History

Deirdre English is an investigative journalist for Mother Jones magazine. She discusses her problems with the film Apocalypse Now, violence against women, pornography and the cultural impact of feminism.

The elite class shaped Philadelphia and Boston in important ways. Scholar E. Digby Baltzell examines how and why.

In light of the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Department of Justice is considering requiring all Iranian students in the U.S. to report to the I.N.S. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit in response. A.C.L.U. executive director Ira Glasser explains how checks on government help protect constitutional rights.

Writer and cartoonist Jules Feiffer recently published a novel called Tantrum, which follows the story of a middle-aged father who becomes a two-year-old. He shares his take on the culture of the 1970s and writing the screenplay of the upcoming Popeye film.

Writer Christopher Cerf co-edited a humorous speculative history called The 80s, which anticipates what happens in the coming decade. Fresh Air listeners and host Terry Gross discuss a number of whimsical predictions.

Author Jerzy Kozinski's new novel, Passion Play, is about polo and middle age. He talks about adopting the English language, sexuality in his fiction, and the state of the publishing industry.

South African folk singer Tony Bird performs his songs for Fresh Air and answers questions about the political dimensions of his art.

Writer William Hinton wrote the acclaimed book Fanshen, about life in a Chinese village. He talks about life in China after the Cultural Revolution.

Richard Ben Cramer, foreign affairs journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner, has spent extensive time traveling to and reporting on the Middle East. He has reported on Israel, Egypt, and Lebanon, and his stories often focus on individuals. He joins the show to discuss his work and the situation in the Middle East.

Ralph Flood speaks with two groups of protestors gathered at City Hall in Philadelphia. They oppose Jimmy Carter's 1979 budget proposal and the First Bank of Pennsylvania's support of Food Fair in spite of a strike, respectively.

Fresh Air broadcasts a lecture featuring poet Dennis Brutus, who reads his works and explains his literary influences and the experience of being a writer in South Africa during apartheid.

John Dean, former White House Counsel for Richard Nixon, discusses his new book "Blind Ambition" and the Watergate scandal.

Ralph Flood introduces a talk given by I. F. Stone at La Salle University on the intelligence network in the United States.

Ralph Flood introduces a talk given by I. F. Stone at La Salle University on the intelligence network in the United States.

Novelist Anthony Cave Brown discusses his latest novel and the role of the intelligence community in World War II.

John McAuliff and Sophie Quinn-Judge reflect on their time in Vietnam and discuss the current situation in the region.

Blanche Wiesen Cook is the author of the new biography "Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume 2 1933-1938. (Viking) This edition covers The Great Depression, the New Deal, and the build-up to World War II. Cook a professor of history at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She is author of "Eleanor Roosevelt," "Crystal Eastman on Women and Revolution," and "The Declassified Eisenhower."

In 2013, acclaimed ballerina Wendy Whelan underwent reconstructive surgery that left her hobbled, both physically and emotionally. For Whelan, it wasn't just her career with the New York City Ballet that was at stake; it was also her artistic voice.

Journalist Arnaud de Borchgrave co-wrote a spy-thriller novel called The Spike, which draws on his experience as a foreign correspondent. He talks about the role intelligence agencies often play in the world of journalism.

John Powers reviews "Kleo," the new Netflix series about a young woman who's an East German assassin as communism is collapsing in the late '80s.