Editorial writer for the New York Times Brent Staples. He wrote a memoir last year: Parallel Time: Growing Up in Black & White (Pantheon). In 1984, Staples' younger brother, a cocaine dealer, was murdered. Staples began a process of reconsideration of the major questions in his life: his distance from his family by graduate study at the University of Chicago; the demise and racial divisions of his industrial hometown in Pennsylvania.
In the winter and spring of 1993, more than 80 people, including four federal agents and at least 20 children, died in two violent confrontations between federal law enforcement and the Branch Davidian Christian sect near Waco, Texas. Extremist groups have since cited the assaults as evidence for anti-government conspiracy theories. JEFF GUINN writes about it in his new book, "Waco: David Koresh, The Branch Davidians and a Legacy of Rage."
In a new memoir, the Major League Baseball catcher opens up about getting drafted in the 62nd round, his feud with Roger Clemens and what it's like to go into retirement. Leaving the game, he says, was "like a small death."
Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, spent six years researching America's nuclear weapons. In Command and Control, he details explosions, false attack alerts and accidentally dropped bombs.
The Very Rev. James Parks Morton, Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine has announced his intentions to resign on Jan. 1, 1997. He will be leaving after 25 years of leadership at the world's largest Gothic cathedral to head a new organization, the Interfaith Center of New York. During his tenure as Dean of the nation's largest church he has created a congregation of 1,000, built 20,000 apartments for the poor, and established a living community of faith having much of the same energy and intellectual stimulation possessed by medieval cathedrals.
Marcus Stern has spent the past year investigating the practice in collaboration with the Nation Institute's Investigative Fund. Recent accidents show cars aren't built to carry so much oil, he says.
Film historian Noah Isenberg revisits the making of the classic Hollywood film in his new book, We'll Always Have Casablanca. "Seventy-five years after its premiere, its still very timely," he says.
Reporter Luke Broadwater says the committee hired a former news producer to hit Trump where it hurt: "His whole career was built on television, and they were able to use that very medium against him."
Two views of the Supreme Court's decision on "Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania V. Casey," the latest case that brought Roe V. Wade, and a woman's right to an abortion, into question. They'll react to the Court's decision to uphold most of the Pennsylvania restrictions, including parental notification for minors, a 24-hour waiting period, and provision of information about the development of the fetus and alternatives to abortion. The Supreme Court felt that notification of a husband was an undue burden, and that the precedent set by Roe V.
Tech journalist Casey Newton says Elon Musk did not inherit a company in crisis — but after massive layoffs and upheaval the social media giant is losing money and Musk is warning of bankruptcy.
A pioneering musician, and the mother of jazz singer Catherine Russell, Carline Ray died July 18. In the 1940s, Ray found a home in the all-female band The International Sweethearts of Rhythm as a guitarist and vocalist. In 2012, Fresh Air spoke with Russell about her mother.
An Alabama native, Flowers has been awarded a MacArthur fellowship for her work on behalf of rural Americans living without proper sewage treatment. She says the hookworm study was a "smoking gun," that highlighted the sanitation and environmental problems the rural poor face.
New York Times journalist Catie Edmondson says the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives will likely leverage their subpoena power to enact vengeance on the Biden administration.
Author Cathleen Schine says that living far away from an elderly parent can create feelings of guilt as well as those of relief. Her darkly comic new novel is They May Not Mean To, But They Do.
A talk about the movie Tar with its star, Cate Blanchett and the film’s screenwriter and director Todd Field. Tar is nominated for six Oscars, including best actress for Blanchett and best screenwriter and director for Field, as well as best picture
Verge journalist Casey Newton investigated working conditions for the people who determine what material can be posted to Facebook. Many are traumatized by the images of hate and violence they see.
Professor Cass Sunstein discusses the nomination of Samuel Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Sunstein a professor at the Law School at the University of Chicago, is a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Author Sheryll Cashin's talks about the Loving v. Virginia ruling, which overturned state laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Cashin grew up the child of civil rights activists in Huntsville, Ala
