Oklahoma City

I made a cross-country drive in July 1996; 15 months after the bombing which happened 15 years ago today. I made it a point to route myself through OKC, and in the fading sunlight at the end of the day I stood silent at the former site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building... Just an empty lot at the time, but haunted by what had happened there.

There is now a museum & memorial inviting us to remember those who were killed, or survived and were forever changed.



Suspicious Minds

In the immediate aftermath of the Oklahoma City Bombing 15 years ago, both media and law enforcement leaped to the conclusion that the attack must have come from Islamic terrorists. As a result, Oklahoma City’s Muslim population underwent a crisis. Why were they under suspicion? Had one of them done it? Reporter Scott Gurian looks at the ongoing impact of that misguided rush to judgment.

Audio: WNYC's On The Media 4/17/10.

Killing By Numbers

Since the "shot heard round the world" rang out on April 19th, 1775, the date of April 19th and/or April 20th have been imbued with significance. From Hitler’s birth to the killings at Waco, Columbine and Oklahoma City, each event echoes or evokes the anniversary of the last. Bob and Brooke weigh in on the numerology of terror.

Audio: WNYC's On The Media 4/17/10, Hosts: Brooke Gladstone & Bob Garfield.

"The McVeigh Tapes: Confessions of an American Terrorist" premieres tonight, Monday, April 19 at 9PM ET on MSNBC... Drawn from 45 hours of audiotapes recorded during McVeigh's prison stay, the film reveals the bomber's planning and execution of the attack and offers insight into how a decorated American soldier became an anti-government terrorist causing the deaths of 168 fellow citizens.