Government & Politics

From 1953 until 1989 Helen Suzman served as an Opposition Member of the South African Parliament. Suzman was a pioneering political leader in the fight against apartheid and anti-semitism. For thirteen years she was the sole representative in the Parliament to reject race discrimination.

Israeli peace activist and novelist Amos Oz. He lived on a kibbutz for many years and is a veteran of the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Oz is a leading acivist for peace between the Arabs and the Israelis. His new book is called "Fima" (Harcourt Brace), he has written eleven novels in all. Amos Oz received the German Publishers Peace Prize in 1992.

Disaster relief expert Fred Cuny discusses efforts to rebuild gas and water lines in the battle zone of Sarajevo.

Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee discusses her memoir.

Slovak novelist Martin Simecka discusses life after the split of Czechoslovakia. His latest novel to be published in the U. S. is "Year of the Frog." Prior to the fall of Communism, Simecka and his father were dissidents.

South African journalist Rich Mkhondo joins the show to discuss the first multi-racial election in South Africa and the increasing violence in the country.

Professor of Political Economy and Health Policy Marc Roberts. He's written a new book about the health care crisis: "Your Money or Your Life: The Health Care Crisis Explained." (Doubleday). Roberts will talk with Terry about Clinton's health care plan, which the president presented to Congress yesterday. Roberts is on the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health and the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Professor of Political Economy and Health Policy Marc Roberts. He's written a new book about the health care crisis: "Your Money or Your Life: The Health Care Crisis Explained." (Doubleday). Roberts will talk with Terry about Clinton's health care plan, which the president presented to Congress yesterday. Roberts is on the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health and the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

NPR and NBC legal affairs corespondent, Nina Totenberg. In covering the Thomas/Hill Judiciary Committee hearings some conservative senators accused Totenberg of ruining the lives of both Thomas and Hill. Totenberg also brought the fact that Judge Douglas Ginsburg had smoked marijuana into the public eye, costing him a Supreme Court nomination. Totenberg's reports regularly for "Morning Edition," "Weekend Edition," and "All Things Considered."

Dr. Susan Wicklund. She provides abortions services to women in Montana and South Dakota, traveling 4 hours each way. Without Wicklund's services, abortions would not be available to women in North Dakota. In the past she has worked in up to five clinics in three states while living in Montana with her teenage daughter. Wicklund has been featured on "60 Minutes." She will receive the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for her outstanding dedication to women's health care on October 29th.

Middle East expert and British hostage in Beirut, Terry Waite. While in Lebanon in 1987, as an Anglican Church envoy to negotiate the release of hostages there, Waite himself was captured. He was held for 1,763 days (nearly five years); four years of that time was spent in solitary confinement. He had made numerous trips to the Middle East to negotiate hostage releases in Tehran and Beirut, and was no stranger to the danger of factional conflicts: in 1969 Waite and his wife narrowly escaped the Idi Amin coup in Uganda.

One of Bosnia's leading film makers, and professor of film at the Academy of Film and Theatre in Sarajevo Ademir Kenovic. His newest film "SA-Life" (SA stands for Sarajevo) is compiled of scenes shot by himself, other film makers, and film students in and around Sarajevo that capture the horror of the war. Each day, Kenovic and his fellow film makers would meet in his basement studio to plan the day's shoot, going out with hand-held cameras. Kenovic has made three other films.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Morning After," by Katie Roiphe. (Little, Brown).

Terry Anderson and his wife Madeleine Bassil. Anderson was held hostage for seven years in Lebanon. Madeleine was pregnant when he was Anderson's new book, "Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years" (Crown Publishers), Terry and Madeleine describe the challenges they were forced to face until his release in December of 1991. (This interview continues into the second half of the show.)

Lawyer, professor, and former nominee to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Lani Guinier. Guinier's nomination was withdrawn by President Clinton, after Republicans and Democrats started to question her views, as expressed in her academic writings, labeling her a "racial separatist," and the "quota queen." Guinier talks with Terry about her views, her work with the NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational fund to amend the the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and how she was misunderstood and misrepresented during the nomination process.

Columnist Rami Khouri. Khouri, a Palestinian Jordanian, is the former editor-in-chief of the Jordan Times newspaper and is now columnist there.

Professor Uwe Reinhardt. He is a professor of Political Economy at Princeton University. He is also President of the American Association of Health Services Research. Reinhardt has written widely about reforming the U-S healthcare system in such publications as the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. He has argued for a universal plan for years now, saying it will control spiraling costs.

Biomedical ethicist Arthur Caplan. Caplan was on the Presidential task force that helped form the new health care proposal. He is the Director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Minnesota. He is also a professor of surgery and philosophy there. In addition to numerous books and articles, Caplan writes a syndicated column; his work appears weekly in 40 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada.

Biographer Andrew Gowers. He's co-written (with Tony Walker) a new biography of Yasser Arafat, "Behind the Myth: Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Revolution." (Olive Branch Press). The book explores Arafat's nearly 40 years as a Palestinian activist. Gowers and his co-author spent hundreds of hours interviewing PLO officials, including Arafat, as well as American, Arab and European officials. Gowers is a Features Editor of the Financial Times and was the paper's Middle East Editor. He comments frequently on the Middle East for British radio and TV.

For over 15 years, Linda Fairstein has directed the Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit of the Manhattan D.A.'s office. The unit was the first of it's kind, and has become a model for others in cities across the country. When Fairstein began working there, rape cases were rarely tried in court, rape victims were stigmatized, and there was little understanding about rape in society. Over the years, Fairstein and her colleagues have made great strides in combating such crimes, and improving conviction rates.