Government & Politics

Political scientist and author runs the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics at UCLA; he talks to Terry Gross about how Barack Obama's campaign is addressing issues touching on race and ethnicity.

In his latest movie, Traitor, Don Cheadle plays a CIA operative who goes undercover to work with a terrorist group — but then becomes a suspected terrorist himself.

Political scientist James Thurber discusses the role of lobbyists in the McCain and Obama campaigns. An expert in campaign conduct and lobbying, Thurber testified before Congress about lobby reform and advised both candidates on the 2007 lobbying reform bill.

While both John McCain and Barack Obama agree that the American health care system needs reform, the candidates differ markedly in their vision of the remedy. Political scientist Jonathan Oberlander offers an in-depth comparison of the candidates' proposals.

Journalist Ryan Lizza says it's no accident that the Democrats picked Denver as the site of their National Convention. Lizza discusses the strategy among party officials to make inroads in the West rather than the South.

Both John McCain and Barack Obama are courting the religious vote, but whose campaign will be more effective? Journalist Dan Gilgoff, the politics editor for Beliefnet.com, discusses the candidates' tactics.

Marlin Fitzwater spent 17 years as a government employee before being appointed White House press secretary under Ronald Reagan. He also worked for George H. W. Bush.

Russia and Georgia have signed a cease-fire, but the conflict continues. Journalist James Traub, author of The Freedom Agenda: Why America Must Spread Democracy (Just Not the Way George Bush Did), discusses the latest developments.

There are 100,000 private military contractors in Iraq. Mercenary John Geddes explains why he thinks this is a good thing. His new book Highway to Hell is an account of his experiences in Iraq as a soldier for hire.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind says that the war in Iraq was based not simply on blunders but on lies. His book, The Way of the World, accuses the Bush administration of burying critical information and forging a letter that linked Iraq to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Journalist Mike Chinoy, author of Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis, discusses North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and America's attempts to stop their program.

Why is it that government has expanded under an administration that claims to be against big government? Social critic Thomas Frank poses this question in his new book, The Wrecking Crew.

United States security has long been a primary issue for the conservative movement. But is an aggressive foreign policy actually counterproductive? Author J. Peter Scoblic says yes.

To win this coming election, presidential candidate John McCain must prove that he is as strong on the economy as he is on military and foreign affairs. His senior economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, discusses McCain's approach to economic policy.

Parsing the presidential candidates' tax plans is necessary to understanding their general takes on the economy. Economist Len Burman has been doing just that. He is a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, which has just released a report comparing the candidates' proposed tax policies.

Jason Furman has been given the task of formulating Barack Obama's economic policy. He's the presidential hopeful's top economic adviser, and he will talk about where Obama stands on the most pressing economic issues.

Lt. Col. John Nagl wrote the textbook on counterinsurgency — literally. Nagl was part of the team that drafted a U.S. Army field manual on counterinsurgency. Having completed his tour in Iraq, Nagl talks about how military theory was put into practice in the region.

For soldier Brian Turner, words have the impact of bullets. His poems provide a first- person account of war; The New York Times praised their "attention to both the terrors and the beauty he found among Iraq's ruins."

The Republican Party has often been stereotyped as the party of wealthy, old white men. Conservative writers Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam think that can change. Their new book, Grand New Party, offers a vision for expanding the Republican base.

According to investigative journalist Jane Mayer, the war on terrorism may have done as much political and social damage to the United States as terrorism itself. Mayer writes for The New Yorker, and she recently published The Dark Side.