The Life and Career of Colin Powell

<p>Colin Powell, who in four decades of public service helped shape U.S. national security, died on Monday. He was 84.</p><p>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.</p><p>We look back on the achievements and setbacks of a trailblazing life. </p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/robert-draper?smid=pc-thedaily">Robert Draper</a>, writer for The New York Times Magazine and author of “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/to-start-a-war-robert-draper.html?smid=pc-thedaily">To Start a War: How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq.”</a></p><p><i>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 </i><a href="http://nytimes.com/audio"><i>nytimes.com/audio</i></a><i> to join the beta.</i></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Colin Powell was emblematic of the ability of minorities to use the military as a ladder of opportunity — one that eventually<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/18/us/politics/colin-powell-dead.html"> led him to the highest levels of government</a>. He died of complications of Covid-19, his family said.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>