When Seymour Hersh remarks, in one of the superb archival clips excerpted in Cover-Up , that “nobody likes the messenger,” he knows what he’s talking about. For nearly 60 years he’s been delivering tough truths that some people don’t want to hear, with My Lai and Abu Ghraib topping the list of explosive stories he’s broken as an investigative reporter. His intrepid work has brought laurels and admiration, but for those who don’t appreciate damning truths about the U.S. government, that work makes him a pariah.

As a documentary subject, Hersh is thoroughly engaging — by turns charming, surly and vulnerable. He opens himself to the attention of filmmakers Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus with a sense of purpose, a bit of squirming, and occasional flares of regret. Holding forth in his

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