International affairs

Historian William Taubman edited and translated a biography of the last years of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, as told by Nikita's son, Sergei. The book, titled Khrushchev on Khrushchev, gives new insights into the elder Khrushchev's fall from power after repudiating Stalinism, and his final days as a virtual pariah in the Soviet Union.

The French government will officially simplify the spelling of several dozen words, claiming the change will make their national language more accessible and appealing to foreigners. Linguist Geoff Nunberg questions the efficacy of the initiative, and considers how countries define themselves through culture and legislation.

Mubarak Awad grew up in the Occupied Territories; he later became a U.S. citizen, but returned to Palestine to advocate for civil disobedience as the best way to resist Israeli rule and discrimination. He joins Fresh Air to give his perspective on the intifada and Palestinian organizations like PLO, whose violent actions Awat sees as acts of resistance, not terrorism.

Commentator Leslie Savan says that American corporations have a vested interest in breaking into Soviet Bloc markets -- and they're spreading their capitalist message through TV ads.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Magic Lantern," journalist Timothy Garton Ash's account of the democracy movement in Eastern Europe.

Veteran journalist Dusko Doder. Doder and co-author Louise Branson have just written a comprehensive biography of Mikhail Gorbachev, titled, "Gorbachev: Heretic In the Kremlin." It's published by Viking. Dusko Doder is the former Moscow Bureau chief for the Washington Post. Branson covered the Soviet Union for the Sunday Times of London.

South African journalist Allister Sparks. He's been a correspondent for The Economist, the Washington Post, and The Observer. Sparks' new book, "The Mind of South Africa," is a historical study of that country, and an analysis of the roots of apartheid.

Historian Jonathan D. Spence. His new book is "The Search for Modern China" (published by W.W. Norton & Company). Spence is a professor of History at Yale University.

Reporter Lawrence Weschler. Weschler is a staff writer for the "New Yorker," where he writes on human rights, political, and cultural issues. Weschler's new book, "A Miracle, A Universe: Settling Accounts with Torturers," (published by Pantheon) looks at how victims of torture in Brazil and Uruguay worked to bring their captors activities to light (portions of the book ran as a five-part series in the New Yorker). Weschler's earlier books include "The Passion of Poland," and "Shapinsky's Karma."

Journalist Robert Cullen. He's a former Moscow correspondent for Newsweek, and he writes regularly on Eastern Europe for The Atlantic and the New Yorker. An eyewitness to the fall of the Ceaucescu regime in Romania, Cullen discusses with Terry the difficulties that country faces in setting up a democracy after so many years under a dictatorship.