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40:39

Eldridge Cleaver on His Return to the United States.

Eldridge Cleaver was active in the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and early 1970s. He fled the country after his involvement in a shootout with Oakland Police and returned in 1975. Cleaver served 9 months in jail before being released, and he finishes his last day of parole today. He joins the show to discuss what has happened since his return, including his political involvement (which has become more conservative) and return to Christianity.

Interview
28:10

A Self-Described Republican Humorist

Writer P.J. O'Rourke doesn't think comedy and conservatism are incompatible. He edited the National Lampoon and serves as the "investigative humorist" for Rolling Stone. His new book, Republican Party Reptile, collects his recent writing.

Interview
27:44

Re-evaluating Political Alignments

David Horowitz and Peter Collier were New Left activists who gradually embraced neoconservative ideologies. They believe their former compatriots were misguided and misinformed; Horowitz and Collier say the United States has consistently served as a stabilizing force in domestic and international arenas.

27:17

Conservative Icon William F. Buckley

Buckley co-founded the National Review and hosts the television program Firing Line. His new book, On the Firing Line, includes transcripts of some of his interviews. Buckley studied at Yale and later joined the CIA. Throughout his professional career, he has sought to revitalize the political right and the Republican Party.

03:42

A Fun, but Disorienting Memoir.

Book critic John Leonard reviews presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan's book "What I Saw At the Revolution" about her experiences writing speeches for Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Some of their most memorable lines, like "Read my lips" and "A thousand points of light" were written by Noonan. (Published by Random House).

Review
22:37

Journalist Timothy Phelps on the Appointment of Clarence Thomas

Phelps is the Supreme Court reporter who broke the Anita Hill story (along with NPR's Nina Totenberg) in New York Newsday. He's co-written an account of the Clarence Thomas hearings, called "Capitol Games," which looks at how the press failed to see the whole story of now-Justice Thomas, including just how conservative he really is.

Interview
22:35

The Policy Strengths and Weaknesses of George Bush

Michael Duffy, the White House correspondent for Time Magazine, has just co-written the book "Marching in Place: The Status Quo Presidency of George Bush." It's the first critical assessment of the Bush presidency. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the president's political and personal convictions, and how these are brought to bear on his governing.

Interview
22:14

Journalist Eric Alterman on the "Washington Punditocracy"

Alderman's new book is about mostly conservative pundits -- the likes of George Will, Sam Donaldson, and William Safire -- who appear on TV and write newspaper columns, affecting political discourse in this country. Alterman's new book is called "Sound and Fury: The Washington Punditocracy and the Collapse of American Politics."

Interview
45:21

Conservative Columnist George Will on How to Improve Government

A liberal in his early years, Will joined the conservative camp while studying at Oxford. He is regarded as one the most intellectual conservative thinkers in his field. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1977. His most recent book is "Restoration," which argues that term limits for Congresspeople could improve the legislative process and discourage a divided government.

Interview
15:35

Reagan Aid on the Forthcoming Election

Lyn Nofzinger was an official in the Nixon administration and was Reagan's press secretary and later his aide in the White House, where he was known as a "hatchet-man". He has a new political memoir, called "Nofziger." He Fresh Air to talk about Reagan's recent decision to campaign for President Bush.

Interview
22:14

Columnist George Will on America's March to the Right

Will is a conservative commentator and regular contributor to "Newsweek" and "The Washington Post." He has just published a collection of his best essays from the past four years, "The Leveling Wind: Politics, the Culture & Other News 1990-1994." He talks with Terry about last week's elections.

Interview
21:29

Paul Weyrich Brings a Conservative Voice to Television

Founder of National Empowerment Television (NET) and president of the Free Congress Foundation, Paul Weyrich. Weyrich is a staunch conservative who wants to lead people out of political apathy and towards involvement and influence. The NET likes to refer to itself as C-SPAN with an attitude. And conservatives, especially Newt Gingrich who hosts his own show on the NET, are big advocates of the programming.

Interview
32:05

Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo.

Former three-term Governor for New York State Mario Cuomo and one of the Democratic party's most respected spokesperson. Since losing office in the 1994 republican-landslide election, Cuomo has started his own nationally syndicated radio show. His new book, Reason to Believe (Simon & Schuster) is his critique of the Republican's Contract with America.

Interview
21:01

Ronald Brownstein Examines the Current Republican Presidential Campaign.

National Political correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, Ronald Brownstein. He has collaborated on a new book, Storming the Gates: Protest Politics and the Republican Revival (Little, Brown and Company, written with Dan Balz, national editor of the Washington Post). In the book they look at how the Republicans captured Congress, so shortly after the defeat of George Bush in the presidential election, and how the Republican party has changed dramatically in the last ten years.

Interview
32:29

Conservative Commentator William Kristol.

"New eras demand new voices." words from William Kristol defending the creation of his new conservative magazine "The Weekly Standard." Kristol talks with Terry Gross about why he feels vigorous debate among conservatives is needed if republicans want to lead the nation. Kristol is editor and publisher of the Standard which has been criticized for highlighting divisions within the Republican Party. Kristol has served as chief of staff for one time Secretary of Education William Bennet and for Vice President Day Quayle.

Interview

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