American Politics

Daniel Ford is the former Executive Director of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He led a ten year investigation into the nuclear industry and its relationship with the Atomic Energy Commission. Ford discovered that the regulatory agency saw itself as an industry partner and suppressed damaging reports. His report has been published in the book "The Cult of the Atom: The Secret Papers of the Atomic Energy Commission." (PARTIAL INTERVIEW)

Civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz is known as a defender of free speech and an advocate for the right to a passionate defense. Dershowitz has defended many controversial figures and is currently involved in the Claus von Bulow and Jack Henry Abbott cases. He has been a professor at Harvard Law School since the age of twenty-eight. His new book is "The Best Defense."

Noam Chomsky's linguistic theories revolutionized the field, and he is also known as a political radical. He has written many works of social, political, and economic analysis, and his latest work "Towards a New Cold War," consists of essays tracing the evolution of American foreign policy and ideology since the 1970s. A new collection of his essays called "Radical Priorities," has also been released. Chomsky, who grew up in the area, is in Philadelphia to deliver a talk on the relations between the United States and Israel.

Eldridge Cleaver was active in the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and early 1970s. He fled the country after his involvement in a shootout with Oakland Police and returned in 1975. Cleaver served 9 months in jail before being released, and he finishes his last day of parole today. He joins the show to discuss what has happened since his return, including his political involvement (which has become more conservative) and return to Christianity.

Hans Bethe won the 1967 Nobel Prize for Physics for determining the nuclear processes that power the sun and stars. Bethe was also involved in the creation of the atom and hydrogen bombs at the Los Alamos project during World War II. Bethe is now an activist for a nuclear freeze, and co-authored a New York Times op-ed on the topic. He joins the show to discuss the development and future of nuclear arms.

Juan Gonzalez has just returned to the Philadelphia Daily News after taking a year's leave to found and serve as the first president of the National Congress of Puerto Rican Rights. Enrique Arroyo is the director of the Puerto Rican Congress of New Jersey. They join the show to discuss Latino issues in the Delaware Valley.

Matthew Lesko specializes in helping individuals and businesses find specialized information and financial assistance programs from the government. He contributes to the NPR program Morning Edition and writes a column for Good Housekeeping.

Covert Action, a report by Danny Miller, continues with an interview with Stephen Rosenfeld, an editorial writer for the Washington Post. He joins the show to offer another perspective on the situation, and gives his opinion on both the actions of the Covert Action Information Bulletin and the legislation proposed to end them, the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. (INTERVIEW BY DANNY MILLER)

Covert Action, a report by Danny Miller, begins with an interview with Kenneth Lawrence, a regular contributor to the Covert Action Information Bulletin, a magazine published around five times a year in Washington, D. C., which covers the actions of the C. I. A. The publication is known for its "Naming Names" feature which reveals the name of C. I. A. agents. Covert Action claims that the information in the column is unclassified or of agents who are no longer working. However, they have suspended the column due to pending legislation.

British-born economist Hazel Henderson sees an economy based on renewable energy and environmentally-sound industry as the best path forward for the United States. She argues that tax cuts and subsidies associated with Reaganomics are hindering such efforts.