 He successfully waged a 25-year legal battle to win the release of the FBI's files on John Lennon.Wiener played a key role in efforts to expose the surveillance as well as the behind-the-scenes battling between the government and the former Beatle, and is a recognized expert on the FBI-versus-Lennon controversy.A professor emeritus of United States history at the University of California, Irvine, he is also a contributing editor to the progressive political weekly magazine "The Nation" and host of "The Nation"s weekly podcast, "Start Making Sense".