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Discovering What Drives a Person to Run for President

Journalist Richard Ben Cramer won a Pulitzer Prize for The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1979. His new book, "What it Takes: the way to the White House," explores the lives of the candidates who ran for president in 1988, and tries to discover what made them think they could lead the United States.

15:55
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Other segments from the episode on July 1, 1992

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, July 1, 1992: Interview with John Updike and Geoffrey Stokes; Interview with Richard Ben Cramer; Review of the film "A League of Their Own."
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21:54

A Change of Leadership for "The New Yorker"

The publishing world was stunned yesterday by the announcement that Tina Brown, editor of Vanity Fair, is to be the new editor of "The New Yorker," replacing Robert A. Gottlieb, who resigned over philosophical differences with the magazine's publisher. Ms. Brown has promised not to change the magazine in ways that many staffers fear. Terry talks to writer John Updike and media critic Geoffrey Stokes about the change.

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Linguist Geoff Nunberg has been puzzling over President Obama's performance in the presidential debate last week. Looking at who the candidates were addressing their answers to shows that Romney was doing something unusual, he says.

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