Government & Politics

Two interviews in this segment:

1) Jean Hunt gives a grassroots perspective on abortion rights and accessiblity. Hunt is a registered nurse who has been an activist in the women's health movement since the late 60's .From 1988-1992 she was director of the Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women in Philadelphia. She says that even if the federal government ensures the right to an abortion, local politics, health care economics and physician shortages make it difficult for women to get abortions.

Producer Roger Kendis, AKA the Invisible Man, of Noisy Neighbors Productions. He's here in Philadelphia, and he's put together a rap recording with clips from Clinton's speeches, called "It's About Hope."

Some reactions to the inauguration and thoughts about the new administration from satirist and voice actor Harry Shearer, language commentator Geoffrey Nunbert, and Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Middle East expert Geoffrey Kemp.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Body of Evidence," the new sex-fueled courtroom drama starring Madonna and William DeFoe.

Two individuals involved with the Victim/Offender Mediation Program (with The Community Dispute Resolution Center in New York City): Program Director Thomas Christian, and Gary Geiger, who was shot and wounded during a robbery eleven years ago. Through the program, Geiger confronted the man who shot him, Wayne Blanchard, who is now in prison. Their meeting is featured in the HBO special, "Confronting Evil: America Undercover."

Freshman Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Illinois), who in the late 60's and early 70's was a leader of the Black Panther Party. At one time he served as Minister of Defense for the Panthers. From 1983 till his election to Congress last year, he served as an Alderman in Chicago.

Author Lorenzo Carcaterra is managing editor of the CBS weekly series "Top Cops." He's written a memoir, "A Safe Place," about growing up, the son of a violent, loving, murderous, and generous father. They lived in New York's Hell's Kitchen during the 50s and 60s. Lorenzo found out at the age of 14 that his father had murdered his first wife when she threatened to leave him. Lorenzo's father went on to terrorize his second wife, beating her and Lorenzo. Yet his father also could be warm and affectionate to his family.

Terry speaks with Admiral Ge LaRocque, director of the Center for Defense Information in Washington, D.C. They discuss the future of the American military: Is the American military becoming a world police force in the post-Cold War era? General LaRocque offers an analysis of yesterday's allied air strike on missile bases in southern Iraq and also sheds light on question of military invervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Balkans. They also talk about the American military and the U.N. and how the military may fare during the transition between the Bush and Clinton presidencies.

Populist voice Jim Hightower is a former Texas Commissioner of Agriculture. His current project is Hightower Radio, a new, daily, syndicated two-minute radio commentary. He plans on sewing the seeds of grass roots activism in commentaries on subjects ranging from doctor bills and the deficit to toxic dumps and the recession.

Ze'ev Chafets is editor of "The Jerusalem Report," a news magazine published in Israel. He's an Israeli who grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, and was the director of the government press office under Prime Minister Menacham Begin. He talks with Terry about his perspectives on the peace process.

Khalidi is currently the senior member of the Jordanian-Palestinian delegation to the Middle East Peace Conference. He's considered one of the most influential thinkers about the Arab-Israeli conflict, and a man who has never shied away from criticizing policies pursued by all parties involved. His latest book is a collection of his essays about the history and politics of the Arab-Israeli conflict, called "Palestine Reborn."

President Carter has written a new book about his early days in politics, "Turning Point: A Candidate, A State, and a Nation Come of Age," Terry will talk with him about his presidency, the work he's done since he's left the office, and what he thinks about a Clinton presidency.

Nachtwey was in Somalia in October, and photographs of his visit were the cover story in The New York Times Magazine section on December 6, 1992. Terry talks with him about his trip to Somalia: why he took the pictures he did, how he was received, why he wanted to go, etc. Nachtwey has been awarded the Robert Capa Gold Medal three times. He's been to areas of conflict in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Lebanon, the West Bank, Sudan, the Philippines, Northern Ireland and more.

Journalist Steve Roberts is the senior writer for "U.S. News & World Report." Before that, he covered Congress for The New York Times. He'll talk with guest host Marty Moss-Coane about the 103rd Congress which just went into session. It's the most diverse group yet.

Zigler is Professor of Psychology at Yale, and one of the founders of the Head Start education program. Founded in the 1960s, it funds services for poor children. He's written a new book about the history of the program, called "Head Start: The Inside Story of America's Most Successful Educational Experiment."

Republican leaders Ralph Reed and Senator John Chafee. Reed is the Executive Director of the Christian Coalition, based in Chesapeake, VA. Chafee is a Republican from Rhode Island. He's a member of the newly formed Republican Majority Coalition. The Republican National Committee is meeting at the end of this month to elect a new chairman. The two men will talk about what direction the Republican party needs to take to win the 1996 Presidential election, and why the party failed to win in '92.

Writer and Vietnam veteran Lewis Puller's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, "Fortunate Son," is now out in paperback. His father, Chesty Puller, was a famous Marine. Lewis also joined the Marines in 1967, and was badly wounded in Vietnam.

Guest host Marty Moss-Coane talks with three young drug dealers from Camden, New Jersey. They're members of the 6th and Ferry gang, and go by aliases: Eddie Bauer, 16 years old, Kevin Madison, 20, and Sampson Riley, 18.

New York Times reporter Chris Hedges is based in Cairo, where he covers the Middle East. Terry will talk with him about the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in countries like Sudan, Algeria, Egypt, and Jordan. She'll also talk with Hedges bout being held captive at the end of the Gulf War by Saddam's Republican Guard. He was held along with NPR's Neil Conan.

Journalist Erik Larson's article, "The Story of a Gun," is the cover story on this month's issue of "The Atlantic." It tells the tale of what happens with a gun, beginning with the maker, to the dealer, and to the murderer who uses it. Larson claims there is a de facto conspiracy of gun dealers, gun manufacturers, and federal regulators, "which makes guns all too easy to come by and virtually assures their eventual use in the bedrooms, alleys, and school yards of America."