U.S. History

As a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lyon documented many of the violent clashes between polices and protestors during the civil rights era. He continues to produce politically-charged photos and movies today.

Writer Marilyn Moats Kennedy discusses the state of businesses, nonprofits and wages during the current recession. For job seekers, she suggests a number of strategies to employ during salary negotiations. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.

The editor of The Nation has a new book about the blacklisting of Hollywood actors during the McCarthy era. He talks about how the issue of nuclear proliferation is affecting the political right and left, and the difficulties journalists face when navigating copyright issues.

Journalist Charles Hardy and University of Georgia historian Deborah Herman both reflect on the history and impact of advice columns on the lives of bourgeois American women. Herman looks at six months' worth of Dear Abby columns in the 1950s to determine the state of and attitudes toward marriage during that decade.

Margo Howard, the daughter of the advice columnist Ann Landers, has written a new book about her mother. She joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to discuss the growth of the the Dear Abby column's popularity and Landers' changing views over the decades.

Financial writer Andrew Tobias has a new book about the insurance industry and the laws the govern it. He shares his recommendations on how consumers can navigate this world to purchase the coverage they need.

New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger uses the history of the skyscraper to frame a conversation about urban planning, gentrification, and the shifting balance between public and private financing of development in American cities.

Paul Fussell is an academic who has written several works of cultural history and literary criticism. His is particularly interested in the writing, photography, and art produced during World War II. His latest collection of essays is "The Boy Scout Handbook and Other Observations."

Frank Saunders worked as the chauffeur for Joseph and Rose Kennedy from 1961 until after Joseph Kennedy's death. He lived in a cottage on their Hyannisport estate, and performed many duties for them beyond his title. He's written a book about his time with the Kennedys, "Torn Lace Curtain."

Vine Deloria is a Native American activist and writer. The member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe joins the show to discuss Native American politics and society.

Michael DiBerardinis is an organizer with the Kensington Joint Action Council (KJAC), an community group that attempts to unite Whites, Blacks, and Latinx to tackle neighborhood problems. DiBerardinis joins the show to discuss conditions, racial relations, and politics in the neighborhood. (INTERVIEW BY DAVE DAVIES)

Historian Allan Bérubé has been researching gays and lesbians during World War II, particularly gay men in the military. Bérubé began the research for the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay History Project, an oral history which collected stories from older gays and lesbians about life "pre-Stonewall." Bérubé's work was the covered in the Mother Jones article "Coming Out Under Fire."

John G. Adams became the Counselor of the Army in 1953 and had to work as the liaison to Joseph McCarthy. His experience with McCarthy turned his indifference towards the Senator to active resistance. When McCarthy threatened members of the Army in 1954, Adams leaked documents that revealed McCarthy's illegal harassment of Adams. This led to the televised "Army-McCarthy Hearings." Adams has written a new book about this period and his experiences, "Without Precedent: The Story of the Death of McCarthyism."

John D'Emilio is an Assistant Professor of American History at the University of North Carolina. His latest book, "Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities," is an historical analysis of the creation of gay activism from 1940-1970. The book looks at how World War II helped create a gay community, the politics and organizing styles of early homophile groups, such as the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis, and the impact of the civil rights movement, student activism, and feminism on gays. D'Emilio joins the show to discuss his research and conclusions.

Journalist Fred Kaplan's new book explores the evolution of the United States' nuclear arms policies through the lens of rivalries between the Air Force and Navy and the increasingly theoretical analyses made by political figures and think tanks.

After the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's recent takeover of regional commuter rail systems and a recent strike, ridership of SEPTA's rail lines declined nearly 20%. SEPTA General Manager David Gunn and consultant Vukan Vuchic consider how SEPTA can better manage fares and improve service for commuters outside Philadelphia city limits. Fresh Air callers voice their concerns.

As the founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which fought for civil rights using nonviolent tactics, Farmer organized 1961's Freedom Rides.

Historian Paul Fussel has observed nine distinct class categories in the United States. He says that, while belief in social mobility is strong in American culture, few people are able to move out of the class into which they were born.

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." Foner's specialities include labor history, African American history, and the history of women and Socialism. Foner has recently edited a collection of speeches and writings of Irish-American labor organizer Mother Jones.

Journalist and writer Tom Wicker grew up in the South. He joined the staff of the New York Times in 1960 and has worked for the paper since then. Wicker was one of the journalists covering President Kennedy's visit to Dallas in 1963, and his op-ed column "In the Nation," is nationally syndicated. Wicker has written non-fiction and fiction books. His latest novel, "Unto this Hour," is based in part on stories from his grandmother about her life in the Confederacy. The novel is set in the Civil Battle, the Second Bull Run.