Some have called it the “disappearance of the American Middle Class.” American consumers no longer strive for the house and the car and the television set. Now, even those who fall into the middle of the American economic spectrum want a Lexus and designer shoes and a state-of-the-art stereo system.
Some economists have described the shape [...]

The sexual abuse crisis facing the American Catholic Church has brought several issues onto the table that the Church has traditionally not wanted to talk very much about: pedophilia in the clergy; the feasibility of celibacy; the possibility of the laity taking a more active role in the governing of the faithful.
But perhaps no issue [...]

Tommy Calvert Jr. and Dr. Gloria White Hammond: The Boston pair who have just returned from a trip to Sudan talk about their experiences purchasing slaves for the purpose of emancipating them.
Guests:
Tommy Calvert Jr
Dr. Gloria White Hammond

In this age of laser surgery and artificial hearts and disease eradication, Americans tend to believe that modern medicine can fix anything. But according to studies, medical mistakes kill as many as 98,000 people every year — more than the number of deaths caused by car accidents, AIDS, or breast cancer.
In his new book, “Complications: [...]

Marilyn Bentov: The former teacher in Israel reflects on her experience there in the 1960’s.
Guests:
Marilyn Bentov, former teacher in Israel

In all of the talk surrounding possible peace deals between Israelis and Palestinians — the Saudi plan, the Mitchell proposal, the Tenant Plan — the stickiest question of all is never addressed: what to do about the Israeli settlements in the lands that the Palestinians want returned to them.
Over 200,000 Israelis now live in settlements [...]

Cassandra Wilson has been lauded by many as one of the greatest female vocalists of our generation, Her name fits well in the lineage of strong black women singers like Bessie, Ella and Billie but her sound and approach to her music is nothing close to what we’re been used to hearing.
She blends her husky [...]

Pray the News: The Carmellite nuns of Indianapolis reflect on the crisis in the Catholic Church.
Guests:

The actions of the Israeli Defense Force have been dominating the headlines over the past several weeks. The Israeli army is a powerful force, and the commitment to the military is a basic part of Israeli society.
But for many Israeli soldiers, the fighting taking place is Palestinian territories has created a moral conundrum. This hour, [...]

David Nyhan: The former Boston Globe columnist reads his inspirational message to students who did not get into college.
Guests:
David Nyhan, former Boston Globe columnist

All over America, high school seniors are sweating out what to many seems like the most important decision of their lives: what college to attend. But a new study suggests that although parents may care about which university their children attend, it may not really make much difference to the career path of the students [...]

President Bush appears set to back new legislation that will require employers to expand insurance coverage for psychiatric illnesses. Basically, the bill will force employers’ insurance plans to treat mental illnesses the exact same way they treat physical diseases in terms of reimbursements and caps on payouts.
Mental health advocates and Senator Pete Domenici of New [...]

A diary from inside Yasser Arafat’s compound in Ramallah. American activist Rebecca Murray has been holed up with the Palestinian leader for the past three days. She shares with us a picture of life inside the compound.
Guests:
Rebecca Murray, american activist in Ramallah

Hybrid cars — the half-gasoline-powered, half-electric vehicles that were mocked by many when they first appeared on the road — are becoming more and more mainstream. Honda is coming out with a hybrid version of its popular Civic model, and GM, Ford, and Chrysler are set to come out with their own hybrid vehicles in [...]

Doug Simmons: The managing editor of the Village Voice talks about trying to capture the sound of New York in the new compilation CD “Love Songs for New York,” a benefit for the September 11th Fund.
Guests:
Doug Simmons, managing editor of the Village Voice

They were among the most influential academic departments in any one subject at any university. Harvard’s African-American Studies dream team of Cornell West, Anthony Appiah, Henry Louis Gates, and others essentially defined their field.
But earlier this year, both West and Appiah announced they were heading to Princeton next year, reportedly at least in part as [...]

Pope John Paul II today issued his strongest statement yet regarding the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the American Catholic Church.
“Like you, I too have been deeply grieved by the fact that priests and religious, whose vocation it is to help people live holy lives in the sight of God, have themselves caused such [...]

Could George W. Bush’s Republican nemesis from the 2000 presidential primaries be the Democrats’ best hope to unseat the President in 2004? Two influential liberal magazines, The New Republic and Washington Monthly, had Washington abuzz last week when they called for John McCain to lead the Democratic Party in the next presidential election
McCain has aligned [...]

For the first time in the four year-old Microsoft trials, Bill Gates took the stand himself to defend the computer giant that he built. Although the federal anti-trust lawsuit ended last year, several states have sued Microsoft, hoping to force the company to create an operating system that would be friendlier to the software of [...]

Eight baseball stadiums have seen their lowest ever attendance figures so far this season. Overall, baseball attendance is down 3.5% during the first two weeks of the season, about 1,000 fans per game.
The popularity of America’s pastime has suffered in recent years due to higher ticket prices, increased competition for America’s leisure time dollars, and [...]

Bill Littlefield: The host of NPR’s “Only A Game” discusses the origins — and the power — of baseball
Guests:
Bill Littlefield, host of NPR’s “Only A Game”

What do you get when you mix the leader of a well-known Cajun band; a founding member of an influential jazz-newgrass group; an old-time fiddler and young, upstart cellist? The answer is Fiddlers 4, a group whose musical influences run the gamut from traditional African beats to Appalachian bluegrass to surf music.
This hour, Fiddlers 4 [...]

“He shall be the greatest who can be the loneliest, the most hidden, the most deviating, the human being beyond good and evil…”
Friedrich Nietzsche died over a century ago, but his writings speak to today’s world perhaps more than any other philosopher. After the September 11th attacks, the world was plunged into a period of [...]

On September 11th, the United States reaped what it had been sowing for 30 years, says filmmaker and writer Tariq Ali. While he says the attacks were not at all justified, Ali blames America’s imperialism and its interference in other countries’ affairs for the anger and hatred that manifested itself in the unjust attacks.
Since the [...]

Daron Manoogian: A second generation Armenian American talks about the need of the American government to recognize the horror of the Armenian genocide, which took the lives of 1.5 million of his grandparent’s generation.
Guests:
Daron Manoogian, second generation Armenian American

They make up the traditional, stereotypical dichotomy in environmental disputes: the conservationists, chaining themselves to trees to prevent any type of development; and the capitalists, coldheartedly destroying the planet in pursuit of profit.
Tonight’s guests say that traditional bifurcation represents an old way of thinking. These days, many conservationists have realized that their cause usually loses [...]

One of the lessons of September 11th is that terrorists aren’t relegated to remote caves in the Middle East. Terrorist cells are everywhere, including the United States and its closest allies.
To flush out terrorists in Afghanistan, the Bush administration brought its bombs. To hunt al Qaeda and other terrorists is Yemen, Georgia, and the Philippines, [...]

The comedy of Bill Hicks: A diary about Bill Hicks, the dark stand-up comedian and cult hero who told it like it is, by Hicks’ biographer, Cynthia True. Hicks died in 1994, but his career is alive and well among his vast following.
Guests:
Cynthia True, Bill Hicks’ Biographer

Peace movements seem to have fallen out of fashion since their heyday of the 1960s. After the September 11th attacks, there were hardly any voices calling for a peaceful response. Security and defense in the 21st century call for strong military responses to threats, and calls for peace are faint at best.
American activists are calling [...]

The anti-globalization movement is not even about globalization, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen. The protests held by those opposed to globalization are among the most globalized events in the world. Amartya Sen says there are several misconceptions that dominate conversations about globalization. Tonight, he sets them straight.
Globalization is not new, as many people [...]

Dick and Rick Hoyt: The story of the father-son marathon team that today completed their 22nd Boston marathon. Rick Hoyt is a quadraplegic with cerebral palsy. His father, Dick, pushes him in a wheelchair for the entire 26.2 miles.
Guests:
Dick and Rick Hoyt, marathon team

Death and Taxes are two of life’s certainties. Now there could be a third: a tax cut. On Thursday, the House is expected to vote to make last year’s tax cut permanent. In this hour, a closer look at the Bush tax plan. Can this country afford it? Who gets the breaks and burdens?
Guests:
James Glassman, [...]

Marvin Gaye’s 1971 album “What’s Going On?” has been called the greatest soul album of all time. It was Gaye’s first shot at producing his own work and Motown’s first shot at a “concept album” protesting everything from America’s involvement in Vietnam to the abuse of the environment.
“What’s Going On” brought a political consciousness to [...]

A suicide bomber killed six Israelis and injured scores of others in the latest round of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Secretary of State Colin Powell is now reconsidering whether or not he will meet with Yasser Arafat, and the entire situation seems as far from a resolution as it has at any point over [...]

Rabbi Shimon Felix: A diary about daily life in Jerusalem during the current crisis.
Guests:
Rabbi Shimon Felix

“Life is a creation, not a commodity,” President Bush said yesterday in voicing his opposition to human cloning. “Our children are gifts to be loved and protected, not products to be designed and manufactured. Allowing cloning would be taking a significant step toward a society in which human beings are grown for spare body parts, [...]

A diary from Regina Clark of Carver, Massachusetts, on the alienation of working in the high tech, corporate world.
Guests:
Regina Clarke, Resident of Carver, Massachusetts

The CEO of AOL Time Warner raked in $77.3 million in total compensation during 2001. The CEO of Wal-Mart made $17.1 million. The CEO of Coca-Cola? A whopping $105 million.
While many American workers struggle to hold down two jobs in order to pay their bills, the salaries of corporate executives continue have been growing astronomically. [...]

Lois Nakhley: A former Massachusetts resident now living in Ramallah, reads from the email messages she has been sending to her friends in the United States.
Guests:
Lois Nakhley, former Massachusetts resident now living in Ramallah

Secretary of State Colin Powell has received a chilly reception from his moderate Arab allies so far during his visit to the Middle East.
In Morocco, King Mohammed pushed Powell to jack up the pressure on Israel, asking the Secretary, “Don’t you think it was more important to go to Jerusalem first?” In Egypt, Powell’s visit [...]

Ian Lester: An Englishman living in Rhode Island shares his feelings on the passing of the Queen Mother.
Guests:
Ian Lester, Englishman living in Rhode Island

When he lost his 2000 Senate race to deceased Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, many thought John Ashcroft’s long political career might be coming to an end. Now the resilient conservative not only finds himself as one of the key figures in America’s War on Terror, but he is being mentioned as a possible running mate [...]

Napoleon. Gandhi. Joan of Arc. Throughout history, ordinary people have risen out of obscurity to become shapers of history. According to self-help and spiritual guru Deepak Chopra, great men and women are not born leaders. They are people who see a need in the world and look inward.
Though the world is perhaps more suspicious and [...]

John Kenneth Galbraith has lived through every major event of the past century — and his writings have influenced the players in many of them.
In addition to revolutionizing economic theory, Galbraith had a distinguished career in public service. He served in both the FDR and JFK Administrations, and is the only man to have served [...]

Karin Round: A Lynnfield, Massachusetts resident explains how the murders of two Dartmouth College professors have changed the way she deals with strangers.
Guests:
Karin Round, Resident of Lynnfield Massachusetts

Suicide bombers. American buildings under attack. Pedophile priests. Biological terrorism. Layoffs. The War on Terror.
The events in the news are enough to give any adult the heebie-jeebies. For kids, who are just as exposed to media stories about the violence and uncertainty that have pervaded the news since the middle of last year, the world [...]