September 11, 2001

Linguist Geoff Nunberg examines the term "911."

Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker magazine. The design for the World Trade Center site has been chosen and architect Daniel Libeskind created the winning proposal. Goldberger will describe the selection process and comment on the winning design.

New York Times reporter and columnist Lisa Belkin writes the "Life's Work" column for the paper. Her recent article "The Grief Payout" in The New York Times Magazine (Dec. 8, 2002) is about the Victim Compensation Fund set up to benefit the families of victims from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and examines the controversies surrounding how the money is distributed. Lisa Belkin is also the author of the book Life's Work: Confessions of an Unbalanced Mom.

He's just published When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism. It's a coffee table book of post-Sept. 11 political posters, with slogans such as "Political Correctness is Dangerous...Demand Real Security" and "Put a Flag on Your Car...It's Literally the Least You Can Do/Empty Gestures Don't Win Wars." For nine years, Maher was the host of the TV talk show Politically Incorrect" which aired first on Comedy Central and then on ABC.

Film Critic David Edelstein reviews the reissue of the classic silent film Metropolis which is now in theaters.

Performance poet Sekou Sundiata. He is one of New York's notable spoken word artists, blending lyrics of urban dwelling with music. Born in Harlem, he is a professor of English Literature at The New School for Social Research. He's released several CDs of his work, including The Blue Oneness of Dreams and Urban Music. He's published a new journal (in pamphlet form), Heart: Human Equity Through Art.

Robert Jay Lifton is Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the Graduate School University Center and director of The Center on Violence and Human Survival at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at The City University of New York. He's written books on many topics, including the Japanese cult which released poison gas in the Tokyo subways, Nazi doctors, Hiroshima survivors and Vietnam vets.

Greg and Lauren Manning. During the attacks on the World Trade Center, Lauren Manning was badly burned. While she was in the hospital, her husband, Greg, sent daily e-mails to friends and family chronicling Lauren's progress. They've been collected in the new book, Love, Greg & Lauren: A Powerful True Story of Courage, Hope, and Survival.

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson first became known for his work with Fairport Convention. He's since gone solo and is known for his dark songs which blend elements of British folk ballads and the blues. He's released a number of solo albums, Mirror Blue and Rumor and Sign. Rykodisc also compiled a retrospective of his work, Watching the Dark: The History of Richard Thompson. Currently, Thompson is performing a show he calls A Thousand Years of Pop Music, which includes British and American folk songs, jazz and pop.

Jazz singer and guitarist John Pizzarelli. He's played in cabarets and jazz clubs around the world, and co-starred in the Broadway revue Dream: A Salute to the Songs of Johnny Mercer. Pizzarelli usually performs with his trio, modeled on the Nat Cole Trio, featuring guitar, piano and bass. His latest CD is Rare Delight of You: John Pizzarelli with the George Shearing Quintet.

TV critic David Bianculli has some thoughts on the Sept. 11 anniversary coverage.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the effect of Sept. 11 on our language.

New York City Police Detective Dave Fitzpatrick. He took thousands of photographs on Sept. 11, many of them from a police helicopter high above the city. He also spent two months at Ground Zero photographing the rescue efforts. Many of his photographs and that of other police officers are featured in the book, Above Hallowed Ground: A Photographic Record of September 11, 2001.

New York Times reporters James Glanz and Eric Lipton. The two have written extensively about the structure of the World Trade Center towers since Sept. 11. They've written a biography of the towers, looking into the design decisions that unwittingly helped lead to their collapse. Their story appears in this Sunday's (Sept. 8, 2002) New York Times Magazine section.

He is one of few western reporters to interview Osama bin Laden, which he did in 1998. Hes collaborated on the new book, The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It. (Hyperion). In the book they retrace the movements of al-Qaeda leading up to the September 11th attacks.

Father James Martin is associate editor of America the national Catholic magazine. Hes written a new memoir,Searching for God at Ground Zero, (Sheed & Ward) about the days following the September 11th attacks when he abandoned his editing duties to go and be with the rescue workers at the site of the ruined World Trade Center. Hes also the author of a memoir about his spiritual journey from the corporate world to the priesthood: In Good Company: The Fast Track from the Corporate World to Poverty, Chastity and Obedience

Former fire commissioner of New York City, Thomas Von Essen. He led the department through the Sept. 11 attacks and during rescue and early recovery efforts. During the attacks, the department lost 343 men, many of them Von Essen's friends and colleagues. Von Essen stepped down as fire commissioner on December 31, 2001. He's written a new memoir with Matt Murray, Strong of Heart: Life and Death in the Fire Department of New York.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews The Rising (Sony) the new CD by Bruce Springsteen, inspired by the events of Sept. 11.

Arab-American stand-up comics Ahmed Ahmed and Maz Jobrani. They've changed their routines since Sept. 11, cracking jokes about attending flight school and the like. Both have had small parts as terrorists in action films. Jobrani was in a Chuck Norris film and Ahmed was Terrorist #4 in Executive Decision. They live in Los Angeles.

National security expert Loch Johnson. Hes written several books about intelligence and the trade-off of personal freedom, including Bombs, Bugs, Drugs and Thugs: Intelligence and Americas Quest for Security. Johnson is a professor of political science at the University of Georgia. He has served on several US Senate committees on Intelligence.