DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

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I'm Doug Johnson. Today we play music from American Idol winner Scotty McCreery ...

And we answer a question about American whiskey ...

But first, it is history at the movie theater where a new film opens about former law enforcement chief J. Edgar Hoover.

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"J. Edgar"

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DOUG JOHNSON: The movie "J. Edgar" opens across America today. The film is about J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Hoover was a complex and powerful man. He helped develop the FBI into an efficient and effective crime solving agency. However, in later years, many people questioned the methods used by Hoover and his investigators. Bob Doughty tells more about the man and the movie.

BOB DOUGHTY: Clint Eastwood directed the movie "J. Edgar." He grew up in the time when, in his words, "Hoover was always top cop." Eastwood said he had heard different stories about the former FBI director. Some of them were very critical. But Eastwood said anybody who stays in a job as long as Hoover did is going to create some enemies.

J. Edgar Hoover was the leader of the FBI and the agency it developed from for almost fifty years. He reported to eight different presidents during that time. He directed some of the most famous anti-crime operations in American history. These included the hunt for bank robbers like John Dillinger and Machine Gun Kelly in the nineteen thirties.

Hoover also targeted Communists and those he suspected of Communism. He believed that people should be investigated and tried for their political beliefs. He created a secret group within the FBI to get information about Communists and people suspected of Communism. The team sometimes used illegal methods to carry out their work. He also spied on major American officials, even the presidents he served.

J. Edgar Hoover's personal life was also mysterious. He was born in and spent his whole life in Washington, DC. He lived with his mother until she died when he was forty-three. He never married. There are reports he was a homosexual and involved with deputy FBI director Clyde Tolson. The two men were together a great deal of time even when they were not working. There are also reports that Hoover liked to dress in women's clothing.

Hoover became very angry at both these suggestions.

J. Edgar Hoover died of a heart attack in nineteen seventy-two. He was seventy-seven. The headquarters building of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is named for him.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio stars as J. Edgar Hoover in the new film. He did a huge amount of research for the part. But, he told Hollywood Reporter magazine that Hoover remains mysterious to him. DiCaprio said he believed Hoover's mother was the guiding force of her son's life. British actress Judy Dench plays Annie Hoover in the movie.

Leonardo DiCaprio is thirty-six years old. But he portrays Hoover in all periods of his adult life. DiCaprio had to spend hours in the make-up chair each day to look the part.

Australian actor Naomi Watts plays Helen Gandy, who was Hoover's secretary his entire career, and Clyde Tolson is played by actor Armie Hammer.

J. EDGAR HOOVER (Leonardo DiCaprio): "I want you to start a file on Senator McKellar immediately. I want four agents on him at all times. I want to know what's in his trash and I want you to photograph him at every dinner. Don't get in the car. You can walk back."

CLYDE TOLSON (Armie Hammer): "Director, we have lunch. We don't miss lunch no matter what, remember?"

J. EDGAR HOOVER: "You pulled away from me in there."

American Whiskey

DOUG JOHNSON: Our question this week comes from Kazakhstan. Oleg Kucherov asks about American whiskey, also known as bourbon.

To learn about American whiskey, we went straight to an expert: Charles Cowdery. He writes a blog and a newsletter on whiskey. And he wrote the book, "Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey." In Chicago, where Mister Cowdery lives, he offers classes about different whiskeys.

CHARLES COWDERY: "Whiskey's a distilled spirit made from grain and aged in oak barrels – that's what defines whiskey. There's Scotch whiskey, there's Irish whiskey, there's Canadian whiskey, there's American straight whiskey, there's American blended whiskey, there's Japanese whiskey, there's single-malt whiskey. There's a lot of different kinds of whiskey, but they're all distilled from a mash of grain and aged."

In his book, Mr. Cowdery told about the history of the American whiskey industry, how the drink is made and sold, and differences among forms of whiskey. He says American whiskey is made in America, which explains where the name came from.