News & Media

The British journalist has avoided the government-established pool system, which gives military access to reporters, but requires them to have their stories cleared before they're published. He explains his reasons in conversation with Terry Gross.

We talk about United States' newest Middle East ally's involvement in the international drug trade with Philadelphia Inquirer reporter David Zucchino. Zucchino covers the drug war for the paper, and has spent two years in the Middle East. He also won a Pulitzer for his coverage of South Africa.

Pat Ford speaks with photographic historian Fred Ritchin about the computer manipulation of photographic images. His new book, "In Our Image," discusses the implications of a technology that makes the photograph as susceptible to fraud as the printed word. Ritchin is the founding director of the photojournalism at the International Center of Photography, and the director of photography for the "New York Times Magazine."

The New York Times reporter has spent the last decade covering the Middle East. In light of the start of the Gulf War, he has two questions -- How will we know when we win? And how will the war affect the peace process between Israel and Palestine? Friedman is the author of the bestselling book From Beirut to Jerusalem.

Journalist Vernon Loeb of the Philadelphia Inquirer gives us a first hand report of the latest missile attack on Israel. Next, editor Michael Lerner of "Tikkun," the leading magazine of American-Jewish intellectuals, discusses the thinking of the liberal Jewish community on the Gulf War.

Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton talks about the psychological effects of the current war in the Middle East. Despite the risk of what he calls "psychic numbing," he thinks citizens should stay engaged with the conflict and follow coverage of it in the news.

Critic John Leonard talks to Terry Gross about how television news shows are covering the war in Iraq. They conclude that networks are framing the conflict as a kind of entertainment program -- a strategy which may actually bring the war closer to home for many viewers.

Soviet journalist Artem Borovik Borovik covered the Soviet war in Afghanistan. His first hand account of that war has given him insight into the difficulties associated with combat in harsh climates -- conditions American soldiers may face during any intervention in the Gulf crisis.

We talk about the crisis in the Gulf and the state of the Israeli and Palestine with Joel Brinkley, the Jerusalem Bureau Chief for the New York Times.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews the new Masterpiece Theatre series, "Scoop," based on the Evelyn Waugh novel of the same name. It's about a young, inexperienced foreign correspondent in 1935.

Journalist Lawrence Weschler is a staff writer for the New Yorker and has been covering Eastern Europe for the past decade. He joins Fresh Air to talk about labor leader Lech Walesa's successful democratic election, and the fallout of Poland's changing government and economy.

Reporter Steven Mufson covered South Africa for three years; he was expelled by the country's government in 1987. His new book, "Fighting Years," is about the conflicts among black communities over the which forms of resistance against the apartheid government are most effective.

Journalist Hedrick Smith was a reporter for the New York Times for 26 years. He reported from the Soviet Union from 1971-1974. His new book, The New Russians, considers the changing political, economic and social cultures of the country under Mikhail Gorbachev's liberalizing reforms.

Rock historian Ed Ward discusses the musician's role in recent popular music. Before rising to prominence in the Velvet Underground, Cale studied with avant-garde composers like LaMonte Young.

Journalist Dan Noyes is part of the Center For Investigative Reporting, and was in charge of the Center's investigation into the international traffic in toxic waste. Their findings reveal environmentally damaging practices and unethical business practices. The investigation resulted in the PBS documentary "Global Dumping Ground," reported by Bill Moyers, and companion book by the same name.

For 40 years, Tames was the White house photographer for the New York Times. He's collected some of his best-known pictures in a new book called "Eye on Washington."

Moyers worked as President Lyndon Johnson's press secretary, and has since become a mainstay of public television. He's best known for his popular miniseries featuring Joseph Campbell, called The Power of Myth.

The political journalist is a former Jesuit seminarian and professor of public policy at Northwestern University. His new book is called Under God. It's a collection of essays about the frequent collison of politics and religion in America.

Newsweek magazine's religion writer Kenneth L. Woodward's new book examines the politics surrounding how the Roman Catholic Church decides who will become a saint. Woodward says it's the most democratic process in a profoundly undemocratic institution.

Biographer and journalist Anthony Holden took a year off from writing to play in poker circuits around the country. It turns out he was pretty good. He documents that experience in a his new book, Big Deal.