Government & Politics

We discuss the situation in Kosovo with Miranda Vickers, Britain's leading historian of the Albanian people in general and Kosovo in particular. The conflict continues between Serbs and Albanians for control of the region. Vickers is an Albanian analyst for the International Crisis Group set up after the Dayton accords. Her new book is called "Between Serb and Albanian: A History of Kosovo." (Columbia University Press)

The health of the population in Kosovo is in jeopardy as the fighting there continues. We speak with Keith Ursel, the Doctors Without Borders coordinator of the mobile clinic program. During the day, temperatures rise to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The mobile team has gone to treat several thousand people hiding in the Kosovo hills. The refugees have no shelter, very little food or drinking water.

Jeffrey Rosen is the legal affairs editor of The New Republic, where he writes about constitutional politics. He'll talk about how the courts handle perjury, in light of the Monica Lewinsky situation. Rosen is an associate professor at the George Washington University Law School, where he teaches constitutional law and criminal procedure. His essays and book reviews have appeared in many publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic Monthly, Constitutional Commentary, and the Yale Law Journal.

We talk about the Chinese tradition of foot binding with photojournalist Beverly Jackson. Her new book is called "Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of An Erotic Tradition." (Ten Speed Press) Jackson is a collector of antique Chinese slippers, and will talk about the history, culture and implications of bound feet.

Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix talk about the 1995 shooting incident that brought them together. Assign's 20 year-old son, Tariq Khamisa was fatally shot by Felix' 14 year-old grandson Tony Hicks. Azim Khamisa reached out to Ples Felix in the aftermath and became friends. Azim later founded the Tarik Khamisa Foundation in San Diego and both men work to educate children on the devastating impact of youth violence. Azim Khamisa has written a new book about his experience in "Azim's Bardo: A Father's Journey from Murder to Forgiveness." (Rising Star Press)

Carl Sferrazza Anthony is an authority on First Ladies, and the author of a new biography of the determined and unconventional Florence Harding, wife of Warren G. Harding. She met and married Harding while working for a weekly newspaper. It was she who pushed him to the presidency, and then endured his many adulteries. Her husband died after only two years in office but came to be known as the most "scandalous president." After his mysterious death there was speculation that Florence had a hand in his demise.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Fall of a Sparrow," a new novel by Robert Hellenga.

Advocacy Director for Physicians for Human Rights Holly Burkhalter talks to guest host Marty Moss-Coane about the plight of women under Afghanistan's Taliban government.

Zohra Rasekh, Senior Health Researcher for Physicians for Human Rights, co-authored "The Taliban's War on Women: A Health and Human Rights Crisis in Afghanistan." She's identified several discriminatory policies against women in that country, including the demand they wear a burqa at all times outside the home.

Keegan is known for his readable and comprehensive books about warfare including "The Face of Battle," (1976) and "The History of Warfare" (1993) which were both best-sellers. Recently he was series consultant to "War and Civilization" an eight-part documentary series (on the TLC cable network) which covers the past 5,000 years of conflict, beginning with ancient Greece. The series is narrated by Walter Cronkite.

Dermatologist Bernard Ackerman, Professor of Dermatology and Path Director of the Institute for Dermatophathology at Jefferson College. He participated in the testing done at Holmesburg Prison.

Former inmate Leotis Jones. He participated in the experiments and later led the fight to end the testing program by testifying at the U.S. Senate hearings that resulted in the banning of such experiments.

Film critic John Powers reviews "Saving Private Ryan" which stars Tom Hanks and was directed by Steven Spielberg. It rolls out nationally today.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Florence Harding" (Morrow) the new biography of First Lady Florence Harding by Carl Sferrazza Anthony.

Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict for the United Nations, Olara Otunnu. He is a former Ugandan diplomat who is now heading the effort to see that guerrilla armies do not use children as soldiers, and that children are protected in wartorn areas. Experts say that the number of children in combat is on the rise, and that as many as 300,000 children in at least 30 countries are directly involved in conflict as soldiers, porters, or slaves.

Michaels talks about growing up in the sixties and seventies as the daughter of hippies in her new memoir, "Split: A counterculture Childhood." (Houghton Mifflin) Michaels grew up craving the straight life, but as a college student, she came to realize that she shared many of her parent's values. She is a contributing editor at "Threepenny Review" and a poet whose work has appeared in "Salon" and the "New York Times Magazine."

China scholar Orville Schell returns to update us on President Clinton's trip to China. Schell is a board member of the Yale-China Association and Human Rights Watch, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Schell is Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley. He has written many books on China. His last was "Mandate of Heaven: A New Generation of Enterpreneurs, Dissidents, Bohemians, and Technocrats Lays Claim to China's Future." (Simon & Schuster, 1994). Schell was last on Fresh Air Wednesday, June 24, 1998.

Journalist Jack Holland. He is a columnist for the Irish Echo, an American weekly for Irish-Americans. Holland was born in Northern Ireland. He was raised Catholic, and has Protestant blood in him as well. He will be talking about the events leading up to the peace settlement in Northern Ireland, and the new National Assembly that was elected last week in Belfast. He'll also talk about growing up in Ireland. The Irish Echo is available on the World Wide Web at www.irishecho.com.

China scholar Orville Schell. He will be talking about President Clinton's imminent visit to China. Schell has appeared on ABC, NBC, and CBS, and produced shows for Frontline and Sixty Minutes. He's a board member of the Yale-China Association and Human Rights Watch, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Schell was just appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley. Schell has written many books on China.

New York Times correspondent Chris Hedges. He's been reporting from the Serbian province of Kosovo, where rebels are battling for independence from the Yugoslavian republic.