Globalization

Environmental scientist Kate O'Neill discusses recycling and the global politics of waste. "Once you throw something away, you've got to think about where's it going to go next," she says.

Author Robert Kuttner says the decline of social contracts in Western democracies has led to the rise of right-wing populism. His new book is Can Democracy Survive Global Capitalism?

Author Rick Wartzman says that jobs offering security, decent wages and good benefits are becoming harder to find, in part because of automation, globalization and the weakening of unions.

Thomas Friedman is a man bent on revolution. In his new book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, the three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist writes about the need for a green revolution — and calls upon Americans to lead the charge.

As president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Andy Stern led his union -- along with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and several others -- out of the AFL-CIO to start the Change to Win Federation, the first new labor movement in 50 years.

Environmentalist William Powers' new book is Whispering in the Giant's Ear: A Frontline Chronicle From Bolivia's War on Globalization. Powers is also the author of Blue Clay People, about Liberia. He has worked for over a decade in development aid in Latin America, Africa and Washington DC.

Two new documentaries probe the effects of outside influences on third-world countries. In Our Brand is Crisis, the arrival of U.S. campaign consultants threatens the outcome of a Bolivian presidential election. And Darwin's Nightmare is about the devastation of Lake Victoria in Tanzania.

New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman's new book, The World is Flat, explores the effects of outsourcing and globalization. The book, subtitled "a brief history of the 21st century," connects recent business trends with social issues.

New York Times Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas Friedman is the reporter/narrator of the Discovery Channel documentary, The Other Side of Outsourcing — about jobs going to India. (Thursday, June 3 at 10 p.m. EST). Friedman has written about outsourcing and globalization in his columns. He is the author of the best-selling book Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for his coverage of the Middle East.

New York Times Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas L. Friedman is the author of the new book "The Lexus and The Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization." (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Friedman won two Pulitzer Prizes for his reporting in Lebanon and Israel. His 1989 book "From Beirut to Jerusalem" which was on the NYT's bestseller list for 12-months won the National Book Award for non-fiction. In January 1995, he became The Times Foreign Affairs Columnist. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Brandeis University.

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.

Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Vice President of the World Resources Institute, which she helped to found, discusses global environmental issues. Many environmental issues, like the greenhouse effect and air and water pollution, cross national borders and their solutions depend on international cooperation. Mathews is also a columnist for The Washington Post and was on the staff of the National Security Council during the Carter Administration.

The first half of a two part interview with political economist Robert Reich. Reich's new book, "The Work of Nations," examines how new global realities have changed economic conditions for Americans. While many blue collar jobs go overseas, wealth in the U.S. has become concentrated in the top fifth of population.

Philip Foner is the foremost historian on the labor movement in the U. S. He is the author of over eighty works, including a four volume history of the American labor movement, "Organized Labor and the Black Worker," and "Women and the American Labor Movement," the second volume of which was recently published. He is currently a visiting professor at Rutgers University.