Reagan, Ronald

Tony Auth, political cartoonist for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Auth's single-frame cartoons appear in more than 100 papers around the country through syndication. A new collection of his cartoons has just been published. It's titled Lost in Space: The Reagan Years.

David Martin, Pentagon correspondent for CBS News and co-author of The Best Laid Plans, an account of America's flawed war against international terrorism.

Investigative journalist Mark Hertsgaard examines the relationship between the press and the Reagan administration in his new book, On Bended Knee. Hertsgaard says that Reagan's press team was masterful at manipulating the news media by limiting access to the president, choreographing photo opportunities and television appearances, and disseminating controlled, daily messages to reporters.

Doyle McManus co-authored a book with John Mayer about the second term of President Reagan. Many on Reagan's staff believed he was unmotivated, uninformed and unfit for office, even suggesting that the 25th Amendment be invoked. McManus says that Reagan's lack of leadership resulted in ineffective policymaking and scandals like Iran-Contra.

Paul Nitze has advised both Republican and Democratic presidents over the decades on arms control. While working in the Reagan administration, he helped reopen negotiations with the Soviet Union. Nitze also reluctantly advocated for the Strategic Defense Initiative as a deterrence program. Journalist Strobe Talbott's new book, Master of the Game, details Nitze's career.

Stahl hosts the CBS show Face the Nation. She joins Fresh Air to discuss President Reagan's tightly-controlled engagement with the media, the sometimes vindictive nature of past administrations, and how she conducts effective interviews.

Political editor for the Boston Globe Ben Bradlee, Jr. has a new book about the National Security official, called Guts and Glory. He joins Fresh Air to discuss North's early life and his forthcoming trial for his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan. When the Reagans entered the White House, Nancy was a relatively anonymous first lady, best known for her strident "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign. But toward the end of President Reagan's second term, it became more apparent that Nancy Reagan's role in running the government was much larger than imagined, and it turns out many of her and her husband's decisions were influenced by a California astrologer. Nancy Reagan has a new memoir, called "My Turn."

Speechwriter Peggy Noonan. In 1984 she was hired away from CBS news to write speeches for Ronald Reagan.

Book critic John Leonard reviews presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan's book "What I Saw At the Revolution" about her experiences writing speeches for Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Some of their most memorable lines, like "Read my lips" and "A thousand points of light" were written by Noonan. (Published by Random House).

Journalist James Traub writes about the Wedtech company in his new book, Too Good To Be True. The Bronx-based, minority-led defense firm bribed politicians in order to earn government contracts with the support of the Reagan administration.

Contributing editor to Harper's Magazine L.J Davis recently reported on the history and current crisis of the savings and loans system.

Cannon is Los Angeles correspondent for the Washington Post. As a reporter for the "San Jose Mercury News," and later as "The Washington Post" White House correspondent, he covered Ronald Reagan as Governor and President. He's just written a third book about the Reagan presidency, called "President Reagan: A Role of a Lifetime."

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. He's written a new memoir, called "Koop: The Memoirs if America's Family Doctor." (It's published by Random House).

Gary Sick was an aide to President Carter during the Iranian hostage crisis. Now Sick charges that in 1980, the Reagan campaign made a secret deal with the Iranians to hold the release of the American hostages until after the election. In his new book "October Surprise" (published by Random House), Sick tries to reconstruct the story.

Thomas Blanton is the Executive Director of the National Security Archive, and a nationally recognized expert on the Iran-Contra scandal. We talk to him today in the wake of the indictment of former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger. The trial is set for November 2, one day before the presidential election, which raises the possibility that President Bush might face some embarrassment, since as Vice President he attended some of the meetings concerning arms shipments to Iran.

Lyn Nofzinger was an official in the Nixon administration and was Reagan's press secretary and later his aide in the White House, where he was known as a "hatchet-man". He has a new political memoir, called "Nofziger." He Fresh Air to talk about Reagan's recent decision to campaign for President Bush.

Senior analyst and Latin American specialist at the National Security Archive Peter Kornbluh talks with guest host Marty Moss-Coane about the Iran-Contra scandal, particularly about the implications of the publicized 1986 note written by then-Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger. It implies that Bush knew about the affair, though the President has denied this.

Thomas Blanton, of the National Security Archive, a group that declassifies government documents, using the Freedom of Information Act. Recently, they accessed documents indicating that the Reagan administration was aware of human rights abuses in El Salvador in the 1980s. During that time, the administration was required to report to Congress about conditions in El Salvador, with the understanding that if the Salvadorian military did not improve it's human rights record, the U.S. would no longer send aid.

The final report on Iran contra by independent counsel Lawrence Walsh has just been released. Terry talks with Peter Kornbluh about the reports findings. Kornbluh is senior analyst on U.S.-Latin America policy at the National Security Archive and editor of "The Iran-Contra Scandal: The Declassified History," (published in 1993 by the The New Press).