Government & Politics

Political Analyst Alan Schroeder. His new book “Presidential Debates: Forty Years of High Risk TV,” (Columbia University Press, 2000) examines the history of the televised presidential debate. Drawing from his experience as a print journalist and TV producer, he details the decisions that influence every aspect of the event: the color of the backdrop curtain to the camera angles chosen. He also looks at the results of past debates, discussing strategies for political effectiveness. He is an Associate Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University.

Washington Post reporter Peter Baker. He’s the journalist who co-wrote the story breaking the news about Monica Lewinsky, and he’s just written a book about that episode of the Clinton presidency, called “The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton.” (Scribner) He writes, “For all the titillation about thongs and cigars, the story… was not so much about sex as it was about power.”

Former presidential speechwriter Michael Waldman. His new book is called “POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words that Defined the Clinton Presidency.” (Simon and Schuster) From 1993 to 1999, Waldman was a special assistant and then chief speechwriter to Bill Clinton. During that time, he worked closely with the president to write or edit nearly two thousand speeches, including four State of the Union addresses and two inaugural addresses. Previously a public-interest lawyer and writer, Waldman is the author of “Who Robbed America?

Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai (ya-HOO-da AH-muh-kye, rhymes with pie) died Friday at the age of 76, and we feature a 1991 interview from the archives. Amichai was a celebrated poet whose subjects were love and loss, and more recently, aging and mortality. The New York Times wrote that he had a “gift for poeticizing the particular: the localized object or image in everyday life.” (originally aired 2/27/91)

The United Nation’s High Commissioner for Human rights, Mary Robinson, and former president of Ireland. She’ll discuss the murders last week of three UN human rights workers in West Timor.

Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain. His book, “Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir” (Harper Perennial) is now out in paperback. He’ll discuss his years as a POW, his bid for the presidency, and his endorsement of George W. Bush.

Former White House adviser David Gergen. He worked with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. Gergen left politics and become a regular analyst on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer and Nightline. He is also Editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report. His new book is “Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership” (Simon & Schuster).

Working cop and writer Richard Rosenthal. For 20 years, Rosenthal was a detective for the New York Police Department where he dealt with homicide, narcotics, and armed robbery. Now he is the chief of Police in a small village on Cape Cod. He’ll talk about the differences between the two kinds of police work. Rosenthal is the author of two books about police work called Sky Cops and K-9 Cops. He also wrote a novel called The Murder of Old Comrades. His new book, Rookie Cop(Leapfrog Press), is a memoir about his time undercover in the Jewish Defense League.

Rock critic Ken Tucker considers what pop music Al Gore and vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman might use tonight at the conclusion of their convention.

Journalists Monica Yant Kinney and Tom Ginsberg of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The two covered the protests during the Republican National Convention two weeks ago. They’ll pick up the story since the convention, and discuss the lawsuits filed against the city on behalf of the protesters. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW)

INT. 1: Washington Correspondent for The New York Times Melinda Henneberger. She’s writing a series of biographical profiles on Al Gore.

In light of the news that Republican V-P candidate Dick Cheney’s daughter is a lesbian, we speak to two people close to the issue. First, Reverend Louis Sheldon, Chairman and Founder of the Coalition for Traditional Values ( HYPERLINK "http://www.traditionalvalues.org" www.traditionalvalues.org). The Coalition for Traditional Values is the largest non-denominational grassroots church lobby in America, founded in 1980.

TV critic David Bianculli gives us his take on the Republican National Convention coverage.

National Correspondent for The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof. He’s written a series of biographical articles on George W. Bush, focusing on his early years. Kristof is former Tokyo Bureau Chief for The Times, and was co-recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for his coverage of Tianamen Square. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW)

Satirist Harry Shearer, the host of “Le Show,” and the voice behind several characters on "The Simpsons". Shearer is also the author of "It's the Stupidity, Stupid: Why (Some) People hate Clinton and Why the Rest of Us Have to Watch." This week he is in Philadelphia as part of the “Shadow Convention” an alternative to the Republican and Democratic conventions, which covers the issues it says the other conventions won’t touch like campaign finance reform, poverty in the midst of prosperity, and the drug war. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE END OF THE SHOW).

Reporter Dave Davies talks about Philadelphia and next week’s Republican National Convention. He’ll talk about what the city did to get the convention, what image the city is trying to project, and what the city is doing to prepare for the delegates, the protestors, and the media. Davies will also talk about the current controversy surrounding the Philadelphia police. Davies is a long time reporter in the Philadelphia area. He covers City Hall and city politics for the Philadelphia Daily News.

Staff writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer Thomas Ginsberg. He’s been covering how the city is preparing for the advent of protests during the Republican National Convention.

Protestor Michael Morill is the organizer of Unity 2000 a coalition of groups which is staging a rally on Sunday, July 31st, to cover a range of issues. Morill and his organization sued the city to obtain a permit to protest. Also Amy Kwasnicki is a member of the Philadelphia Direct Action Group which is coordinating three days of protests and civil disobedience during the convention. The group was not given a permit to protest.

The Republican National Convention convenes in Philadelphia in a week. A talk with Frank Punzo, Sales Manager for Verizon Communications which is the official local telecommunications provider for the convention. Punzo is responsible for providing the infrastructure that supports telephone service, video conferencing, internet access and video streaming.

Yugoslavian-born writer Aleksander Hemon. Hemon was born in Sarajevo in 1964. While in his early 20s, he came to the United States as a tourist. On the day he was supposed to return to Sarajevo, his home city came under siege. He was forced to stay in the US. Hemon then began working on his English and now writes in English, even though it is not his first language. His first book is a collection of stories called “The Question of Bruno” (Nan A. Talese/ Doubleday).