History

Gus Hall considers the history of the Communist Party in the U.S. as well as the fraught deployment of communism in the Soviet Union.

The historian and prolific writer talks about the influence of communist organizations and movements in the United States and abroad. He is careful to point out the positive influence of communists in American labor movements, and cautions against viewing communism in different countries as a monolithic force.

As a young person, Philadelphia-based judge William Marutani and his family were moved to a Japanese internment camp. He discusses the history of race-based discrimination during World War II, as well a his own experiences with anti-Asian racism. He advocates for reparations from the U.S. government for those who were forcibly relocated.

Ezekiel Mphalele left his home country to escape persecution by the apartheid government. He lived in exile in Nigeria, Paris, and the United States, where he taught university classes. He talks about his work as a writer and the pernicious forms of racism he experienced in America.

Historian Philip Foner joins the show again to discuss Black history in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Foner is the foremost historian on the labor movement in the U. S. He is the author of over eighty works, including a four volume history of the American labor movement, "Organized Labor and the Black Worker," and "Women and the American Labor Movement," the second volume of which was recently published. He is currently a visiting professor at Rutgers University.

Poet Dan Hoffman joins the show to discuss his poem "Brotherly Love," a long poem about William Penn and his vision for the United States. The poem focuses on Penn's treaty with the Native Americans in the area that would become Pennsylvania. Hoffman is the former Poet Laureate of the U. S. and currently works at the University of Pennsylvania.

Philip Foner is the foremost historian on the labor movement in the U. S. He is the author of over eighty works, including a four volume history of the American labor movement, "Organized Labor and the Black Worker," and "Women and the American Labor Movement," the second volume of which was recently published. He is currently a visiting professor at Rutgers University.

Louis L'Amour is known as the "most famous obscure novelist." He has written 79 novels, mostly westerns. His novels have also been adapted into films such as "Hondo." L'Amour's latest novel is "Comstock Lode." He joins the show to discuss his work, western novels and films, the relationship between Native Americans and western settlers, and what he sees for the future.

Madelon Bedell has just published the first in a two-volume biography of "Little Women" writer Louisa May Alcott and the Alcott family, "The Alcotts: Biography of a Family." She discusses not only the Alcotts, but also the social movements and philosophies that surrounded the family.

Jerre Mangione is an author and the director of Creative Writing at the University of Pennsylvania. His newest book is "An Ethnic at Large: A Memoir of America in the Thirties and Forties." He's currently writing a book about Italian-Americans. He joins the show to discuss the recent enforcement of an IRS regulation that requires that publishers destroy or remainder their back-stock in order to take certain deductions. Mangione's book "The Dream and the Deal" nearly faced that fate.

Writer Josef Skvorecky joins the show to describe his fiction, jazz, and growing up in Czechoslovakia.

Tim O'Brien is a novelist whose works often deal with the Vietnam War. His most recent novel was "Going after Cacciato," about a soldier in the war. O'Brien is currently guest lecturing at Temple University. He joins the show to discuss Vietnam, writing, and his work-in-progress "The Nuclear Age."

Mike Frisch, a professor of History at the University of Buffalo, currently working at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses oral history. Frisch spoke with Fresh Air contributor Charles Hardy. (INTERVIEW BY CHARLES HARDY)

Harris Wofford was Special Assistant to President John F. Kennedy for Civil Rights, the Assistant Director of the Peace Corps, a lawyer for Martin Luther King, Jr., and president of Bryn Mawr University. He currently practices law in Philadelphia. His new book is "Of Kennedys and Kings: Making Sense of the Sixties." He joins the show to discuss the leadership styles of three SIxties' figures: John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

G. Gordon Liddy orchestrated the Watergate break-in. After serving four-and-a-half years of his prison sentence, he joins the show to discuss his book "Will" and his role in the crime. (PARTIAL INTERVIEW)

Dr. Walter Lear, President of the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health, and Professor Jose Arias, a professor of economics and former Salvadorian Minister of Agriculture, join the show to discuss the political situation in El Salvador. (INTERVIEW BY RALPH FLOOD)

Writer Todd Gitlin explains how media portrayed and often misrepresented the political activities of Students for a Democratic Society and other activist groups associated with the 1960s' New Left.

President Richard Nixon's White House Counsel John Dean served time for his role in the Watergate affair. He reflects on his new life as a writer, his reputation and how he has since distanced himself from Washington politics. WUHY reporter Ralph Flood later joins the conversation.

Part 1 of Fresh Air's interview with G. Gordon Liddy. Liddy became a writer after he was released from jail for his role in the Watergate scandal. Now that all statutes of limitations have passed, he speaks frankly about the affair, as well as his views on protest and law-breaking. Fresh Air callers join the conversation.