Aaron Sorkin

Guest interviewer Sam Sanders interviews Aaron Sorkin about his new film 'The Trial of the Chicago 7.'

HBO's new behind-the-anchor-desk drama follows in the footsteps of Sorkin's hit series The West Wing. "I like writing about heroes that don't wear capes or disguises," he says.

In June the Writers Guild Foundation held its 2002 Film and Television Writers Forum, called "Words into Pictures." The forum focused on the role of the writer in film and television. We feature highlights from the forum. Participants included David Milch of NYPD Blue, Stephen Gaghan of the film Traffic and Aaron Sorkin of The West Wing.

In addition to playing a cable news producer on Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama, Gallagher is a Tony Award-winning Broadway performer. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about starring in a punk rock musical and rehearsing Sorkin's Newsroom scripts.

Aaron Sorkin's HBO series The Newsroom, starring Jeff Daniels as cable news anchorman Will McAvoy, returns July 14 for its second season. TV critic David Bianculli says some critics find the show preachy, but he likes that it tackles serious and complicated subjects.

Aaron Sorkin's new HBO series follows the inner workings of a cable news show that sets out to challenge our hyperpartisan, 24/7 news culture. But critic John Powers says Sorkin has created a show that replicates much of what it thinks it's opposing.