American Politics

Philadelphia lawyer David Webber is the legal director of the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force's Advocacy Committee and the counsel for the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force. Last year he represented a person with AIDS who was fired from his job. Webber joins the show to discuss the legal and civil liberty issues associated with the disease.

Activist Ralph Nader joins Fresh Air callers and host Terry Gross to discuss a broad range of topics, including the legislation of safety regulations, campaign ads, money in politics, and working in nonprofit organizations.

Political analyst David Gergen speaks with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about President Reagan's relationship with the press. Gergen considers the way presidents use media to disseminate their policies and shape the narrative of their administrations.

Philadelphia Councilwoman Joan Specter and Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union debate what legislative or prosecutorial action should be taken against published work which either advocates for or features pedophilia. Prompting the discussion was the discovery of a pamphlet titled "How to Have Sex with Children," which was sold in Philadelphia bookstores.

Writer and journalist Gloria Steinem returns to Fresh Air to discuss the issues facing women and minorities in the forthcoming presidential election. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.

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)