Second Wave

A deadlier sequel to 9/11—and the race inside the CIA, FBI, and pentagon to stop it

In 2003, United States intelligence uncovered evidence that al Qaeda had acquired nuclear materials, plotting to smuggle them into American ports. The "Second Wave" threat triggered one of the most urgent and secretive manhunts in United States history.

With the cinematic intensity of Zero Dark Thirty and the investigative depth of The Looming Tower, Michael Lebowitz captures post-9/11 chaos and drama: agents risking everything to prevent another catastrophe, families torn apart, and the ethical fault lines still dividing United States intelligence.

Listeners meet Pakistani-American industrialist Saifullah Paracha, whose import-export business concealed ties to al Qaeda; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, architect of 9/11; Majid Khan, a Baltimore gas-station clerk turned jihadist who mapped United States targets; an FBI interrogator who broke suspects faster than any waterboard; and an Orthodox Jewish garment importer whose betrayal helped avert disaster. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11, Lebowitz's account reveals a global pursuit that tested America's moral limits and asks: Are we as prepared today as we were then?