From the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Neil Sheehan and David Halberstam talked about their involvement in the Vietnam War. The two authors discussed the military struggle fought in Vietnam from 1959 to 1975, involving the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front (NLF) in conflict with United States forces and the South Vietnamese army. During this time, several writers such as Mr. Halberstam and Mr. Sheehan traveled to Vietnam and chronicled the American involvement in South Vietnam and its impact on American society. Newsreel footage was shown from the Vietnam War and of then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara speaking at a news conference. Audio tapes of conversations between President Lyndon B. Johnson and his advisors were also featured. Throughout the program, Mr. Sheehan and Mr. Halberstam responded to telephone calls, faxes and electronic mail from the audience. 

David Halberstam, author of The Best and the Brightest, began his career in 1955 as a reporter with the West Point, Mississippi Daily Times Leader. By 1962, he was reporting for The New York Times in Vietnam. He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1964 for his work as a war correspondent in Vietnam. The Best and the Brightest is a comprehensive saga of how America became involved in Vietnam.