The public mind is often deceived by those who manipulate it, and it deceives itself, as well. This program examines how deception has influenced some of the major events of our recent past and how self-deception shapes our personal lives and the public mind. Why do trusted people in public life lie to us and to themselves? Can a society die from too many lies? Do our institutions demand loyalty at the expense of the truth? The program explores such events as Watergate, the war in Vietnam, and the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, and reveals the pressures that led to the denial of truth and the distortion of reality. Among those interviewed are John Dean, former counsel to President Nixon, and Roger Boisjoly, a Morton Thiokol engineer who tried to postpone the launch of the Challenger. (60 minutes)