5 revelations on the 'Keyser Soze' of the Edward Snowden saga

Meet Laura Poitras, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker who helped Snowden go public

Laura Poitras
(Image credit: AP Photo/Courtesy of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Sean Gallup)

Many people following the NSA drama have never heard of documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras. If it wasn't for her, however, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden might have never shared thousands of classified documents with Glenn Greenwald, the outspoken journalist for The Guardian.

In a long, detailed story for The New York Times Magazine, veteran reporter Peter Maass documents the relationship between the trio, focusing mostly on the lesser-known Poitras.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.