Jon Wiener on John Lennon’s Political Legacy

Jon Wiener on John Lennon’s Political Legacy

Jon Wiener on John Lennon’s Political Legacy

Thirty years after the singer’s death, The Nation‘s Jon Wiener asks: how did John Lennon make the transition from pop icon to political figure?

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

Nixon wanted him deported; the FBI spied on him. Why did The Beatles’s John Lennon set so many people off, and how did he make the transition from pop icon to political figure? Thirty years after the singer’s death, Nation contributor Jon Wiener talks with CNN’s Candy Crowley about John Lennon’s political legacy—how he became politicized, and why "Imagine" is still a controversial song, even today.

Jon Wiener is the author of Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files. You can read his Nation stories here, and see his blog posts regularly on The Notion blog.

Braden Goyette

Like this Blog Post? Read it on get the Nation’s free iPhone App, NationNow.
NationNow iPhone App

Thank you for reading The Nation!

We hope you enjoyed the story you just read, just one of the many incisive, deeply-reported articles we publish daily. Now more than ever, we need fearless journalism that shifts the needle on important issues, uncovers malfeasance and corruption, and uplifts voices and perspectives that often go unheard in mainstream media.

Throughout this critical election year and a time of media austerity and renewed campus activism and rising labor organizing, independent journalism that gets to the heart of the matter is more critical than ever before. Donate right now and help us hold the powerful accountable, shine a light on issues that would otherwise be swept under the rug, and build a more just and equitable future.

For nearly 160 years, The Nation has stood for truth, justice, and moral clarity. As a reader-supported publication, we are not beholden to the whims of advertisers or a corporate owner. But it does take financial resources to report on stories that may take weeks or months to properly investigate, thoroughly edit and fact-check articles, and get our stories into the hands of readers.

Donate today and stand with us for a better future. Thank you for being a supporter of independent journalism.

Thank you for your generosity.

Ad Policy
x