U.S. Presidency

Kirstin Downey's biography of FDR's Labor Secretary Frances Perkins paints an inspiring and substantive portrait of the woman who ushered in the 40-hour work week.

Journalist Will Bunch critiques the 40th president in his new book Tear Down This Myth: How The Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics And Haunts Our Future.

Historian Douglas Brinkley considers Ronald Reagan one of the top five American presidents of the 20th century. Brinkley is the editor of The Reagan Diaries.

Street artist Shepard Fairey created the iconic red, white and blue Obama illustration that became the unofficial poster of the campaign. Although his campaign poster never became official, Fairey has been commissioned to design the official poster for the inauguration.

Eric Foner, author of Our Lincoln, talks about the era following the Civil War in which former slaves were promised equal rights and citizenship. Foner is DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University.

Ta-Nehisi Coates grew up in the post-civil rights era, son of a publisher and former Black Panther; he's a contributing editor and blogger for The Atlantic magazine and author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, 2 Sons, and An Unlikely Road to Manhood.

NBC's newly appointed chief White House correspondent talks with Dave Davies about his new book, How Barack Obama Won: A State-by-State Guide to the Historic 2008 Presidential Election.

The year in television started with a bust — or to be more precise, a writer's strike — but Fresh Air's TV critic says there were plenty of TiVo-worthy programs in 2008. Prominent among them: AMC's Mad Men.

In 1977, historian James Reston Jr. helped prepare journalist David Frost for a series of interviews with Richard Nixon that resulted in the former president's tacit acknowledgment of his involvement in the Watergate scandal. Reston later chronicled the exchange in his book The Conviction of Richard Nixon.

In the film of his play Frost/Nixon, screenwriter Peter Morgan elevates the televised 1977 interviews that Richard Nixon did with British host David Frost into a momentous event.

Conservative Christian Richard Cizik preaches the message of environmentalism from a pro-life perspective. Cizik is the vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, a powerful lobbying organization that represents 45,000 churches.

The name of former anti-war activist William Ayers was brought up twice in an attempt to discredit Barack Obama during the recent presidential campaign — first by Hillary Clinton, and then by the McCain campaign.

Beginning with the Democratic primary, president-elect Barack Obama's campaign did not waver in its focus on "change." Journalist Ryan Lizza argues that the constancy and simplicity of Obama's message allowed the candidate to turn his vulnerabilities into assets — and outmaneuver both Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

David Kirkpatrick, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times, profiled McCain in a series of articles. He shares his thoughts on the McCain campaign and on the future of the Republican Party.

Journalist and economist Robert Kuttner has reported on elections for over three decades. His latest book, Obama's Challenge, looks at the many Herculean obstacles the president-elect faces — and what it will take to tackle them.

With three decades' worth of experience in broadcast journalism, PBS's Bill Moyers has witnessed his share of groundbreaking moments.

Political scientist is an Associate Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at UCLA and the Director of the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics.

As Barack Obama's presidential campaign manager, David Plouffe was responsible for constructing an unprecedented grass-roots campaign. In his new book, The Audacity To Win: The Insside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory, Plouffe presents a behind-the-scenes look at a historic campaign.

Sarah Palin is a staunch pro-lifer; Colorado voters may soon decide that life begins at conception. Author, journalist and academic Cynthia Gorney says the abortion wars are still going strong in this election cycle.