The Washington Conversation

The Washington Conversation was a CBS program produced by Michael J Marlow and directed by Bill Linden and aired from 1961 to 1962. The show was hosted by Paul Niven who interviewed politicians and public figures during a half hour show.  Since the series end, The Washington Conversation has largely been forgotten from public memory. The initial reception of the show was mixed. One critic after watching the premier of the show complained that the host, Paul Niven Jr., was too superficial and was afraid to dig deep at the interviewee, Labor Secretary Arthur J. Goldberg. Despite the initial unfavorable review, the series was able to book several prominent public figures during the series tenure. The episodes that are in the IUMIA collection contain interviews with Alf Landon, Arthur Goldberg, Arturo Frondizi, Carl Hayden, Chester Bowles, Martin Luther King Jr., Jawaharlal Nehru, John C. Stennis, Stewart Udall, and Walter W. Heller.