American Politics

NPR and NBC legal affairs corespondent, Nina Totenberg. In covering the Thomas/Hill Judiciary Committee hearings some conservative senators accused Totenberg of ruining the lives of both Thomas and Hill. Totenberg also brought the fact that Judge Douglas Ginsburg had smoked marijuana into the public eye, costing him a Supreme Court nomination. Totenberg's reports regularly for "Morning Edition," "Weekend Edition," and "All Things Considered."

Lawyer, professor, and former nominee to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Lani Guinier. Guinier's nomination was withdrawn by President Clinton, after Republicans and Democrats started to question her views, as expressed in her academic writings, labeling her a "racial separatist," and the "quota queen." Guinier talks with Terry about her views, her work with the NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational fund to amend the the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and how she was misunderstood and misrepresented during the nomination process.

Professor Uwe Reinhardt. He is a professor of Political Economy at Princeton University. He is also President of the American Association of Health Services Research. Reinhardt has written widely about reforming the U-S healthcare system in such publications as the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. He has argued for a universal plan for years now, saying it will control spiraling costs.

Biomedical ethicist Arthur Caplan. Caplan was on the Presidential task force that helped form the new health care proposal. He is the Director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Minnesota. He is also a professor of surgery and philosophy there. In addition to numerous books and articles, Caplan writes a syndicated column; his work appears weekly in 40 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada.

Professor of History at Princeton, Sean Wilentz. His new article in the August 9th, 1993 issue of The New Republic compares the Ross Perot phenomenon to past populist movements in American History. He argues that Perot represents populism as "a surly mood of defeat and powerlessness;" that he perhaps signals a realignment to come of the two major parties. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Professor and military sociologist Charles Moskos. He formulated President Clinton's new policy on homosexuals in the military which has been dubbed "don't ask don't tell" (enlistees would not be asked about sexual orientation nor would they declare it, once in the service). Moskos has done field research during every major army deployment over the last 30 years, most recently in Somalia to interview African-American soldiers. Moskos is also a proponent of a national service program for college students, which has caught the eye of President Clinton.

U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, Democratic Representative from Massachusetts, and one of two openly-gay members of Congress. He's been lobbying for lifting the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. Terry will talk with him about President Clinton's announcement last week about gays and lesbians in the military. (In a recent Washington Post op-ed piece, Frank defends Clinton, blaming, instead, those allied against lifting the ban.)

Founder of the anti-abortion group, "Operation Rescue," Randall Terry. Last week his group tried to stop abortions by blocking access to clinics in seven cities across the United States, including Philadelphia. TERRY also has a new book, "Why does a nice guy like me keep getting thrown in jail?" (Huntington House Pub., Lafayette, LA; Resistance Press, Windsor, N.Y.)

Regional Director of four women's clinics in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Omaha, Nebraska, Diane Strauss. Three of her clinics were the target of Operation Rescue's protests last week. Before that, Strauss has been harassed at home by the group. In 1987, one of STRAUSS's clinics was the first clinic to be targeted by Operation Rescue outside of Binghamton, New York where the group is based.

President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of New York City, Alexander Sanger. Terry will talk with him about his work there, and about carrying on the work that his grandmother, Margaret Sanger pioneered. One of the projects they are involved in is training doctors in abortion practices. This is in response to a drop in training programs in OB/GYN residency programs, where it's fallen 50 percent since 1985.