Thomas, Clarence, 1948-

A new biography of Justice Clarence Thomas explores some of the paradoxes of his life and career; it's called Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas. Authors Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher, both reporters at The Washington Post, say the book grew out of a Post article exploring "both the racial vehemence that has hounded Thomas and the roots of his ascension to the judicial mountaintop."

Anita Hill has written a book entitled "Speaking Truth to Power," (Doubleday) a reflection on the events surrounding the Hill-Thomas hearings of the fall of 1991. Hill addresses her difficult overnight transformation into a public figure, as well as the way her case has affected women and the work world as a whole. Hill is currently working on another book about sexual harassment, and lectures on civil rights and sexual harassment in the workplace.

"Wall Street Journal" senior writer Jane Mayer is co-author of "Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas,: She and fellow journalist Jill Abramson, investigated sexual harassment allegations against Thomas made by Anita Hill. They found other women who had had similar experiences with Thomas, but who were never called to testify. They wanted to write an objective account of the process, and they bring their harshest criticism on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

NPR and NBC legal affairs corespondent, Nina Totenberg. In covering the Thomas/Hill Judiciary Committee hearings some conservative senators accused Totenberg of ruining the lives of both Thomas and Hill. Totenberg also brought the fact that Judge Douglas Ginsburg had smoked marijuana into the public eye, costing him a Supreme Court nomination. Totenberg's reports regularly for "Morning Edition," "Weekend Edition," and "All Things Considered."

Incumbent Republican Senator Arlen Specter for the State of Pennsylvania. He's up for re-election this year, running against Lynn Yeakel. Yeakel has never served in public office, but says she was inspired to run after Specter's questioning of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.

Phelps is the Supreme Court reporter who broke the Anita Hill story (along with NPR's Nina Totenberg) in New York Newsday. He's co-written an account of the Clarence Thomas hearings, called "Capitol Games," which looks at how the press failed to see the whole story of now-Justice Thomas, including just how conservative he really is.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg has some thoughts on the literal meaning of "the body politic."

News anchor Dan Rather. As anchor of the CBS Evening News, Rather's probably the most visible journalist in America. He has a new memoir called "I Remember." (It's published by Little, Brown).

We take one last look back at the Clarence Thomas confirmation process, and look ahead to what future confirmation's may be like, with law professor David Kairys (pronounced "carries"). Kairys has a long history in personal freedom and civil rights issues.

We get several views on this weekend's Clarence Thomas proceedings...
First, feminist and Time magazine essayist Barbara Ehrenreich (air-rike) gives her views.

Then Terry talks with Wall Street Journal reporter Michel McQueen about what African Americans think of the hearings.

Finally, we talk with Philadelphia's two editorial cartoonists: Tony Auth (rhymes with "broth") of the
Philadelphia Inquirer, and Signe Wilkinson of the Philadelphia Daily News.

The U.S. Senate begins debate today on confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court; and Senator Biden has called for hearings examining the confirmation process. Duke University Law Professor Walter Dellinger gives his critique of the confirmation process.