The Life and Career of Colin Powell

Colin Powell, who in four decades of public service helped shape U.S. national security, died on Monday. He was 84.Despite a stellar career, Mr. Powell had expressed a fear that he would be remembered for a single event: his role in leading his country to war in Iraq.We look back on the achievements and setbacks of a trailblazing life. Guest: Robert Draper, writer for The New York Times Magazine and author of “To Start a War: How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq.”Love listening to New York Times podcasts? Help us test a new audio product in beta and give us your thoughts to shape what it becomes. Visit nytimes.com/audio to join the beta.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: Colin Powell was emblematic of the ability of minorities to use the military as a ladder of opportunity — one that eventually led him to the highest levels of government. He died of complications of Covid-19, his family said.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.