Government & Politics

Christopher Hitchens, the Washington editor for "Harper's Magazine" and columnist for "The Nation," talks to Marty about how pre-election polling becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Roger Simon, a syndicated columnist for the Baltimore Sun. He'll analyze yesterday's New Hampshire primary, and speculate about the results will affect the rest of the campaign. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Reporter Pete Earley. Earley spent two years observing life at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. He was given complete access to the prisoners, guards, staff, and the warden. He tells about life in Leavenworth in his new book, "The Hot House." (published by Bantam) (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Economist Robert Heilbroner (rhymes with "runner"). He'll discuss the current recession, and our long-standing obsession with the deficit. He'll also give some suggestions about how to end the recession, and he'll tell us why sometimes a deficit isn't a bad thing.

Religion historian Martin Marty Marty, who teaches at the University of Chicago, is one of the foremost authorities on religion and society. He's the author of a four volume work on religion in the 20th century. His new work is a multi-volume look at fundamentalism. The first volume has just been published , and that's what he'll be talking about.

Terry interviews Patricia Ireland, the new president of the National Organization for Women (NOW). Ireland talks about NOW's agenda, as well as her own.

Charles Dutton, star of the T-V comedy series "Roc." Dutton came to acting in a very roundabout way: while serving a manslaughter sentence in the Maryland State Penitentiary, he organized the performance of a play, and realized he loved acting. ("Roc" airs Sunday nights on Fox.)

In the first half hour, Terry Gross talks with journalist Chip Berlet ('ber-LAY") of Political Research Associates. He'll discuss the racist and authoritarian aspects of Lenora Fulani's ("fah-lahn-nee") New Alliance Party.

Terry talks to Fred Newman, the founder of the Party, and Lenora Fulani's ("fah-lahn-nee") campaign manager.

Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Vice President of the World Resources Institute, which she helped to found, discusses global environmental issues. Many environmental issues, like the greenhouse effect and air and water pollution, cross national borders and their solutions depend on international cooperation. Mathews is also a columnist for The Washington Post and was on the staff of the National Security Council during the Carter Administration.

Pennsylvania's abortion law places restrictions on a woman's ability to get an abortion. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the law. Their ruling is expected to be an referendum by the court on the Roe versus Wade decision. On this edition of Fresh Air, we hear from both sides. Terry Gross talks with...
1) Kathryn Kolbert, the attorney who will be arguing against the Pennsylvania law before the high court, and

Writer George Packer. Packer's new novel, "The Half Man," is the story of a Western journalist caught in the turmoil of a fictitious Pacific Asian country. In real life, Packer spent two years with the Peace Corps in Togo, and that experience helped shape this book. (It's published by Random House).

Writer Tatyana Tolstaya ("taht-tee-an-yah tol-STOY-yah"). She's gaining a reputation as one of the (former) Soviet Union's most critically acclaimed new writers. She's also a distant relative of Leo Tolstoy. Her new collection of stories is called "Sleepwalker In A Fog" (published by Knopf).

The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a report that examined the link between race and pollution. That report said that while things like toxic waste dumps are disproportionately located in poor areas, they're NOT disproportionately located in black areas. We look at both sides of the question...
1) First, Terry talks with sociologist Robert Bullard, author of the book, "Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality." He disagrees with the EPA report.

Investigative reporter Wayne Barrett. His new book, "Trump: The Deals and the Downfall," is a fresh look at America's most famous wheeler-dealer. In his book, Barrett deflates what he calls the myth that Trump is a financial genius. (It's published by Harper-Collins).

Michael Klare, defense correspondent for the Nation. In the February third issue, Klare examines the current state of arms sales throughout the world. He says although nuclear arms sales have been curtailed, and the Soviet Union is gone, the sale of conventional arms to the third world continues unabated. Klare is also an associate professor at Hampshire College, and director of the Five-College Program in Peace and World Securities.

Ronald Walters, chairman of the department of political science at Howard University. He'll discuss the influence of the black vote in the presidential election.

Veteran political journalist Jules Witcover. His new book is "Crapshoot: Rolling the Dice On the Vice Presidency." It examines the caviler method in which we choose our vice presidents.

Iraqi dissident Laith Kubba. Kubba is living in exile in London, where he heads an opposition group called the Democratic Reform Movement. Kubba discusses a meeting of Iraqi dissident groups that was held in December in Damascus.

We look back on the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait one year later:
1) CNN producer Robert Wiener (wee-ner). Wiener was executive producer in Baghdad for 5 months leading up to and including the beginning of the war. His book, Live From Baghdad, tells how Wiener worked with Iraqi officials to cover the war from inside.
2) We speak with Aziz Abu Hamad, senior researcher on Kuwait for Middle East Watch about the current state of human rights in Kuwait..