In 'Chicago 7,' Aaron Sorkin Sees Chilling Parallels Between '68 Summer And Today

Nineteen sixty eight was a year of upheaval in America. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy had been assassinated, and the country was embroiled in protests over the war in Vietnam.

That summer, several prominent anti-war activists, including Abbie Hoffman and Tom Hayden, were accused of crossing state lines and conspiring to start a riot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The trial that followed transfixed the nation.

West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin recreates the activists' trial in his new Netflix film, The Trial of the Chicago 7. He says this story is "shockingly, chillingly relevant" — and points to parallels between the unrest in Chicago in 1968 and the political divisions of today.