Government & Politics

Journalist Michael Carey — former editorial page editor and current columnist for the Anchorage Daily News — discusses Alaska's reaction to Sarah Palin's announcement that she will step down as governor of the state.

Former defense secretary Robert McNamara died Monday. In a 1995 interview with Terry Gross, McNamara reflects on Vietnam and admits his serious doubts about US policy and the decision-making that escalated the war.

Author and activist Roya Hakakian offers her take on political upheaval in her native Iran. Hakakian emigrated from Iran to the United States in 1985, seeking political asylum.

Journalist Christopher Dickey provides a European perspective on the continuing crackdown on protesters in Iran following the recent election.

This lush, good-looking crime flick doesn't really have a theme, and it never quite sparks to life. But it's got lots of incidental pleasures — Johnny Depp's spirited performance chief among them.

In the book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, author Jeff Sharlet examines the power wielded by the secret Christian group known as The Family or The Fellowship.

Washington Post reporter Dan Balz sizes up the state of the Republican party — including how the GOP is preparing for 2012 and how it has been affected by recent sex scandals.

Journalist and lawyer Adam Liptak covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times. He gives us a roundup of this year's most important decisions — some of which were left for the final hours before summer recess.

Filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow knows how to get under your skin and control your responses — as she does in her latest feature, the Baghdad-set war movie The Hurt Locker. David Edelstein has a review.

Journalist Bradley Graham discusses the successes and failures of former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld. Graham is the author of By His Own Rules, a lengthy new biography of Rumsfeld.

In 2001, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology began conducting autopsies on all slain service men and women. Captain Craig T. Mallak describes how the physical (and sometimes virtual) autopsies of soldiers have assisted in the design of body armor, helmets and vehicle shields.

Screenwriter Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow discuss their collaboration on The Hurt Locker, a combat movie about an Army bomb squad that roams Iraq in search of explosives to defuse.

Bloody protests in the streets of Iran following that nation's June 12 presidential election have captivated the world's attention, but what does it all mean? Political analyst Karim Sadjadpour weighs in on the unprecedented events — and who holds the power.

Allison Silverman, the executive producer and head writer of The Colbert Report, discusses the show's recent broadcasts from the combat zone in Iraq.

Chip Berlet has studied extremism, conspiracy theories and hate groups for more than 25 years. He says that the recent murders of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller and Holocaust Museum guard Stephen T. Johns exemplify the potential for violence that often lurks within extremist groups.

In Descent into Chaos, Ahmed Rashid examines the United States' failures in Central Asia, where, the author says, Washington has helped create an unstable Pakistan, a reinvigorated Taliban and a entrepreneurial al' Qaeda that is profiting off the opium trade.

New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins has been covering clashes pitting Taliban militants against the Afghan and Pakistani governments; he joins Fresh Air to talk about recent developments in the region.

As the June 30 deadline for U.S. troop withdraw from Iraqi cities approaches, New York Times correspondent Rod Nordland shares his perspective on how prepared the Iraqi government and security forces are to take over.

Erik Reece grew up the grandson of a fundamentalist preacher, but he left his church in search of a less punitive religion. He describes his struggle with religion in his new book, An American Gospel.

Reinhardt, who died on Monday, helped shape the debate about health care by advocating for individual mandates and universal health care. Originally broadcast in 2009.