We asked people from all over the country what music has been important to them since 9-11; the songs that inspire, soothe, comfort, and resonate with you in these months since the terrorist attacks. In this hour, music and its message in these uncertain times. Our guests this hour are your fellow listeners.
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Prior to the terrorist attack in New York, CARE, one of the world’s pre-eminent humanitarian relief and development organizations, was leading the fight against hunger and for healthier living conditions for the Afghan people. This hour, CARE’s director, Peter Bell, and ethicist Sissela Bok, join Tom Ashbrook for a panel discussion on “Searching for a [...]

The United States inspires deep and conflicting emotions in other parts of the world. Since the terrorist attacks on September 11th, America has been forced to pay closer attention. This hour, American Radio Works - the documentary unit of Minnesota Public Radio - explores the roots of resentment against America in the Arab world - [...]

While we’ve been talking, they’ve been listening. Watching. Coming to conclusions. September 11th shocked everyone. But for the world’s children, that awful day’s images and aftermath are not unbelievable. They are now bedrock: events as awful and elemental as Pearl Harbor and JFK’s assassination and the Challenger explosion were for earlier generations. This hour, child [...]

The early success of President Bush’s strong military response to terrorism would appear to give conservatives a reason to puff up their chests and congratulate each other. Not so fast, says conservative writer Andrew Sullivan. The war presents some big dilemmas to those on the right. He asserts that wars almost always move polities leftward, [...]

During the Cold War, the United States’ strategy was containment — keeping the Soviet Union’s influence from spreading into other parts of the world. The idea behind the strategy was that the U.S. was better off if it was the world’s only superpower. Tonight’s guest, author Christopher Layne, says that strategy has gotten too burdensome [...]

September 11th has forced all Americans to reassess the words that are used in everyday life. Sports announcers now refrain from referring to games as “wars” and from using words like “killed.” Dot-coms no longer “crash and burn.” In times of crisis, the language we use seems to carry more weight. This hour, linguistics expert [...]

In his annual Christmas message, Pope John Paul II revealed his Christmas wish, “for a new humanity united not just by economic interests but by the unceasing effort to bring about a society that is more just and supportive.” He also prayed that “God’s holy name never be used as a justification for hatred — [...]

As we learned again this fall, much of the world lives under the control of governments that are unable to provide the most basic of services. So the burden is left to non-governmental organizations — NGO’s — to build the roads, feed the hungry and take care of the sick. Doctors Without Borders is one [...]

Striking a common chord among Christians, Jews, and Muslims during the holidays. In this hour, a special concert brings together music, meditations and the generations to celebrate the holiday season. This special holiday concert is performed by the New Philharmonia Orchestra and Newton Choral Society.
Guests:
Adrienne Hartzell, Executive Director of The New Philharmonia Orchestra;
Ronald Knudsen, Director [...]

Afghanistan is a country that moved from nearly total obscurity in the American consciousness to center stage this fall. But as the media has covered the political instability and war-like history of the Arab nation, the rich cultural heritage of Afghanistan was largely ignored. This hour, we feature the interviews first aired during our series [...]

Joel Meyerowitz never thought of himself as a historian. The photographer is most famous for his scenic pictures of Cape Cod. But when the World Trade Center was destroyed on September 11th, he realized that someday, people would need to step back and process everything that had happened. In the midst of a frantic rescue [...]

For more than 30 years, “The Christmas Revels” has entertained audiences in New England and across the country. This year, the Revels troupe based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, presents “In Celebration of the Winter Solstice,” a mix of folk music, dance, and rituals set in the Tudor England. As the Northern Hemisphere marks the Winter Solstice [...]

Christmas shoppers in a mall in Watertown, Massachusetts, speak about how their shopping patterns have changed in this year’s Christmas season since 9/11.
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In 1988, Benazir Bhutto became the first woman to head up an Islamic state. As Prime Minister of Pakistan, she gained great insight into the Islamist movement in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, the plight of women in the Muslim world, and the historic tension between India and Pakistan. Tonight, Benazir Bhutto joins us to discuss [...]

Pam Childers is a 17-year-old who shares her fears that her mother, a Navy reservist, may be called up for duty as part of “The War on Terrorism.”
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In the days following the September 11th attacks, Congress stepped in to provide billions of dollars in emergency relief to the devastated airline industry. That was the right thing to do, says Amtrak’s Acting Chairman and former Presidential Candidate Michael Dukakis. But, he says, the rail industry needs only one-tenth of that amount for it [...]

Anthony Lewis has covered the most important events of the past half-century in his long journalistic career. The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner has written eloquently about the Vietnam War, Watergate, apartheid in South Africa, among many other issues. A lecturer in law at Harvard Law School, Lewis frequently returned to the theme of the importance [...]

From its earliest days, the United States has struggled with the question of how involved it should get in world affairs. In his farewell address, George Washington took a decidedly isolationist stance, saying “The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them [...]

In June of 1947, in the wake of the widespread destruction that World War 2 inflicted upon Europe, Secretary of State George Marshall delivered a famous speech at Harvard University. In it, he said, “It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of [...]

Leonard Slatkin is the Director of the National Symphony Orchestra. Here he explains how Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” has become the national anthem of mourning. He also explains the importance of music to people after the 9/11 attacks.
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Islam has become more a part of the American consciousness since September 11th than it ever has before. Most Americans still think of Muslims as being men and women of Arabic descent. But varying surveys estimate that there are between 1 and 3 Million African-American Muslims living in the United States. From Wali Farad to [...]

Barbara Beck and Robert Bonn are a Massachusetts couple, here they shares the message they are putting in their Christmas cards this year.
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The United States Postal Service lost $1.7 billion during the year that ended September 30th. That was even before the anthrax attacks that could force the Post Office to take expensive new measures to ensure the safety of the mail. What changes are ahead for the U.S. Postal Service? Will it develop the technology to [...]

From the drum corps of the Revolutionary age to the protest music of the 1960’s, music has always been intertwined with war. During the fierce conflict in Sarajevo in the early 1990’s, cellist Vedran Smailovic visited different bombing sites and graveyards every day to offer “a daily music prayer for peace.” In the days following [...]

For most Americans, Afghanistan was a remote nation with little significance before the U.S. military campaign began. By now, every American has seen countless hours of television footage of fierce battles in arid mountains and victorious troops celebrating in the streets of liberated cities. But short television clips capture only the most newsworthy events in [...]

One year ago, George W. Bush was limping out of a month-long fracas over the 2000 election, the President-elect of a deeply divided nation. His first several months in office were considered unremarkable by many. But an unprecedented attack on the United States and an ambitious and so-far successful war on terrorism have pushed the [...]

The Bush Administration released the “smoking gun” video tape of Osama bin Laden, in which the world’s most wanted man boasts of having been involved in the September 11th attacks. On the tape, bin Laden reveled in the collapse of the World Trade Center and of the hijackers he said: “We asked each of them [...]

A Generation Y perspective, from students at the Buckingham, Brown, and Nichols High School in Massachusetts. The discussion begins with the students’ reaction to the lowering of the official death toll at the World Trade Center and a question of whether it is important to know the exact figure.
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Private charities and government agencies have rushed to the aid of the victims of the September 11th attacks. Both those who lost family members in the World Trade Center and those whose jobs have been eliminated due to the economic slowdown following the attack are eligible for various types of assistance. But journalist Ruben Martinez [...]

As the world looks forward to the rebuilding of Afghanistan and its economy, one troubling issue looms in the background: by far, the most important cash crop in Afghanistan is the poppy, used in the production of opium and heroin. Could the goals of the war on drugs interfere with the war on terror? As [...]

On September 11th, everything about the future seemed uncertain. Three months later, many of the more extreme early fears have been allayed. But many questions remain about the future: Will the economy ever recover? Which of the changes brought about by September 11th will become permanent fixtures in our lives? How will the memory of [...]

Anti-Taliban forces have given holed-up al Qaeda forces until 10:30 PM EST tonight to surrender or face a major attack. The Alliance is claiming that the remaining al Qaeda fighters have been corralled into a 1.5 square mile area. Tonight may mark the beginning of the end of the war in Afghanistan. But unless al [...]

David Gaffney, Rabbi at The Conservative Synagogue of Fifth Avenue in New York, shares his wisdom on the second night of Chanukah. He talks about the meaning of Chanukah in these uncertain times.
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Terrorism may have been the story of year in 2001, but it far from a new phenomenon. A millennium ago, a band of fanatic Muslims terrorized both the Arab world and invading Western Crusaders, using targeted murders and threats of violence to reach their political goals. The similarities between the Assassins and al Qaeda are [...]

A large subtext of the “war on terror” has revolved around human rights. Americans have a right to live free from the fear of violence. Citizens of Afghanistan — especially women — are having their rights taken away by the brutal Taliban regime. But human rights organizations are concerned that the war on terrorism may [...]

A scene depicting the hero swinging between the twin towers of the World Trade Center has been cut from the upcoming movie “Spiderman.” The release of an Arnold Schwarzenegger shoot-em-up thriller involving a terrorist plot to blow up a skyscraper has been postponed indefinitely. Movies have always reflected the times in which they are produced, [...]

Sixty years ago, Japan pulled off what was — until September 11th — the most devastating attack on American soil by a foreign nation. Now, as the United States sets its sites on a new enemy, terrorism, Japan has sent warships in support of the U.S. effort. This marks the first time since World War [...]

The Bush administration has been dealing with threats from abroad unprecedented in United States history. But tonight’s guest says that as the U.S. fights its first war of the 21st century, its leaders remain influenced by ideologies dating back to the 18th century. Author and foreign policy expert Walter Russell Mead says the politics of [...]

Taliban leader Mullah Omar is prepared to surrender one of the former government’s last strongholds, Kandahar, on Friday. Interim Afghan President Hamid Karzai will demand that Omar renounce terrorism. Karzai has promised amnesty to most former Taliban members, but says hundreds of al Qaeda fighters holed up in Kandahar must be brought to justice. The [...]

Visitors to Lake Merritt, a public park downtown, reflect on the war in Afghanistan. they talk about how they feel about the 9/11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan
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The campaign in Afghanistan seems to be going nearly flawlessly. But tonight’s guest, journalist Genevieve Abdo, says we may be winning all the military battles, but we are losing the greater war on terrorism. She says our successful military action in Afghanistan, our threatening rhetoric towards Iraq, and our tacit approval of Israel’s attacks on [...]

The old consensus was that terrorists would not be interested in nuclear or radiological weapons. After all, these weapons are hard to acquire, can be dangerous to handle, and their mass casualties would be inconsistent with the traditional goal of terrorists — publicity, not deaths. But that way of thinking ended on September 11th. Most [...]

Joel Meyerowitz never thought of himself as a historian. The photographer is most famous for his scenic pictures of Cape Cod. But when the World Trade Center was destroyed on September 11th, he realized that someday, people would need to step back and process everything that had happened. In the midst of a frantic rescue [...]

Reflections from the hip-hop group, The Coup, that was ready to release a CD depicting the World Trade Center exploding before the September 11th attacks forced them to change their plans. Here they explain the reason they chose this image for the cover of there CD.
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When author and historian Tom Segev came to the United States on September 10th, he thought he would be enjoying a few months away from the tension that permeates Israeli society. Instead, he found himself immediately surrounded by a wave of terrorist attacks that devastated a nation. Having observed and written on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict [...]