Journalism

Dowie writes for Mother Jones, and has uncovered stories about neglected auto safety and the dangers of the contraceptive Dalcon Shield. His new book is called We Have a Donor, about the issues surrounding transplant surgery for both patients and doctors

Jane Kramer regularly writes about the culture and politics on the continent. She says immigration -- and the xenophobic response to immigrants -- has played a big part in shaping Europe's changing identity.

Journalist Jack Newfield has cowritten a book with Wayne Barrett, City for Sale, about the corruption associated with New York City mayor Ed Koch, who is currently serving his third term. Newfield calls attention to the political influence of organized crime and the nepotism involved in filling civil service positions.

Sportswriter John Feinstein says there's nothing more exciting than watching a college basketball game from the stands. His new book, A Season Inside, looks at the failures and success of young athletes, and argues that coaches are the real heroes of the game.

The British journalist reports on Washington politics for The Nation, Spectator, and Harper's. He's frustrated by the tendency of news outlets to avoid reporting facts about political figures that may seem partisan or outwardly critical. A collection of his columns, titled Prepared for the Worst, has just been published.

Newman worked in newspapers, radio and television. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the importance of language in journalism, the voice he adopted to report on tragedies and assassinations, and how he filled airtime when the copy ran out. A new collection of his columns is called I Must Say.

James Fenton is a poet who traveled to Southeast Asia without any clear goal in mind. He started writing first-person journalism for a number of newspapers and magazines. Fenton covered the fall of Saigon and the end of the Marcos regime in the Philippines.

Television journalist Marlene Sanders was a pioneer in advancing the role of women in the newsroom. In the 1970s, she covered the feminist movement; she says no male journalists were able to get the story right. She has a new book about women, co-authored by Marcia Rock.

New Yorker writer William Finnegan followed back journalists in South Africa who worked for a liberal, opposition newspapers. Finnegan is white, and his presence often put the people he traveled with in danger. His book about the reporters is called Dateline Soweto.

Writer William Shawcross's new book profiles the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown during the Iranian revolution. Despite his despotic rule -- including the brutal deployment of the SAVAK secret police -- the Shah advanced some reforms in education and women's rights. He was an ally to the United States; who provided the Iranian state with money for weapons.