Business & Economy

Greider is National Editor for Rolling Stone, and a former Washington Post editor. He assesses the state of the global economy in his new book "One World, Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism." He writes that an industrial and economic revolution is taking place in the world, and that its effects may be far greater than that of the industrial revolution.

Fortune Magazine's senior editor Joe Nocera and Ron Chernow. They can both be seen in the new Frontline documentary "Betting on the Market." The documentary is based in part on Nocera's 1994 book, "A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class." It traces America's obsession with Wall Street, and looks at the consequences. Nocera serves as correspondent in the film. Chernow is the author of "The House of Morgan," which received a National Book Award in 1990.

Pacific Northwest Bureau Chief for the New York Times Timothy Egan. His two-part series on urban sprawl in the western United States recently appeared in the Times. Egan writes that cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, and Salt Lake are growing rapidly, with growth going mostly unchecked. In Phoenix, he writes that land is being consumed at the rate of "an acre an hour." But in Portland, Oregon city officials over 20 years ago set up guidelines to control rampant growth.

New York Times writer Jason DeParle. He covers poverty and social welfare issues for the Times. Recently, DeParle has been writing about the disappearance of affordable housing. On top of that, government subsidies for low-income housing have all but disappeared. DeParle's New York Times Magazine cover story about housing appeared on October 20, 1996.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg talks about corporate language.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg looks at how Americans use the word "rich." In this election year, it's been deployed extensively by the two major presidential candidates. Nunberg looks at the origin of the word and why some well-to-do Americans don't like the label.

Philadelphia Inquirer investigative reporters Donald Barlett and James Steele. The two talk with Terry Gross about why campaign promises related to taxes should be carefully scrutinized. They say if you want to know how a 15 percent tax cut would help you, you need to look at how it would impact all of the taxes you pay. They say that often the highest tax rates are found at the state or local level.

Sociologist and foremost authority on urban poverty William Julius Wilson. He was with the University of Chicago for 24 years before becoming the Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy at Harvard. His new book is "When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor" (Knopf). He looks at how joblessness has affected inner city neighborhoods. He says that the consequences of high joblessness in the inner city are more devastating than those of high neighborhood poverty.

Pulitzer Prize winning Philadelphia Inquirer reporters Donald Barlett and James Steele. "Barlett and Steele" as they are often referred to in Philly, are writing a new ten part series in the Inquirer titled "Who Stole the Dream?" Barlett and Steele say American public policy is largely to blame for why many American jobs have been sent overseas. Barlett and Steele will publish these stories in book form later this year.

Economist Geoffrey Faux iss president of the Economic Policy Institute, and is a contributor to the New York Times, Harper's, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. His new book is "The Party's Not Over: A New Vision for the Democrats."

TV critic David Bianculli reviews this week's edition of the PBS summer series "P.O.V."

Nigerian journalist Dapo Olorunyomi... He is the editor of five of the country's leading opposition publications. His work uncovering corruption in the Nigerian Government helped him win the World Press Review 1995 Editor-of-the-Year Award. Olorunyomi is now in exile in the United States. It's the third anniversary of the democratic elections annulled by the military.

Philip Hilts, correspondent on health and science policy for The New York Times. His new book is "Smokescreen: The Truth Behind the Tobacco Industry Cover-up" (Addison-Wesley). Hilts first broke the story of the now-infamous Brown and Williamson tobacco papers, which revealed when tobacco executives first learned about the addictive nature of nicotine and the dangers of smoking. Hilts' stories for the New York Times led to Congressional hearings.

Journalist Richard Kluger. He's written a new history of the tobacco industry in America: "Ashes to Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris." (Knopf). Kluger was literary editor of the New York Herald Tribune. He also wrote for The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg on the language of downsizing.

Ira Kay is the Practice Director of Watson Wyatt's Executive Compensation Practice. He's also the author of "Value at the Top: Solutions to the Executive Compensation Crisis" (Harper Collins).

Compensation expert Graef Crystal. He used to design compensation packages for CEOs. But he's since become critical of the widening gap between what top executives make and what workers do. He recently conducted a preliminary survey of executive compensation in the nation's largest corporations. The survey found that the pay of chief executives has been rising, while that of workers has stagnated.

Brazilian photojournalist Sebastio Salgado's newest book documents working class people with difficult jobs. It's called "Workers." He began his professional life as an economist.

Commentator Steven Levy on Apple computer.