200,000. Did President Johnson take his country to war on a lie, or was he misled?
Fifty years on, journalist and historian DD Guttenplan explores these dramatic events through archive recordings and new interviews with the key players, bringing all the evidence together for the first time. A fascinating archive of taped White House phone calls transports us back to that day: we'll listen in on President Johnson as he discusses the situation with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and hear the situation unfold through conversations between key military personnel.
Daniel Ellsberg remembers being in the Pentagon receiving reports of the incident on the day, and Jim Stockdale tells us his father's story: he was flying above the USS Maddox when the attack supposedly happened. We'll also hear from journalist Leslie Gelb and historians Frances Fitzgerald and Fred Logevall.
See the BBC website for more on this programme.
5:00 The World at 5
A roundup of today's news and sport.
5:12 Spiritual Outlook
Our regular catch up with the world of religion, spirituality, faith and ethics – produced and presented by Justin Gregory, Lisa Thompson, Amelia Nurse and Mike Gourley alternating with series from the BBC's World Service programme, Heart and Soul.
5:40 Te Waonui a Te Manu Korihi
Maori news and interviews from throughout the motu (RNZ)
6:06 Te Ahi Kaa
Exploring issues and events from a tangata whenua perspective (RNZ)
7:06 One In Five
The issues and experience of disability (RNZ)
7:35 Voices
A weekly programme that highlights Asians, Africans, indigenous Americans and more in New Zealand, aimed at promoting a greater understanding of our ethnic minority communities (RNZ)