Government & Politics

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."

Associate Director for International Communications for the American Red Cross, Ann Stingle. Terry talked with her about three weeks ago the day before she was on her way back to Somalia. She was also there last spring before international attention was focused on the starving. Stingle just returned from Somalia; she'll talk with Terry about what she saw there after the arrival of American troops.

BBC correspondent Misha Glenny. He's returned to London from covering the war in the former Yugoslavia. Terry will talk with him about the war and the history that led up to it. He's also the author of the book "The Fall of Yugoslavia."

Counselor Alvin Cater founded the Al Carter Foundation at Cabrini Green, a housing project in Chicago of 6000 people. The foundation is a hands-on intervention program that reaches youth by going into the streets, and makes referrals to the 13 human service agencies within Cabini Green. He tells Terry about the recent truce brokered among gangs at the project, and the effect recent gun violence has had on the community.

Alger Hiss & his son Tony Hiss. This is the infamous Alger Hiss who was convicted and jailed in 1950 for perjury after denying, under oath, that he had been a Soviet spy. This past October, with the opening of Soviet archives, there was found to be no evidence that Hiss had ever been an agent of the Kremlin. Hiss is 88 years old now, and has maintained his innocence all along. His son, Tony Hiss is a staff writer at "The New Yorker," and he wrote about his father's ordeal and exoneration in the November 16 issue of the magazine.