Government & Politics

Iranian American scholar Pardis Mahdavi, who was once dragged out of a Tehran classroom by morality police while lecturing about her latest book, "On Iran's Sexual Revolution" joins Tonya Mosely to help shed light on the protests in Iran.

Historian Jeff Shesol recalls the early days of the space program, when Cold War fears ruled and no one knew if John Glenn would survive America's first orbital flight. Originally broadcast June 2021.

Geoffrey Berman served as U.S. Attorney in the Southern District. In his memoir, Holding the Line, he describes how the Dept. of Justice demanded he use his office to aid the Trump administration.

Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights, tells the story of college football stars-turned Marines who endured some of the most savage fighting in World War II at the Battle of Okinawa.

Ken Burns' new three-part documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust, explores what everyday Americans knew — or didn't know — about what the Nazis were doing in Europe.

A talk with Nina Totenberg, NPR’s longtime legal affairs correspondent, covering the Supreme Court. Her new book Dinners with Ruth, is about her long friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which began before Ginsburg became a Supreme Court justice.

A talk with David Enrich about his book Servants of the Damned: Giant Law Firms, Donald Trump and the Corruption of Justice.

Garrels, who died Sept. 7, reported on conflicts from the U.S.S.R., China, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Her most heralded dispatches were from the 2003 Iraq war. Originally broadcast in 2003.

In 2010, Jay-Z reflected on growing up in Brooklyn surrounded by drugs and violence. "One day, your best friend could be killed. The day before, you could be celebrating him getting a brand-new bike."

Whitehead says his novel was inspired by his love of heist movies. The story centers on a furniture store owner who has a side hustle trafficking in stolen goods. Originally broadcast Sept. 15, 2021.

China scholar Michael Beckley says China is engaged in the largest military buildup since World War II, and is being increasingly aggressive with its Asian neighbors and with the U.S.

As a Republican operative, Tim Miller worked with extreme right-wing media outlets and fed the populist outrage that helped radicalize much of the GOP voter base. His new book is Why We Did It.

2020 election deniers won key races in the GOP primary. New York Times Magazine journalist Robert Draper says the swing state is a bellwether for the rest of the nation.

Schiff reflects on the significance of the top-secret documents seized from Trump's residence. He led the first impeachment and serves on the House's committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The Atlantic's Caitlin Dickerson spent 18 months filing lawsuits for documents to put together the story of the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant families at the border.

Veteran cold case investigator Paul Holes talks about pursuing killers and the emotional toll of obsessing over crime scenes and talking to victims of horrific crimes. He has a new memoir called Unmasked.

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank examines how the GOP got to where it is today, with some elected leaders and candidates still endorsing the lie that Trump won. His book is The Destructionists.

Russell, who died July 31, led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA titles. He was also the first Black head coach in the NBA and a civil rights activist. Originally broadcast in 2001.

Filmmaker Ramita Navai Navai chronicles the Taliban's treatment of women in the new PBS Frontline documentary, Afghanistan Undercover, which she started researching in early 2020.

New York Times journalist Charles Homans says scores of groups at the state and local levels, with the help of right wing media figures and activists, are taking aim at the electoral system.