Government & Politics

Film director and writer John Waters is Hollywood's "leading exponent of bad taste," and Waters describes himself as making exploitation films for the arthouse. Waters is also interested in murderers and has taught film in prison. The Baltimore Museum of Art recently held a retrospective of Waters' work, and the mayor declared the opening day "John Waters Day."

Pete Seeger has dedicated his career to celebrating working people and civil rights. He was blacklisted in the 1950s, which kept him off television for decades. He joins Fresh Air to talk about how he developed his repertoire and honed his craft as a performer.

Paul Nitze began his political career in FDR's administration. His research on the nuclear arms race and the Soviet Union has helped shape the US's foreign and military policy over the past several decades.

Writer and scholar John Edgar Wideman's new book focuses on his younger brother Robby, who is serving a life sentence for murder. Wideman explores their differences and tries to understand what led Robby to a life of crime.

Jack Waldman demonstrates the mechanics of producing synthesizer-driven sampler music using his song "See the Light, Feel the Heat," which features clips off Ronald Reagan's speeches.

Deborah Spungen, who wrote a book about her daughter's murder by punk musician Sid Vicious, founded a Philadelphia chapter of Parents of Murdered Children. She and another woman, named Eileen Rainier, join Fresh Air's Terry Gross to discuss the impact the support group has had on grieving mothers and fathers.

Activist Ralph Nader joins Fresh Air callers and host Terry Gross to discuss a broad range of topics, including the legislation of safety regulations, campaign ads, money in politics, and working in nonprofit organizations.

Political analyst David Gergen speaks with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about President Reagan's relationship with the press. Gergen considers the way presidents use media to disseminate their policies and shape the narrative of their administrations.

Philadelphia Councilwoman Joan Specter and Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union debate what legislative or prosecutorial action should be taken against published work which either advocates for or features pedophilia. Prompting the discussion was the discovery of a pamphlet titled "How to Have Sex with Children," which was sold in Philadelphia bookstores.

The former Member of Parliament has a new book about political intrigue in the UK, called First Among Equals.

Billy Hayes' years spent in a Turkish prison for smuggling hashish have been well documented in his book Midnight Express, which was later adapted into a book. He now pursues an acting career in California.

Writer and journalist Gloria Steinem returns to Fresh Air to discuss the issues facing women and minorities in the forthcoming presidential election. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.

Julia Robinson is the Philadelphia Director of Housing. She began her career as an activist in the Fair Housing movement in the 1960s, when she found that she and her husband could not purchase a suburban house because they were black. Robinson has an M. A. in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania and has taught there and at Temple University. Robinson is also the head of the Mayor's Task Force on the Homeless. She joins the show to discuss housing and neighborhood issues in Philadelphia.

Lady Borton is an American Quaker who has done extensive aid work in Vietnam and with Vietnamese refugees. In 1980, she served as Health Administrator of Pulau Budong, the largest Vietnamese refugee camp in Malaysia. Borton describes the conditions as terrible, including, overcrowding, lack of food, and a rat infestation. Borton has a written a memoir of her time working in the camp, "Sensing the Enemy: An American Among the Boat People of Vietnam."

General Alexander Haig came to national prominence during the Nixon administration, where he served in several roles including as Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs and Chief of Staff. He continued working for the Ford administration, leading to his appointment as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. Haig served 18 months as the Secretary of State for President Ronald Reagan. He often clashed with the president and his staff, and resigned in 1982. His new memoir: Caveat: realism, Reaganism, and Foreign Policy," details his time in the administration.

Bishop Desmond Tutu is an Anglican parish priest in Soweto, South Africa. Tutu is the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, and is one of the most prominent figures in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Tutu is seen as a moderate, and does not endorse violence. He travels extensively to mobilize support for the cause. His passport has been revoked twice.

Bella Abzug's political career began as a student at Hunter College. After graduating, she attended Columbia Law School, and began to practice law. She is a founding member of Women Strike for Peace and served as the national political director for ten years. Abzug was elected to Congress in 1970, where she was the co-founder of the National Women's Political Caucus. Abzug is currently the president of Women USA, a group working to get-out-the-vote among women.

Terry talks with three expatriate Chilean musicians who are practitioners of the New Song movement, a fusion folk style with a political slant born in the wake of Chile's recent political upheaval.

Hankus Netsky is the founder and leader of the Klezmer Conservatory Band. Klezmer mixes traditional Yiddish and Israeli music with American influences. Netsky joins the show to discuss the history of the genre and to share 78-records of klezmer music from the 1920s.

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter grew up in Plains, Georgia. She met her husband, Jimmy, when she was 17 and he was 20 years old. She was glad that his naval career allowed them to travel, and when they returned to Georgia after his father's death, Carter was upset. It was there, however, that she grew into a business partner in her husband's peanut farm. Carter spoke last week with Betty Ford on the topic of modern First Ladies. Carter's life before and during the presidency is discussed in her new memoir "First Lady from Plains."