Mark Nickerson was a tenured associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Michigan who was dismissed due to alleged Communist connections. In May, 10 1954, he was called to testify before the Clardy Committee, a subcommittee of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), where he chose to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
The sound recording is a taped radio broadcast of Mark Nickerson's hearing before the HUAC, chaired by Kit Clardy, in Lansing, Michigan in May 10, 1954.