Writer and professor Mary Jo Weaver teaches Religious and Women's Studies at Indiana University. Her new book is, "Springs of Water in a Dry Land." It's about the double bind that many Catholic women find themselves in, of either living within a institutionalized and oppressive church structure, or rejecting a church which is a source of spiritual enrichment. Weaver argues that it is possible for a woman to be a feminist and remain Catholic.
Law Professor CASS SUNSTEIN on the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. President Bush has nominated Miers, White House Counsel, to replace Sandra Day O’Connor. Sunstein is the Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor of Jurisprudence in the Law School at the University of Chicago. Early in his career, Sunstein clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. He has also been a visiting professor of law at Columbia and Harvard universities.
Cass Sunstein talks about the precedent the 1942 case set for the Bush Administration in setting up military tribunals for the al Qaeda suspects. Sunstein is considered by many to be one of the nations authorities when it comes to interpreting the U.S. Constitution. Hes the author of One Case at a Time: Judicial Minimalism on the Supreme Court, (Harvard University Press). Sunstein teaches at the University of Chicago.
Paul Eisenstein reports from the Detroit Auto Show on the state of the auto industry. Eisenstein has covered cars for over 30 years; he currently reports for the independent news service The Detroit Bureau.
Law Professor Catherine MacKinnon. She's well known for her feminist take on legal issues, and she's just written a new book called "Only Words." (Harvard University Press) She argues that as long as sexual harassment, pornography and hate speech are protected by the First Amendment, equality will only be a word, not a reality. MacKinnon pioneered the legal claim for sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination. She now teaches at the University of Michigan Law School.
The documentary Catfish may not be on the up-and-up. But does it matter? David Edelstein says no. Catfish, he says, provides a "true sense of adventure" and conveys emotions that "run the gamut from anxiety to contempt to curiosity to compassion."
Former caseworker in New York City's Emergency Children's Services, Marc Parent. It was Parent's job to investigate cases of abused children during the evening and nighttime hours. He's written a new memoir about his experiences, called "Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk." Kirkus Reviews writes, "At once heart-wrenching and heart-lifting is this record of four years spent riding to the rescue of abused and neglected children."
Journalist Tina Cassidy was inspired to write about cultural birth practices after hearing many accounts of birth experiences. Cassidy is a former reporter for the Boston Globe and writes for other publications including The New York Times Magazine.
In his new book, Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, Ben Goldfarb explains how roads and cars are changing the lives of wildlife all over the world — and how roadkill has created a "crisis for biodiversity."
Blanton makes folk-based music that prizes wordplay and has an antic sense of humor. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the personal is always political on her new album.
Blanton describes many of the songs on her new album as "anti-fascist anthems." Critic Ken Tucker says Love & Rage doesn't sound like typical protest music — which makes it all the more effective.
The standards singer's new solo album, Strictly Romancin', explores the ups and downs of love. Russell sings several tracks from the record during this interview and performance.
Several recent DVD releases feature great black entertainers of the 20th century. For classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz, his favorites feature the great tap dance team of Harold and Fayard Nicholas.
Dr. Jim Withers founded Operation Safety Net after he began making "house calls" under bridges in Pittsburgh, Pa. Now it's one of the nation's first full-time street medicine programs.
Catherine Keener recently won a second Oscar nomination for her performance in Capote and appeared in the popular comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Now, she stars in Friends with Money, her third collaboration with writer-director Nicole Holofcener.
