Former FBI Director Bob Mueller discusses leading and reorganizing the FBI after 9/11 to prevent another attack, and a lifetime of distinguished public service.

Dr. Carla Hayden is the Librarian of Congress; the library - a Palace to Knowledge - dates to 1800. It is a vital cultural institution, with 171 million items.

Carrie Hessler-Radelet served in – and was Director of – the Peace Corps, whose volunteers tackle the most difficult problems in communities around the globe.

Frank Figliuzzi rose through FBI ranks to run its Counterintelligence Division – responsible for neutralizing spies that steal precious secrets and technology.

Matt Olsen held fascinating, complex, and sensitive jobs in national security, including as head of the Guantanamo Review Task Force and as NSA General Counsel.

Mike Bush, former Commissioner of the New Zealand Police, and a visionary leader in this magnificent country, discusses his “Prevention First” model of policing.

Heather “Lucky” Penney – one of the first women to fly an F-16 – has a riveting tale of a mission she was ordered to fly on 9/11 that could have been her last.

Jon Jarvis started as a park ranger; after four decades he became the Director of the National Park Service. The 419 national parks - 84 million acres - are an American treasure.

Former New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram talks about thoughtful and progressive policing, including in Camden - a city that was in turmoil.

Former FBI Director Bob Mueller talks about his distinguished half century of public service, starting as a decorated Marine officer in Vietnam. A recipient of the Bronze Star (with valor) and the Purple Heart, Bob returned to the United States after his service in Vietnam and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law. He became a federal prosecutor in San Francisco, and embarked on a career that would take him to the heights of federal law enforcement in this country, and to the helm of the FBI. My interview with Bob Mueller is in two parts. The first part covers his childhood through his selection as the FBI Director. The second part, which we will publish later this season, picks up where the first interview leaves off – and covers his tenure as Director, guiding the FBI through a difficult and challenging post 9/11 world. I should add a word about what is not in either episode – any detailed discussion of Bob’s work as Special Counsel leading the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Bob was clear when he testified before Congress about this work and his report, and that the report spoke for itself. He did not opine about his findings and does not do so here, either. One of the things I learned while working for Bob Mueller at the FBI is that you take this decent, honorable, and courageous man at his word. Because he is a man of few words, each word matters a lot and so it is worth listening carefully. Bob shares with host Chuck Rosenberg in this first part (of a two-part interview) the story of his service in Vietnam, his time as a new federal prosecutor, and his ascent through the Justice Department to become the FBI Director. This interview with Bob Mueller is the only full one he has given since leaving public life, and it may be the only full one he gives. If you have thoughtful feedback on this episode or others, please email us at [email protected]. Find the transcript and all our previous episodes at MSNBC.com/TheOath and read The Mueller Report at https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf