American Politics

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.

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.

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.

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."

Journalist Fred Kaplan's latest book is "The Wizards of Armageddon," which looks at the politics of nuclear warfare and weapons. He joins the show to discuss Defense policy and the budget and the issue of nuclear war in contemporary politics. (Interview by Dave Davies)

Activist Michael Harrington has been a leader of the American left for the last thirty years. In the 1950s, he was the associate editor of The Catholic Worker, a socialist, Catholic newspaper. In the 1960s, he worked with the Civil Rights movement, including joining Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Advisory Committee. He was also active in the labor movement and worked against the war in Vietnam. Harrington chaired the Socialist Party from 1968-1972, and has been the National Chair of the Democratic National Socialists of America since 1973.

Activist Eleanor Smeal was the president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) from 1977-1982. She is also the author of "Why and How Women Will Elect the Next President." Smeal's book examines the political "gender gap," women's political issues, organizing women, getting out the vote, and women running for election. Smeal joins the show to discuss the women's movement and the upcoming election in which Smeal endorses Walter Mondale.

Judge William Marutani, who was appointed by President Carter to the United Commission on War Relocation and Internment of Civilians, opens up about what judges do, like, and think.

Goode will be the first African American mayor in the city's history. He was elected on a platform of job growth, crime reduction, and an improvement of government services. WHYY City Hall reporter Tia O'Brien asks him how he plans to achieve his goals. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.

In conjunction with the Design Since 1945 exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, consumer rights activist Ralph Nader delivers a lecture about the political aspects of aesthetics.