Hi there,

This year commemorates Democracy Now!’s 30th year of independent broadcasting. While there is so much uncertainty about the future of the planet right now, we will keep highlighting the activists, researchers, scholars, scientists, artists and ordinary people working for a more peaceful and just world. Please donate today, so we can keep shining a spotlight on the grassroots movements fighting for democracy and challenging abuses of power around the world. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Pol Pot and the US Government Connection

Listen
Media Options
Listen

The death of former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot has raised both questions about the manner of his sudden demise, as well as questions about how it will impact on Cambodia’s future. Pol Pot, whose brutal 1975-79 rule resulted in the death of an estimated 1.7 million people, died on Wednesday, reportedly of a heart attack.

The former leader’s death has been welcomed by countries implicated in his brutal policies — countries that include the United States. Joining us now to talk about the U.S. role in the atrocities that gave rise to the killing fields of Cambodia is the reporter who broke the story in the West, Pulitzer

Prize winning journalist Sidney Schanberg.

Guest:

  • Sidney Schanberg, won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the killing fields of Cambodia.

.
.
.

Related Story

StoryMar 04, 2026Who Bombed Girls’ School in Iran? Reporter Nilo Tabrizy on What We Know About Massacre, 175 Killed
The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top