American Politics

Conservative thinker Michael Ledeen holds the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute, but prefers the term "democratic revolutionary" to "neoconservative." He discusses the current and future U.S. policy toward Iran, arguing that the United States should encourage change from within the country, rather than launching an all-out attack.

Middle East peace expert Sari Nusseibeh is the founder of the Palestinian Consultancy Group and the Israeli-Palestinian Science Organization, the president of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem and a professor of Islamic philosophy. He co-wrote the People's Voice Initiative to build grassroots support for a two-state solution. Until December 2002, he was the representative of the Palestinian National Authority in Jerusalem.

Peace negotiator Yossi Beilin is a member of Israel's Knesset (Parliament) and chairman of the Meretz-Yachad party. Dr. Beilin has had posts in the governments of Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak. Beilin held unofficial peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in 2003, which led to the Geneva Initiative, and was one of the architects of the Oslo Accords, signed in 1993.

Charlie Savage is based in Washington for the Boston Globe and recently wrote an investigative piece about the civil rights section of the Department of Justice, where he found that staffers with legal expertise are being replaced by conservatives with little experience but who promote right wing Christian values.

Political reporters Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten talk about their new book, One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century. The authors are reporters for The Los Angeles Times.

The director of the conservative Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal at the Hudson Institute talks about his work. The Hudson Institute examines "the role of philanthropy in encouraging or discouraging civil society in America and around the world," Schambra says.

Philanthropist and investor George Soros is the chairman of Soros Fund Management and the Open Society Institute. His new book is The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of The War on Terror. Soros, whose worth has been estimated at over $7 billion, has directed his philanthropic efforts toward defeating George W. Bush in 2004, overthrowing communism in Eastern Europe, helping black students attend university in apartheid South Africa and repealing drug prohibition laws internationally.

In his new book, Talking Right, linguist Geoff Nunberg examines the parlance of the American political right. Conservatives, Nunberg notes, have been remarkably effective at creating a language through which to convey their agenda.

Reporter Jane Mayer's recent article in The New Yorker examines the role of David S. Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff and longtime legal adviser. Mayer says current and former Bush administration officials credit him with helping form the administration's legal strategy in the war on terrorism.

Journalist Bill Minutaglio's new book documents the career of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Minutaglio writes for many publications, including The New York Times, Outside and Details.