Coups d'état

Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka. He was the first African to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature (in 1986), and he's been called one of Africa's "finest writers." He is a dramatist, poet, novelist, critic, and political writer. Some of his works have been banned by Nigerian regimes. He's gone into exile several times and has been imprisoned for political protests. He's written 21 books, including "Myth, Literature, and the African World," and his autobiography, "Ake': The Years of Childhood." (Ventura books).

We check in again with journalist Robert Cullen. He's the former Moscow correspondent Newsweek, and he writes regularly on Eastern Europe for "The Atlantic," and the "New Yorker." CULLEN will talk with Terry about his recent trip to Moscow after the coup and he'll update us on the state of the Soviet military. His new book is "Twilight of Empire: Inside the Crumbling Soviet Bloc."

Political scientist professor William Taubman discusses who wields power in the Soviet Union, in the wake of the past week's events. Taubman had an editorial this weekend in the New York Times saying that the time has come for Mikhail Gorbachev to step down. (Taubman teaches at Amherst College, and is currently working on a biography of Nikita Khrushchev).

Editor Vitalli Korotych (Veh-tal-ee Ka-row-tich) of the reformist Soviet magazine, "Ogonyok" (AH-gone-yuck) He talks with Terry about his own questions about the coup, about the lessons learned from it, and about what he thinks should happen now.

We get a personal view of recent events in the Soviet Union, with Soviet emigre writer Mikhail Iossel ("YO-sill"). Iossel's latest book, "Every Hunter Wants To Know: A Leningrad Life," is a collection of short stories about life during the Brezhnev years. (It's published by W.W. Norton).

Admiral Stansfield Turner. The former director of the CIA under Jimmy Carter. He talks with Terry about what he thinks is going on in both the American and Soviet intelligence communities in the wake of the Soviet coup attempt. (Turner has just come out with his second book, "Terrorism & Democracy" (Published by Houghton Mifflin)).

We check in again with journalist Robert Cullen, for his take on the latest events in the Soviet Union. He's a former Moscow correspondent for Newsweek, and he writes regularly on Eastern Europe for The Atlantic and the New Yorker. (Cullen has a book coming out this autumn, titled, "Twilight Of Empire: Inside the Crumbling Soviet Bloc").

We discuss last night's overthrow of Mikhail Gorbachev, with journalist Robert Cullen. He's a former Moscow correspondent for Newsweek, and he writes regularly on Eastern Europe for The Atlantic and the New Yorker. He was most recently in the USSR this past June, working on an article on the influence of the Soviet military. Cullen has a book coming out this autumn, titled, "Twilight Of Empire: Inside the Crumbling Soviet Bloc."