Government & Politics

Ellroy sets his novels in 1950's LA, where he grew up. His series of novels, "LA Quartet," was a bestseller. His latest novel is called "Hollywood Nocturnes." When Ellroy was ten, his mother was murdered near their LA home. He wrote an article about returning to LA to go through the police files on his mother for this month's issue of GQ, where he is a contributing editor. He'll talk today about how his mother's murder led to his crime writing.

New York Times Reporter Chris Hedges He's based in Cairo, Egypt where he covers the Middle East. Terry will talk with him about the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt and Iran. In Iran, the militant group, Basij -- which is being funded by the Iranian Government -- has been cracking down on Western style behavior and culture in the Country.

Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka. He was the first African to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature (in 1986), and he's been called Africa's "finest writers." He is a dramatist, poet, novelist, critic, and political writer. Some of his works have been banned by Nigerian regimes. He's gone into exile several times and has been imprisoned for political protests. He's written 21 books, including "Myth, Literature, and the African World," and his autobiography, "Ake': The Years of Childhood." (Ventura books).

TV critic David Bianculli previews "Marilyn and Bobby: Her Final Affair," a USA cable network telemovie airing tonight. Bianculli says the show mixes fact and fiction while telling the story of the alleged romance between Marilyn Monroe and Robert F. Kennedy.

Dr. Kevin Cahill. He specializes in tropical medicine, and he looks at the role of health in promoting world peace. He is President and Director of the Center for International Health and Cooperation in New york. His work looking at health amid natural disasters and wars has taken him all over the world, from Nicaragua in the 70s to Somalia today. He is the author or editor of 22 books.

Retired cop, and former head of the Queen's District Attorney's squad, Remo Franceschini spent 35 years keeping track of and busting organized crime in New York City. Franceschini figured out the family structure of the mafia, keeping a "Wall of Fame" family tree of photos and names of mobsters. Early on he predicted the rise of John Gotti, who became known as the "Teflon Don." Franceschini personally wire-tapped Gotti's headquarters, which led to indictments.

U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, Democratic Representative from Massachusetts, and one of two openly-gay members of Congress. He's been lobbying for lifting the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. Terry will talk with him about President Clinton's announcement last week about gays and lesbians in the military. (In a recent Washington Post op-ed piece, Frank defends Clinton, blaming, instead, those allied against lifting the ban.)

Founder of the anti-abortion group, "Operation Rescue," Randall Terry. Last week his group tried to stop abortions by blocking access to clinics in seven cities across the United States, including Philadelphia. TERRY also has a new book, "Why does a nice guy like me keep getting thrown in jail?" (Huntington House Pub., Lafayette, LA; Resistance Press, Windsor, N.Y.)

Regional Director of four women's clinics in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Omaha, Nebraska, Diane Strauss. Three of her clinics were the target of Operation Rescue's protests last week. Before that, Strauss has been harassed at home by the group. In 1987, one of STRAUSS's clinics was the first clinic to be targeted by Operation Rescue outside of Binghamton, New York where the group is based.

Architect Peter Calthorpe, whose new book "The Next American Metropolis" (Princeton Architectural Press) advocates designing suburban communities with environmental, social and economic limits in mind, and without a reliance on the automobile. His developments would be connected by light rail systems, not multi-lane freeways. Calthorpe proposes neighborhoods which encourage walking as a way to emphasize community building.

Helen Prejean's book, "Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States" (Random House) details her experience working with death row inmates in Louisiana. Prejean has come to believe that the death penalty is not only ineffective as a deterrent, but that the government can't be trusted to decide who should live and who should die. Prejean is a Roman Catholic nun.

Writer Edward Bunker. Bunker wrote the crime fiction classic "No Beast So Fierce," which first came out in 1973, about a former criminal trying to go straight. The book has been out of print since 1986, and has just been reissued. It was the basis of the film Straight Time, which starred Dustin Hoffman. Bunker spent almost 20 years in jail himself, and used his experiences as the basis of his book. He's also written 2 other novels, many essays, and screenplays for Straight Time and The Runaway Train.

President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of New York City, Alexander Sanger. Terry will talk with him about his work there, and about carrying on the work that his grandmother, Margaret Sanger pioneered. One of the projects they are involved in is training doctors in abortion practices. This is in response to a drop in training programs in OB/GYN residency programs, where it's fallen 50 percent since 1985.

In Bosnia, Cambodia, Somalia, and other countries, the role of U.N. peacekeeping forces is being redefined. Brian Urquhart, former U.N. Under-Secretary General, talks about what these forces are up against and what they can reasonably achieve.

Media and Political Correspondent for The L.A. Times, Tom Rosenstiel. During the 1992 Presidential campaign, he followed the ABC news team to see how the news media and the candidates affected each other and the campaign. His new book is "Strange Bedfellows: How Television and the Presidential Candidates Changed American Politics, 1992."

Kristin Clark Taylor worked in the Bush administration, and was the first African-American woman in history to hold that post. She's written a new book about it, "The First to Speak: A Woman of Color inside the White House."

An author at the pinnacle of the espionage genre, Le Carre has written such classics as "Smiley's People", "Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy", and "The Russia House". Le Carre has shifted his gaze to the Gulf War and international arms dealers in his new novel "The Night Manager."

An expert on Central Asia and Afghanistan, Barnett Rubin, Associate Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, and a former Peace Fellow with the United States Institute of Peace He's just returned from three former Soviet republics which have large Muslim populations, which he says are now run by ex-communists. Rubin will also discuss the aftermath of the Afghan War, and how many of the radical Arabs who went to Afghan to help the rebels are now taking their "holy war" elsewhere.

Molly Moore is New Delhi bureau chief for "The Washington Post." She covered the war in the Gulf, traveling with a general and his troops into Kuwait, where she says she witnessed the allied ground attack on Iraqi troops, and the liberation of Kuwait. Moore has written a new book about it, called "A Woman at War."

Executive Vice President of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Max Richtman. Terry will talk with him about how Clinton's budget proposal will impact Social Security and Medicare. Richtman is critical of Clinton's plan to raise the tax on Social Security benefits.