Guests on Peter's Detroit Sunday shows air on WCSX 94.7, WMGC 105.1 & WRIF 101.1. All are FM. Times are:  WCSX and WMGC at 6-7am, & WRIF at 1:00am Sunday night/Monday morning following NightCall, the 11pm-1am phone-in talk show. All are Eastern time. Click on "on the air" above for information on repeat, archived and Ipod broadcasts of the programs.

For podcasts of interviews, click here. They are at the end of the podcast following the
phone-in talk show hosted by Peter and Juline

Most books listed are available at independent book stores in the Detroit area. See Books for more information on authors and titles. Or, check here for books by interesting guest

May 19
Steve Babson, an organizer with Detroit Eviction Defense, described the role of the giant mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in creating the mass number of home foreclosures in Detroit.

Doug Peacock, author, In the Shadow of the Sabertooth:
A Renegade Naturalist Considers Global Warming, the First Americans and the Terrible Beasts of the Pleistocene, said today's climate change is similar to what the earliest people on the North American continent faced, and their adaptive reaction bears lessons for us.

May 12
Gar Alperovitz, author, What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk About the Next American Revolution, proposes a possible next system that is not corporate capitalism, not state socialism, but something else entirely—and something entirely American.

Carl Colby, director, discussed his documentary, THE MAN NOBODY KNEW: IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER, CIA SPYMASTER WILLIAM COLBY which uncovers the secret world of a legendary CIA spymaster.

May 5
Ray Raphael, author, Constitutional Myths: What We Get Wrong and How to Get It Right, discussed how contemporary politics are often rooted in incorrect interpretations of the country's foundation document.

Ellis Boal, an attorney with Ban Michigan Fracking, spoke about the dangers to the environment and human health from the oil and gas process known as horizontal fracking.

April 28
Sascha Altman DuBrul, author, Maps to the Other Side: The Adventures of a Bipolar Cartographer, and co-founder, The Icarus Project, described the radical mental health support network, online community, and alternative media project as being by and for people struggling with extreme emotional distress that often gets labeled as mental illness.

Melvin Goodman, author, National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism, discussed how ceding foreign policy decisions to the Pentagon has led to wars rather than diplomacy, and that the military/industrial complex has distorted the economy.

April 21
George Gage, co-director of Bidder 70, told the story of a college student who made an auction bid on federal land gas and oil leases to stop it being purchased by energy companies. For his act of civil disobedience, he was sentenced to two years in prison. See details in the right hand column for show date and time.

Rachel Meerpol, granddaughter of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and staff attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights, discussed the challenge to civil liberties in an era of terrorism.

April 14
Jeff Cohen, associate professor of journalism at Ithaca College, and founder of RootsAction.org,, discussed possible candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sally Howell, co-editor, Arab Detroit 9/11: Life in the Terror Decade, described life among Detroit Arab-Americans following the attack on the U.S.

April 7
Stephen John Hartnett, author, Executing Democracy: Capital Punishment & the Making of America, illustrated the interaction of the death penalty and U.S. democracy. One example was Michigan's constitutional ban on capital punishment which came about following an execution in Detroit.

Nancy Kurshan, author, Out of Control: A Fifteen Year Battle Against Control Unit Prisons, demonstrated how super-max prisons have the opposite of their intended effect, creating more violent prisoners rather than fewer.

March 31
Kathleen Sharp, author, Blood Feud: The Man Who Blew The Whistle On One of the Deadliest Prescription Drugs Ever, explained the controversy surrounding Procrit and how that highlights the way Big Pharma and the FDA work with new drugs.

Cara Hoffman, author, discussed her novel, So Much Pretty, which addresses the wide-spread problem of violence towards women.

March 24
Tom Stephens, National Lawyers Guild attorney, discussed the impact the appointment of an Emergency Financial Manager will have on Detroit.

Sam Husseini, communications director, Institute for Public Accuracy, discussed the tenth anniversary of the start of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.

March 10
John McMillian, author, Smoking Typewriters: The Sixties Underground Press and the Rise of Alternative Media in America, discussed rebel publications of the 1960s shaped opinion of that era, and led to the emergence of today's weeklies.

March 3
Gregory D. Sumner, author, Unstuck in Time: A Journey Through Kurt Vonnegut's Life and Novels, discussed the impact of the author's writing on American attitudes.

John Higgs, author, I Have America Surrounded - The Life of Timothy Leary, discussed the life of the LSD guru and his impact on American society.

February 17
Frank Joyce, organizer of a delegation to Vietnam for the 40th anniversary celebration of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords which ended the conflict, described the difference in the country since his first trip there in 1970.

Marjorie Heins, founder, The Free Expression Policy Project and author, Priests of our Democracy: The Supreme Court, Academic Freedom, and the Anti-Communist Purge, discussed the history of the McCarthy era and how teachers were driven from their jobs because of their political beliefs.

February 10
Annie Rachele Lanzillotto, author, L is for Lion: An Italian Bronx Butch Freedom Memoir, discussed how her ethnic background and family background influenced her sexuality.

February 3
Richard Heinberg, author, Energy: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth, discussed the growing need for increased energy to fuel the global economy and its unsustainability.

Jay Rosenstein, producer and director of the PBS documentary, The Lord is Not on Trial Here Today, discussed the importance of the 1945 Supreme Court decision that set the standard for the "separation of church and state."

January 27
Lawrence Blum, author, High Schools, Race, and America's Future: What Students Can Teach Us About Morality, Diversity, and Community, described his experiences teaching a high school course on race and racism to an ethnically, racially, and economically diverse group of students in Cambridge, Mass.

Dale Maharidge, co-author, Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression, told of the 30-year project in which he and a photographer have followed working class people and chronicled their lives.

January 20
Nick Turse, author, Kill anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam, described how official policies resulted in millions of innocent Indochinese civilians killed and wounded.

Chris Carlsson, editor, Ten Years That Shook the City: San Francisco 1968-78, described the social, political, and cultural events that defined the era.

January 13
James C. Scott, author, Two Cheers for Anarchism: On Autonomy, Dignity, and Meaningful work and Play, reconfigured the radical philosophy into a way to live peacefully and productively within state society.

Jana Christy and John Seven, authors of the children's book, A Rule is to Break: A Child's Guide to Anarchy, said emphasis has to be on discovery, spontaneity, and joy, rather than strict adherence to discipline.

January 6
John Curl, author, For All the People: Uncovering the Hidden History of Cooperation, Cooperative Movements, and Communalism in America, discussed the role played by workers in developing alternative methods of production and administration. Published by highly recommended PM Press.

Gareth Porter, an investigative journalist and historian specializing in U.S. national security policy, discussed President Dwight Eisenhower's warning about the "military-industrial complex" on the 50th anniversary of it utterance.

2013 [up]

December 30
Christian Parenti, author, Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence, connected the cascades of violence and unrest to global warming, and said unless the environmental and social problems aren't addressed, both situations will worsen.

George Lepre, author, Fragging: Why U.S. Soldiers Assaulted Their Officers in Vietnam, investigated the high number of incidents unique to the Indochina conflict and offered explanations for their occurrence.

December 23
Nicole Woo, Director of Domestic Policy at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, discussed the coming financial cliff and the call to reduce Social Security benefits.

Beth E. Ritchie, author, Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America's Prison Nation, discussed the special risks poor women of color face.

December 16
Ina May Gaskin, author, Birth Matters: A Midwife's Manifesta, advocated more natural ways of birthing, and less medicalization of the process.

December 9
Mark Lundholm, comedian and performer in his Recovery Comedy Show, discussed how addiction, abuse, and suicide prevention is under funded. He is performing at the Warren Community Center on Friday, December 14. Click for show info.

Beth E. Ritchie, author, Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America's Prison Nation, discussed the special risks poor women of color face.

December 2
Liza Featherstone, labor journalist, described the Black Friday scene at Walmart where workers organized protests wage and benefit conditions at the giant retail chain.

Eugene Jarecki, director, writer, author, discussed his new film on the failing Drug War, "The House I Live In." He cited trillion dollars spent and the 45 million people arrested, and drugs are more plentiful and available than ever.

November 25
John Bellamy Foster, author, The Endless Crisis: How Monopoly-Finance Capital Produces Stagnation and Upheaval from the USA to China, described how there are decreasing capital expenditures on production and increasing amounts funneled to the stock market causing a long term economic slowdown.

Jay Feldman, author, Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating, Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America, said that in times of strife such as war and economic downturns, civil liberties and rights are often violated.

November 18
Norman Solomon, director, Institute for Public Accuracy, discussed how citizen activism is still important even though the election is over.

Robert McChesney, author, "This Isn't What Democracy Looks Like," in the current issue of Monthly Review, said that impacted wealth has distorted democracy so that the system is now dominated by elite control.

November 11
Thomas Frank, author, Pity the Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right, discussed the 2012 elections and the implications for cities like Detroit.

November 4
Bruce E. Levine, author, Surviving America's Depression Epidemic: How to Find Morale, Energy, and community in a World Gone Crazy, said much of the emotional difficulties people experience are understandable reactions to what confronts them in modern life, not an individual failing.

Daniel Kessler, 350.org Media Campaigner, commented on the connection between fossil fuel use and climate change and the creation of mega-storms like Sandy.

October 28
Gar Smith, author, Nuclear Roulette: The Truth About the Most Dangerous Energy Source on Earth, talked about the risk of atomic energy as a source for power and suggested workable alternatives.

Susan Whitall, music editor, The Detroit News, discussed her biography, Fever: Little Willie John: A Fast Life, Mysterious Death, and the Birth of Soul, within the context of race and music in the 1950s and '60s Detroit.

October 21
Tova Andrea Wang, author, The Politics of Voter Suppression: Defending and Expanding Americans' Right to Vote, described what political forces are at work to reduce the voter pool and why.

Peter Kornbluh, author, The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962, spoke about the moment the world faced nuclear annihilation on the 50th anniversary of the crisis.

October 14
Historian Gerald Horne, a keynote speaker at the North American Labor History Conference in Detroit, discussed his speech, "Rethinking a Revolution; Slavery and the Origins of the United States.

Historian Heather Ann Thompson, a keynote speaker at the North American Labor History Conference in Detroit, discussed her book, Whose Detroit: Politics, Labor and Race in a Modern American City.

October 7
Laurence Bergreen, author, Columbus: The Four Voyages, discussed the iconic explorer's career providing little about his trips from Europe.

Marina Sitrin, author, Occupying Language, described how words can be twisted in public forums to create definitions beyond their original intent.

September 30
Hanna Rosin, author, The End of Men and the Rise of Women, discussed the changes in the economy and culture that has marked an end to male dominance in many social spheres.

Jerry Mander, author, The Capitalism Papers: Fatal Flaws of an Obsolete System, said that our current economic structure is becoming more unworkable and destructive and new paradigms need to be created.

September 23
Joseph Dorman, director of the documentary, Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Dark, described the stories the author told, including, Fiddler on the Roof, as an universal one which not only described European Jews, but also all people thrust from traditional cultures into the modern world.

September 16
Greg Palast, author, Billionaires and Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in Nine Easy Steps, described the threat to U.S. democracy by the influence of money and the attempt to limit access to voting.

Mike Leonardi, an organizer with the Coalition Against Nukes, expressed opposition to nuclear power, cited its dangers, and announced a march and rally in Washington DC to mobilize people against it.

September 9
Heidi Ewing, co-director, Detropia, discussed her film about Detroit and whether there ever will be a comeback for the city.

Ernest Drucker, author, A Plague of Prisons: The Epidemiology of Mass Incarceration in America, said the unprecedented number of people imprisoned has no effect on crime reduction, and, in fact, may increase it.

September 2
Daniel Pinchbeck, coeditor, What Comes After Money?: Currency and Community, said that the current emphasis on profit within capitalism has reached the breaking point for the economy and the environment.

Randall Wray, Professor of Economics, University of Missouri, and author, Understanding Modern Money: The Key to Full Employment and Price Stability, spoke about the report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Committee, and how the economic downturn effects cities like Detroit.

August 26
Eric Berkowitz, author, Sex and Punishment: Four Thousand Years of Judging Desire, discussed how every civilization has tried to tried to define and control human sexuality.

Chris Rhomberg, author, The Broken Table: The Detroit Newspaper Strike and the State of American Labor, recounted the labor dispute between the city's daily papers and its unions and what it portends for workers.

August 19
William Hartung, fellow at the Center for International Policy, described what consequences Paul Ryan's budget would have on Detroit.

Martin A. Lee, author, Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana - Medical, Recreational, and Scientific, outlined the role of cannabis in American society and the new medical potential through one of its properties.

August 12
Lamar Waldron, author, Watergate: The Hidden History: Nixon, The Mafia, and The CIA, described the connection between the involved parties on the basis of new documents.

Dan Georgakas, co-author, Detroit: I do Mind Dying, described the rise and contributions of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers in the auto industry and the United Auto Workers union.

August 5
Attorney Michael Steven Smith, co-host, Law & Disorder, and author, Who Killed Che? How the CIA Got Away with Murder, discussed the implications of government sponsored killings.

Paul Clemens, author, Punching Out: One Year in a Closing Auto Plant, described his book which chronicled the shuttering of the Budd stamping plant on Detroit's East Side, and the impact on the employees and the city. Click on book title for a NY Times review.

July 29
Matthew Rothschild, editor, The Progressive Magazine, spoke about the importance of the late historian, Howard Zinn, in understanding how events past determine the present and the future.

Arthur Naiman, author, 9/11: The Simple Facts: Why the Official Story Can't possibly Be True, called for a new investigation of September 11 to clear up the contradictions of the 9/11 Commission report.

July 22
Danny Dorling, author, The No Nonsense Guide to Equality, said that the growing disparity of wealth in the U.S. and Britain threatens both the economy of each nation and its democracy.

Dana Frank, author, Women Strikers Occupy Chain, Win Big, told the story of the 1937 Detroit Woolworth's sit-down strike of "shop girls" who were part of a nation-wide movement.

July 15
Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, co-founder, Physicians for a National Health Program, explained what impact the Affordable Care Act will have on people.

Wendell Potter, author, Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans, detailed how he worked to sabotage Michael Moore's film, Sicko.

July 8
Neil deMause, reporter for Extra! magazine, spoke about how the major media is not addressing climate change amidst its coverage of high temperature, extreme storms, and wildfires.

Kerry Walters, author, Revolutionary Deists: Early America's Rational Infidels, discussed America's first Culture War between Deists and Christians at the origins of this country and its implications for today.

July 1
Prudence L. Carter, author, Stubborn Roots: Race, Culture, and Inequality in U.S. and South African Schools, spoke about what conditions in the schools of the two nations still struggling with racism allow students of color to achieve excellence.

Ken Wachsberger, editor, Insider Histories of the Vietnam Era Underground Press, described the incredible impact of these publications on the politics, culture, and newspaper industry then and today.

June 24
Paul R. Ehrlich, famed ecologist and co-author, Humanity on a Tightrope: Thoughts on Empathy, Family, and Big Changes for a Viable Future, discussed what is necessary to avoid a catastrophic collapse of society.

Andy Kroll, associate editor, www.tomdispatch.com and author, "How the Wisconsin Uprising Got Hijacked," described the Wisconsin recall election and its impact on the November presidential race.

June 17
James P. Steyer, founder of Common Sense Media and author, Talking Back to Facebook: The Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age, discussed the impact on young people of being immersed constantly in media.

Sasha Abramsky, author of a Nation Magazine article, "Altered State," described the impact of legalizing marijuana on economic, political, and cultural life.

June 10
Wayne Kramer, former lead guitar for Detroit's MC5, discussed the history of the band, its breakup, his imprisonment for drugs and how that led to forming Jail Guitar Doors.

Larry Tye, author, Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero, tells the story of why the man of steel who supports truth, justice, and the American way remains popular today.

June 3
Prof. Kevin Boyle, author,  Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age, told the story of the Sweet Case, where armed black men defended their home against a white mob on Detroit's East Side in 1925. The trial, with famed attorney Clarence Darrow for the defense, brought national attention to the city and the NAACP's battle against growing residential segregation in the North.

Lisa Dodson, author, The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert an Unfair Economy, described how middle-class managers bend the rules to help underpaid workers the supervise.

May 20
Suzanne Gordon, co-editor, First, Do Less Harm: Confronting the Inconvenient Problems of Patient Safety, described the urgent reforms needed for hospital reform to secure the health of patients.

Richard Kirsch, author, Fighting for Our Health: The Epic Battle To Make Health Care A Right In The United States, defended Obamacare and said it should be extended to a system of Medicare for all beginning at birth.

May 13
Economist Richard Wolff, author, Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism, says the whole system is broken and piecemeal reforms won't fix the problem

Eric Laursen, author, The People's Pension: The Struggle to Defend Social Security Since Reagan, described the threat from the right wing to destroy an important part of the well-being of millions.

May 6
Rory O'Connor, author, Friends, Followers, and the Future: How Social Media are Changing Politics, Threatening Big Brands, and Killing Traditional Media, spoke about how our reality is being altered by our immersion in electronic devices.

Frank Joyce, president, Michigan Coalition for Human Rights, and author, "Is It Possible To Build An Economy Without Jobs?," said that traditional employment will not be returning to Detroit and that new forms of work need to be created outside of an obsolete model.

April 29
Ed Sanders, author, Fug You: An Informal History of the Peace eye Bookstore, the Fuck You Press, The Fugs, and Counterculture on the Lower East Side, discussed how his personal history intersected with the political and cultural events of the 1960s.

Meira Levinson, author, No Citizen Left Behind, described her experiences in the Atlanta public schools and the necessity to create education policies that empower young people.

April 22
Caitrin Lynch, author, Retirement on the Line: Age, Work, and Value in an American Factory, described an industrial facility which hires mainly workers over 70.

April 8
Vijay Presad, author, Arab Spring, Libyan Winter, discussed the role of NATO in overthrowing the Qaddafi regime.

Minky Worden, author, The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women's Rights, explained areas of success and problem areas in securing full rights for women.

April 1
Tony D'Nunzzio, Director, Louder Than Love: The Grande Ballroom Story, described his film which shows the intersection between the emerging rock and roll culture of Detroit and its political life.

Scott Martelle

March 25
Charles and Sandra Simmons, directors of The Hush House Community Museum and Leadership Training Institute for Human Rights, described the work of their facility in providing models of excellence for young people in their poor Detroit neighborhood.

Andy Worthington, co-director, "Outside the Law," discussed the legal and security ramifications of maintaining Guantanamo Bay as a prison facility for terrorists.

March 18
Armando Delicato and Elias Khalil, authors, Detroit's Cass Corridor, discussed the important of the area to the city's arts and politics. Available at most book stores and City Bird.

Jeffrey Clements, author, Corporations Are Not People: Why They Have More Right Than You do and What You Can Do About It, charged that the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Citizens United, which opened the door to huge corporate donations to candidates distorts democracy.

March 11
Irving Kirsch, author, The Emperor's New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth, examined whether the drugs for depression are effective.

David Rothkopf, author, Power, Inc.: The Epic Rivalry Between Big Business and Government and the Reckoning that Lies Ahead, discussed how corporate power is greater than that of governmental power.

March 4
Brian Miller, co-author, The Self-Made Myth: And The Truth About How Government Helps Businesses and Individuals Succeed, discussed the false claim that business success is the result of heroic individual effort with little or no outside help.

February 19
Ari Berman, author, Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics, discussed the way money flowing to super-PACs is distorting politics.

Michael D. Yates, editor, Wisconsin Uprising: Labor Fights Back, described the events in that state last year where unions and others fought to retain their wage and benefit standards.

February 12
Marie Friedmann Marquardt, co-author, Living "Illegal": The Human Face of Unauthorized Immigrants, said that most of what is thought to be the impact of undocumented workers and their families is incorrect, and suggested ways to deal with the millions of people in the U.S. illegally.

Investigative reporter and historian, Gareth Porter, discussed whether or not Israel will attack Iran. and U.S. efforts to solved the problem through diplomacy.

February 5
Larry Tye, author of many books on black history, discussed the importance of the month devoted to that subject.

Azadeh Moaveni, author, Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran, described how her work as Time magazine's correspondent in Iran intersected with her personal life.

January 29
Paul Buhl, author, Robin Hood: People's Outlaw and Forest Hero, discussed the enduring myth and why its story continues to enliven today's political and economic debates.

January 22
David Bacon, author, "How US Policies Fueled Mexico's Great Migration," an article in the Jan. 4 Nation magazine, discussed how NAFTA destroyed small farming in Mexico which drove the farmers northward to the US in search of income.

Sean Stewart, editor, On the Ground: An illustrated Anecdotal History of the Sixties Underground Press in the U.S., discussed how the oppositional press of that era operated in an era of great conflict.

January 15
Keith McHenry, author, Hungry for Peace: How you can help end poverty and war with Food Not Bombs, described the effort of his thousand-city organization to feed the homeless.

Merle Hoffman, author, Intimate Wars: The Life and Times of the Woman Who Brought Abortion from the Back Alley to the Boardroom, described thewoman's health clinic she founded and her experience in the pro-choice movement.

January 8
Jeremy Brecher, author, Save the Humans? Common Preservation in Action, suggested ways citizens can confront the global threats of climate change, war, and economic chaos.

Albert Ruben, author, The People's Lawyer: The Center for Constitutional Rights and the Fight for Social Justice, from Civil Rights to Guantanamo, described the work of the legal center whose roots go back to civil rights movement in the American south.

January 1
Rachel Meerpol, staff attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights, discussed the challenge to civil liberties in an era of terrorism.

Actor and activist, Mike Farrell, described his travels across the U.S. in support of his memoir, Just Call Me Mike. The new book is titled Of Mule and Man.

December 25
Julie Holland, M.D., author, The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis; Its Role in Medicine, Politics, Science, and Culture, discussed the myths surrounding marijuana usage and advocated an end to prohibition.

Thomas Geoghegan, attorney, and author, Were You Born on the Wrong Continent: How the European Model Can Help You Get a Life, advocated that the U.S. turn to the model of social democracy such as exists in Germany to solve our social and economic problems.

December 18
Gar Alperovitz, author, America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy, suggested worker-owned cooperatives as a way to move beyond the current economic crisis.

Michael Keegan, co-chair, Don't Waste Michigan, spoke in opposition to the building of a Fermi III nuclear power plant in Monroe.

December 11
Carl Colby, director, discussed his documentary, a son’s riveting look at a father whose life seemed straight out of a spy thriller, THE MAN NOBODY KNEW: IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER, CIA SPYMASTER WILLIAM COLBY uncovers the secret world of a legendary CIA spymaster. Told by William Colby’s son Carl, the story is at once a probing history of the CIA, a personal memoir of a family living in clandestine shadows, and an inquiry into the hard costs of a nation’s most cloaked actions.

Caroline Fraser, author, Rewilding the World: Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution, described the many projects around the world devoted to preserving a diversity of species.

December 4
Larry Tye, author, Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, sketched the life African-American baseball great and how his career intersected with segregation of the game and society.

Richard Bak, author, Detroitland: A Collection of Movers, Shakers, Lost Souls, and History Makers from Detroit's Past, described the colorful characters and events that have shaped today's city.

November 20
Sally Howell, co-editor, Arab Detroit 9/11: Life in the Terror Decade, described life among Detroit Arab-Americans following the attack on the U.S.

Kathleen Sharp, author, Blood Feud: The Man Who Blew The Whistle On One of the Deadliest Prescription Drugs Ever, explained the controversy surrounding Procrit and how that highlights the way Big Pharma and the FDA work with new drugs.

November 13
Greg Palast, author, Vultures' Picnic: In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates, and High-Finance Carnivores, discussed the negligence of BP in this year's oil spill.

Gregory D. Sumner, author, Unstuck in Time: A Journey Through Kurt Vonnegut's Life and Novels, discussed the impact of the author's writing on American attitudes.

November 6
Chris Paine, writer/director, "The Revenge of the Electric Car," described how suddenly non-gasoline powered automobiles are suddenly posed to become what it takes to get the world off of fossil fuels. Opens at the Main Theatre in Royal Oak, Nov. 11.

John Gibler, author, To Die in Mexico: Dispatches from Inside the Drug War, discussed the ongoing violence south of the U.S. border, and the impact on cities like Detroit.

October 30
Jeffery Winters, author, Oligarchy, discussed the impact on democracy of concentrated wealth.

William Ayers, co-author, Teaching the Taboo: Courage and Imagination in the Classroom, proposed new models for teaching and education system that go beyond the current institutions.

October 23
Fred A. Wilcox, author, Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam, described the ongoing health effects on the children of Vietnam as well as American veterans of that conflict. He said the U.S. government must recognize the problem and address it in both countries.

October 16
Actor Danny Glover discusses the film he co-produced, "Black Power Mixtape, 1967-75," which consists of new footage of the central figures in the movement of that time.

Daniel Pinchbeck, coeditor, What Comes After Money?: Currency and Community, said that the current emphasis on profit within capitalism has reached the breaking point for the economy and the environment.

October 9
Tom Stephens, a presenter at the Great Lakes Restoration Conference, October 12-14, gave a history of the Detroit Incinerator and its impact on the city's environment and finances.

Joseph Dorman, director of the documentary, Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Dark, described the stories the author told, including, Fiddler on the Roof, as an universal one which not only described European Jews, but also all people thrust from traditional cultures into the modern world. Starts October 14 at Royal Oak's Main Theatre and at the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor.

October 2
Ernest Drucker, author, A Plague of Prisons: The Epidimiology of Mass Incarceration in America, said the unprecedented number of people imprisoned has no effect on crime reduction, and, in fact, may increase it.

Diane Wilson, shrimp boat captain and author Diary of an Eco-Outlaw: An Unreasonable Woman Breaks the Law for Mother Earth, described and defended her continual civil disobedience and arrest for environmental causes.

September 25
Steve Early, author, The Civil Wars in Labor; Birth of a New Workers' Movement or Death Throes of the Old?, spoke about the future of the union movement in America and how it will effect wages for everyone.

Attorney Michael Steven Smith, co-host, Law & Disorder, and author, Who Killed Che? How the CIA Got Away with Murder, discussed the implications of government sponsored killings.

September 11
John H. Hartig, Refuge Manager, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, and, author, Burning Rivers: Revival of Four Urban-Industrial Rivers that Caught on Fire, described the remedial effort that has brought the Detroit River and other waterways back to life.

Minsu Longiaru, director, Restaurant Opportunities Center of Michigan, described the efforts her organization makes to train industry workers, and announced the opening of a new worker-owned eatery in downtown Detroit.

August 28
Edward Girardet, author,  Killing the Cranes: A Reporter's Journey Through Three Decades of War in Afghanistan, described his experiences in that country including a confrontation with Osama bin Laden.

Jay Feldman, author, Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating, Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America, said that in times of strife such as war and economic downturns, civil liberties and rights are often abrogated.

August 21
William M. Adler, author, The Man Who Never Died: The Life, Times, and Legacy of Joe Hill, American Labor Icon, told the story of the man's life and his significance for his times and ours.

Joan Sekler, director/producer, Locked Out, described her film which told the story of union workers in a small town pitted against a multi-national mining company.

August 14
Arthur Naiman, author, 9/11: The Simple Facts: Why the Official Story Can't possibly Be True, called for a new investigation of September 11 to clear up the contradictions of the 9/11 Commission report.

David Graiber, author, Debt: The First 5,000 Years, said the recent political dispute over the U.S. debt has its origins in ancient history and is rooted in morality and culture as well as economics.

August 7
Susan Whitall, music editor, The Detroit News, discussed her biography, Fever: Little Willie John: A Fast Life, Mysterious Death, and the Birth of Soul, within the context of race and music in the 1950s and '60s.

Aimee Allison, co-director, Roots Action, discussed the implications of the Congressional debt deal and its implications for city's like Detroit.

July 31
Richard Heinberg, author, The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality, spoke about the financial crisis, and what it will mean to levels of production and consumption.

July 24
Karlene Faith, author, Unruly Women: The Politics of Confinement & Resistance, talked about the misconceptions regarding incarcerated females and what can be done to reduce their population in prison.

David Swanson, a campaigner with RootsAction.org, commented on the current budget reduction and debt ceiling talks.

July 17
Thaddeus Russell, author, A Renegade History of the United States, discussed how American history was often shaped by the lower orders.

Rachel Shteir, author, The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting, discussed the different social aspects of theft from stores.

July 10
George Lepre, author, Fragging: Why U.S. Soldiers Assaulted Their Officers in Vietnam, investigated the high number of incidents unique to the Indochina conflict and offered explanations for their occurrence.

Christian Parenti, author, Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence, connected the cascades of violence and unrest to global warming, and said unless the environmental and social problems aren't addressed, both situations will worsen.

July 3
Rachel Meerpol, staff attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights, discussed the challenge to civil liberties in an era of terrorism.

Stan Cox, author, Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World, described the environmental and social impact of the desire for temperature control.

June 26
Jay Rosenstein, producer and director of the PBS documentary, The Lord is Not on Trial Here Today, discussed the importance of the 1945 Supreme Court decision that set the standard for the "separation of church and state."

Chris Carlsson, editor, Ten Years That Shook the City: San Francisco 1968-78, described the social, political, and cultural events that defined the era.

June 19
Dale Maharidge, co-author, Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression, told of the 30-year project in which he and a photographer have followed working class people and chronicled their lives.

Yolande Cadore, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Drug Policy Alliance, spoke about the 40th anniversary of the Nixon-initiated War on Drug, branding it a failure in every regard.

June 12
William Ayers, co-author, Teaching the Taboo: Courage and Imagination in the Classroom, proposed new models for teaching and education system that go beyond the current institutions.

Frank Joyce, former director of Public Relations for the United Auto Workers, described a recent trip to Spain where he witnessed street demonstrations and occupations of public squares similar to what occurred in Egypt.

June 5
Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Watchdog for Beyond Nuclear, discussed the threat to the Great Lakes and the region from a proposal to ship radioactive waste through the lakes and the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers.

David Swanson, author, War is a Lie, questioned whether President Obama has the Constitutional and statutory authority to take military action against Libya without Congressional approval.

May 29
Dr. Howard Schubiner, author, Unlearn Your Pain, explained his 28-day process to reprogram the brain's pathways which reproduce pain.

James W. Loewen, editor, The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader: The "Great Truth about the "Lost Cause," said his volume offers documentary proof that the original reasoning behind secession the Civil War and subsequent myth-making was in defense of slavery and white supremacy.

May 22
John Gibler, author, To Die in Mexico: Dispatches from Inside the Drug War, discussed the ongoing violence south of the U.S. border, and the impact on cities like Detroit.

Erna Paris, author, The Sun Climbs Slow: The International Criminal Court and the Struggle for Justice, explored the history of global justice, the politics behind America’s opposition to the creation of a permanent international criminal court, and the implications for the world at large.

May 15
Richard Wolff, author, When Capitalism Hits the Fan, discussed the congressional debate over debt reduction proposals.

Susan Marks, author,  Aqua Shock: Water in Crisis, explained how a growing world population with scarcer pure water supplies will impact society.

May 8
Jay Cantor, author, The Death of Che Guevara, told how he used the novel form for an exploration of the nature of truth and storytelling and the psychology of radical activism.

Gayle Green, author Insomniac, discussed the disorder's origins, medical approaches, and social and personal consequences.

May 1
Diane Wilson, shrimp boat captain and author Diary of an Eco-Outlaw: An Unreasonable Woman Breaks the Law for Mother Earth, described and defended her continual civil disobedience and arrest for environmental causes.

Grace Lee Boggs, author, The Next American Revolution, discussed her 75 years of activism, and said that hope and creativity are overcoming despair and decay within devastated communities like Detroit.

April 24
Elizabeth Abbot, author, A History of Marriage, described how our concept and the institution have evolved over the centuries and the contemporary debate over its definition.

April 17
Andrew Revkin, environmental reporter for the New York Times, discussed the impact that forty years of celebrating Earth Day has impacted the way we live and think.

Richard Weissbourd, author, The Parents We Mean To Be: How Well-Intentioned Adults Undermine Children's Moral and Emotional Development, discussed how modern life has altered concepts of child rearing.

April 10
Erin P. Finley, medical anthropologist and health services researcher, and author, Fields of Combat: Understanding PTSD among Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, talked about the impact of war on returning soldiers.

Ina May Gaskin, author, Birth Matters: A midwife's Manifesta, advocated more natural ways of birthing, and less medicalization of the process.

April 3
Richard Wolff, Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, described the impact on the economy of low taxation rates on corporate profits.

Steve Babson, Professor of History, Wayne State University, and co-author, The Color of Law: Ernie Goodman, Detroit, and the Struggle for Labor and Civil Rights, related the work of a city law firm in the midst of social upheaval from the 1930s through the 1980s.

March 27
Cara Hoffman, author, discussed her novel, So Much Pretty, which addresses the wide-spread problem of violence towards women.

Russ Bellant, education activist, described the plan to turn 41 Detroit Public Schools into charter institutions.

March 20
Harvey Wasserman, nuke expert, and author, Solartopia: Our Green Earth AD 2020, commented on the Japanese nuclear plant dangers and what exists for similar facilities in the U.S. including ones near to Detroit.

March 13
Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald, authors, Crossing Zero: The Afpak War at the Turning Point of American Empire, discussed America's longest war and what are possible scenarios for its end.

Ronit Avni, executive director, Just Vision, and producer of the documentary, Budrus, discussed her film about a Palestinian village that employs non-violent methods to resist the Israeli barrier going through its territory.

March 6
Dean Obeidallah, co-headliner of the Arabs Gone Wild Revolution Tour, talked about how humor can be used to dispel stereotypes, and make an audience laugh at their own ethnic group.

John McMillian, author, Smoking Typewriters: The Sixties Underground Press and the Rise of Alternative Media in America, discussed rebel publications of the 1960s shaped opinion of that era, and led to the emergence of today's weeklies.

February 27
Cindy Estrada, Vice-President, UAW, discussed how unions will function in an era when labor is being asked to cut back on its gains of the last four decades.

February 20
Matthew Rothchild, editor, The Progressive magazine, commented on the demonstrations at the Wisconsin state capitol resisting the governor's assault on public sector workers union.

David Margolick, author, Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink, described the social, racial, and political implications of the famous fight.

February 13
Kerry Walters, author, Revolutionary Deists: Early America's Rational Infidels, discussed America's first Culture War between Deists and Christians at the origins of this country and its implications for today.

Lisa Hymas, senior editor, Grist.org, spoke about her GINK Manifesto [Green Inclinations; No Kids] which urges people to be childfree as a way to stop the wild growth of population which threatens the planet.

February 6
Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and chairman of Middle Eastern Studies, University of San Francisco, and author, Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism, discussed events in Egypt.

Randall Wray, Professor of Economics, University of Missouri, and author, Understanding Modern Money: The Key to Full Employment and Price Stability, spoke about the report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Committee, and how the economic downturn effects cities like Detroit.

January 30
Robert Jensen, Journalism Professor, University of Texas, spoke about President Obama's State of the Union address and implications it had for cities like Detroit.

Aaron Petkov, from the Organization for a Free Society, spoke about his recent visit to Colombia with a group from Witness for Peace and described the impact of American support for that country's government on the labor organizers and villagers.

January 23
Paul Clemens, author, Punching Out: One Year in a Closing Auto Plant, described his book which chronicled the shuttering of the Budd stamping plant on Detroit's East Side, and the impact on the employees and the city. Click on book title for a NY Times review.

Gareth Porter, an investigative journalist and historian specializing in U.S. national security policy, discussed President Dwight Eisenhower's warning about the "military-industrial complex" on the 50th anniversary of it utterance.

January 16
Sara Robinson, Senior fellow at Campaign for America’s Future, discussed the shooting in Tucson.

Andy Worthington, co-director, "Outside the Law," discussed the legal and security ramifications of maintaining Guantanamo Bay as a prison facility for terrorists.

January 9
Jay Walljasper, author, All That We Share: How to Save the Economy, the Environment, the Internet, Democracy, Our Communities, and Everything Else That Belongs to All of Us, described a little chronicled national movement that is addressing the problems mentioned in the book's subtitle.

Sasha Abramsky, author of a Nation Magazine article, "Altered State," described the impact of the failure of the California referendum which would have legalized marijuana in its economic, political, and cultural dimensions.

January 2
Scott A. Bonn, author, Mass Deception: Moral Panic and the U.S. War on Iraq, described the process whereby elites convince mass populations they are in danger in order to accomplish particular policy goals such as the war on Iraq.

Daphne Wysham, fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, and content adviser to the film, "The Story of Cap and Trade," said that human caused global warming continues unabated and called for immediate remedial steps to halt its progress.

2011 [UP]

December 26
Katherine Newman, author, The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America, described those families just above the poverty line, who, while having many attributes of those below the line, make enough to be excluded from government programs. She cited Detroit as a good example of where such families are grouped.

Frida Berrigan, Senior Program Associate at The New America Foundation's Arms and Security Initiative, discussed how U.S. expenditures on unneeded armaments cheated cities like Detroit out of more effective job creation.

December 19
Paul R. Ehrlich, famed ecologist and co-author, Humanity on a Tightrope: Thoughts on Empathy, Family, and Big Changes for a Viable Future, discussed what is necessary to avoid a catastrophic collapse of society.

Clarence Lusane, author, The Black History of the White House, told the story of President's residence from the perspective of African American.

December 12
Wendell Potter, author, Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans, detailed how he worked to sabotage Michael Moore's film, Sicko.

Nancy Folbre, author, Saving State U: Why We Must Fix Public Higher Education, described the problem of soaring tuition, budget cuts, and debt burdens that are endangering upward mobility.

December 5
Doug Henwood, editor, Left Business Observer, commented on the Deficit Reduction Commission and what impact it would have on individuals and communities such as Detroit.

Rudy Simon, a human rights activist, described what he had witnessed and who he had spoken to on a recent trip to Israel and Palestine with a delegation from Interfaith Peace Builders.

November 28
Richard Wolff, author, Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About it, analyzed the current crisis and proposed the creation of a smaller scale economy.

John Major Jenkins, author, 2012: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History, explained that the Maya concept of a time cycle ending doesn't imply an apocalypse, but rather calls for new beginnings.

November 21
Caroline Fraser, author, Rewilding the World: Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution, described the many projects around the world devoted to preserving a diversity of species.

November 14
Peter Philips, founder, Project Censored, discussed those news stories of great importance to democratic decision making but aren't covered by the mainstream media.

Harvey Wasserman, director, Solartopia, commented on the election of the Vermont governor who has pledged to shut down the nuclear plant in that state and the implications for all such facilities including Michigan's Fermi II.

November 7
Karen Dolan from the Institute for Policy Studies, gave an analysis of the mid-term elections.

October 31
Rich Benjamin, author, Searching for Whitopia: An improbable Journey, to the Hart of White America, described the increasing trend towards institutional and residential segregation driven by white migration.

Dr. Daniel J. Carlat, author, Unhinged: The Trouble with Psychiatry--A Doctor's Revelations about a Profession in Crisis, said his profession has abandoned its essential purpose: to understand the mind, so that psychiatrists can heal mental illness and not just treat symptoms with drugs.

October 24
Julie Holland, M.D., author, The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis; Its Role in Medicine, Politics, Science, and Culture, discussed the myths surrounding marijuana usage and advocated an end to prohibition.

Thomas Geoghegan, attorney, and author, Were You Born on the Wrong Continent: How the European Model Can Help You Get a Life, advocated that the U.S. turn to the model of social democracy such as exists in Germany to solve our social and economic problems.

October 17
Danielle L. McGuire, Wayne State University professor of history, and author, At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance--A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power, gave a new look at the woman credited with launching the civil rights movement of the 1950s.

October 10
Tyree Guyton, founder and artistic director, Jeneene Whitfield, executive director, The Heidelberg Project, described their cityscape art project that covers several block of inner city Detroit.

October 3
Ted Rall, Pulitzer Prize nominee, syndicated cartoonist, and author, The Anti-American Manifesto, said the time is ripe for revolution since the current system is resistant to reform.

Steve Babson, co-author, The Color of Law: Ernie Goodman, Detroit, and the Struggle for Labor and Civil Rights, described his subject as one of the nation's preeminent defense attorneys whose career put him at the center of the struggle for social justice in the twentieth century, from the sit-down strikes of the 1930s to the Red Scare of the 1950s to the freedom struggles, anti-war demonstrations, and ghetto rebellions of the 1960s-1970s.

September 26
Andrei Codrescu, NPR commentator and author, The Poetry Lesson, described how the classes he teaches at Louisiana State University became his latest book.

Jeff Faux, founder, Economic Policy Institute, talked about why an increase in employment hasn't occurred along with the rise in the stock market and corporate profits.

September 19
Rachel Meerpol, staff attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights, discussed the challenge to civil liberties in an era of terrorism.

Mason Tvert, author, Marijuana is Safer: So why are we driving people to drink, challenged conventional concepts of the damage from the drug and suggested new policies.

September 12
James W. Loewen, editor, The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader: The "Great Truth about the "Lost Cause," said his volume offers documentary proof that the original reasoning behind secession the Civil War and subsequent myth-making was in defense of slavery and white supremacy.

Lierre Keith, author The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice and Sustainability, argued that the contention that  a vegetarian diet can feed the hungry, honor the animals, and save the planet, not only isn't true, but actually causes the opposite.

August 22
Bob King, new president of the United Auto Workers, discussed the situation of organized labor and the need to re-industrialize Detroit.

August 15
Barbara Ehrenreich, author, Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America, says that such attitudes rather than creating personal fortitude against disease or unemployment, actually lessens the individual's chances of combating what ails them.

Matthew Stein, author, When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Long Emergency, spoke about preparedness for everything from a simple power failure to an absolute collapse of civilization. Be prepared, he says.

August 8
Norman Solomon, author of War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death and president of the Institute for Public Accuracy, visited Afghanistan last year, and commented on the impact of recent WikiLeaks release of US battle documents.

Ethan Nadelmann, executive director, Drug Policy Alliance, said the government has lost the War on Drugs by spending $1 trillion tax dollars on the effort since it was initiated by President Nixon. He suggested legalization would help the economy of Michigan in numerous ways.

August 1
John Sinclair, poet-provocateur, and editor, Sun Ra: Essays and Interviews, discussed the cultural and musical impact of the legendary composer and bandleader.

Laura Eldridge, author, In Our Control: The Complete Guide to Contraceptive Choices for Women, told the history of women's quest for control of their reproductive lives and what is currently available to them.

July 26
Dr. Howard Schubiner, author, Unlearn Your Pain, explained his 28-day process to reprogram the brain's pathways which reproduce pain.

Francis Shor, author, Dying Empire: U.S. Imperialism and Global Resistance, described the negative consequences for nations which over-reach beyond their borders to construct a military and financial empire

July 18
Tom Englehardt, founder of the news and opinion site, TomDispatch.com, discussed the question of why is the United States fighting in Afghanistan and suggested strategies for ending the conflict.

Richard Wolff, author, Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About it, analyzed the current crisis and proposed the creation of a smaller scale economy.

July 11
M.L. Lielber, editor, Working Words: Punching the clock and Kicking Out the Jams, discussed his anthology of working class poetry, song, and prose that illustrates the Detroit work-a-day world. Note: Release date is October.

Katherine Hughes-Fraitehk, executive director, Peace Brigades International-USA, described the work of her  organization which has volunteers accompany at risk foreign nationals in their home countries when dealing with repressive governments.

June 27
Ismael Ahmed, Director, Michigan Department of Human Services, spoke about busting myths about welfare programs and how they help the citizens of the state.

June 20
Tim Wise, author, Color-Blind: Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity, discussed the impact of the Obama presidency on race relations.

John Atlas, author, Seeds of Change: The of ACORN, America's Most Controversial Anti-poverty Community Organizing Group, told the story of the group's rise and demise in terms of their successes and failures, and the attacks on them.

June 13
Stan Cox, author, Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World, described the environmental and social impact of the desire for temperature control.

Jerry Lembcke, author, Hanoi Jane: War, Sex & Fantasies of Betrayal, described how Jane Fonda was elevated by the right wing to the cause of the U.S. loss of the Vietnam war.

May 30
Mark Moffett, author, Adventures Among Ants, described his world wide travels to chronicle the lives of the insects whose characteristics mirror those of humans, and whose existence is critical to the environment.

May 23
Dr. Daniel J. Carlat, author, Unhinged: The Trouble with Psychiatry--A Doctor's Revelations about a Profession in Crisis, said his profession has abandoned its essential purpose: to understand the mind, so that psychiatrists can heal mental illness and not just treat symptoms with drugs.

Matthew Stein, author, When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency, painted a dark picture of possible catastrophes and advised technique for dealing with them.

May 16
Antonia Juhasz, author, The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry--and What We Must Do to Stop It, said that the BP Gulf oil spill is a result of company policies and lax regulation.

May 9
Bill Morgan, author, The Typewriter is Holy: The Complete, Uncensored History of the Beat Generation, spoke about the impact of the authors and artists who comprised the movement on American literature, culture, and politics.

Maureen Webb, author, Illusions of Security: Global Surveillance and Democracy in the Post-9/11 World, discussed how security and democracy can conflict.

May 2
Elena Herrada, director, Centro Obero, spoke about the recent Arizona law targeting illegal immigrants.

Sharon Lerner, author, The War on Moms: On Life in a Family-Unfriendly Nation, advocated government policies supporting paid parental leave and subsidized day care as a way to maintain and support families and children.

April 18
Reg McGee, co-chair, Detroit Labor Committee, for the United States Social Forum, described the wide ranging program and broader agenda of the gathering that is scheduled for Detroit in June.

David Barr, renown sculptor, relates his memories of Detroit from his just published book, and discusses the social content of his art.

April 11
Suzanne Gordon, author, When Chicken soup Isn't Enough: Stories of Nurses Standing Up for Themselves, Their Patients, and Their Profession, described the crisis in nursing and the impact the new health reform bill will have on an already troubled sector.

Chuck Collins, senior scholar, Institute for Policy Studies, talked about U.S. tax policy and who benefits the most from its unequal application.

April  4
Nancy Folbre, author, Saving State U: Why We Must Fix Public Higher Education, described the problem of soaring tuition, budget cuts, and debt burdens that are endangering upward mobility.

Steven Fake, co-author, Scramble for Africa: Darfur Intervention and the USA, described the political and military situation in Sudan and its beleaguered southern region and what the U.S. can do to help stabilize the region.

March 21
Dahlia Wasfi was born in New York to an American Jewish mother (daughter of Holocaust survivors) and an Iraqi Muslim father. She has a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She spent three months in Iraq with her family in 2006. She has been speaking against the occupation since 2004. She is currently working on a book on her experiences. Webpage: LiberateThis.com

March 14
Daphne Wysham, fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, and content adviser to the film, "The Story of Cap and Trade," said that human caused global warming continues unabated and called for immediate remedial steps to halt its progress.

March 7
Rich Wieske, from Green Toe Gardens, discussed how bees function, their importance to the ecology and agriculture, and whether beekeeping can be a viable industry in urban areas.

February 28
Juline Jordan interviewed Peter about his trip to Havana, Cuba

February 21
Frederick S. Lane, author, American Privacy: The 400-year History of Our Most Contested Right, said 21st century technology presented new challenges to private autonomy.

February 14
John Nichols, Washington DC correspondent, The Nation magazine, and author, The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that will Begin the World Again, discussed the dearth of investigative reporting and what impact it has on democracy.

February 7
Dennis Coffee, legendary session man with Motown, jazz guitarist, and author, Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars, discussed his long career in the entertainment industry.

Craig Homan, Government Affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, described the impact on elections that will result from the Supreme Court's decision to recognize corporations as persons that can donate unlimited funds to candidates.

January 31
Francis Shor, author, Dying Empire: U.S. Imperialism and Global Resistance, described the negative consequences for nations which over-reach beyond their borders to construct a military and financial empire.

Brita Belli, editor, E: The Environmental Magazine, celebrated the 20th anniversary of her publication, and gave an assessment of the current state of ecology and the movement to support it.

January 24
Barbara J. Berg, author, Sexism in America: Alive, Well, and Ruining Our Future, argued that although great strides have been made by women since the advent of modern feminism, there is still rampant gender discrimination.

Lisa Dodson, author, The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert an Unfair Economy, described how middle-class managers bend the rules to help underpaid workers the supervise.

January 17
Matt Hern, author, Common Ground in a Liquid City: Essays in Defense of an Urban Future, advocated ecological and financially balanced cities rather than abandoning them.

Si Kahn, author, Creative Community Organizing: A Guide for Rabble-Rouser, Activists, and Quiet Lovers of Justice, drew on his years of experience in the civil rights and labor movement to suggest local ways to organize to revitalize cities like Detroit.

January 10
Raj Patel, author, The Value of Nothing: How to reshape market society and redefine democracy, said we have to rethink our economic model or face continuing replays of the current crisis.

January 3
Ethan Nadelmann, executive director, Drug Policy Alliance, said the government has lost the War on Drugs by spending $1 trillion tax dollars on the effort since it was initiated by President Nixon. He suggested legalization would help the economy of Michigan in numerous ways.

2010

December 20
Author Robert Jensen, author, Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity, discussed the impact of commercial pornography on the manner in which men view and relate to women.

December 13
BBC investigative journalist, Greg Palast, described his latest DVD, From Eight Mile to the Amazon, about his look at the financial crisis that stretches from the Detroit border to the far reaches of the planet.

Tom Juravich, author, At the Alter of the Bottom Line: The Degradation of Work in the 21st Century, discussed the nature of labor in a declining economy.

December 6
Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now, promoted her new book, Breaking the Sound Barrier, and described the challenges to freedom of the media to inform the public. See Home page for more on her encounter with Canadian Customs.

Reese Ehrlich, a freelance reporter, who visited Afghanistan, several months ago, commented on President Obama's troop surge.

November 29
David Solnit, author, The Battle of the Story of The Battle of Seattle, described the impact of the demonstrations against the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization meeting, and his role in the Stuart Townsend film of the events.

Linda Nordquist, author, Beyond the Tipping Point, spoke about her fiction thriller that has the climate change crisis as its focal point.

November 22
Eric Holt-Gimenez, executive director, Food First!/The Institute for Food and Development Policy, and author, Food Rebellions: Crisis and the Hunger for Justice, spoke about a U.S. government report noting increasing food insecurity in this country.

Winslow Myers, author, Living Beyond War: A Citizen's Guide, described the world-wide effort to abolish nuclear weapons.

November 15
James W. Loewen, author, Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks & Get Students   About Doing History, explained techniques for engaging students in studying the subject.

Dahr Jamail, author, The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, spoke about the shootings at Ft. Hood.

November 8
Andrew B. Lewis, author, The Shadows of Youth: The remarkable Journey of the Civil Rights Generation, described the work of young people in ending segregation in the 1960s and their later paths through life.

Francis Moore Lappe, described her work with her foundation's work to create an environmentally sound planet.

November 1
Jeff Breslin, president, Michigan Nurses Association, spoke about the impact of health reform legislation will have on health care and nursing.

October 25
Susan J. Marks, author, Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America, outlined the problem facing the country as water becomes scarcer due to climate change and its quality deteriorates because of increased pollution.

John Major Jenkins, author, 2012: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History, explained that the Maya concept of a time cycle ending doesn't imply an apocalypse, but rather calls for new beginnings.

October 18
Rich Benjamin, author, Searching for Whitopia: An improbable Journey, to the Hart of White America, described the increasing trend towards institutional and residential segregation driven by white migration.

DC and Marvel Comics award winning illustrator, Rick Geary, discusses his look at the powerful, and definitely crazy head of the FBI in, J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography.

October 11
Greg Grandin, author, Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City, told the story of the auto magnates attempt to establish a Mid-Western city in the heart of Amazonia that would create rubber independence.

Linda Nathan, headmaster, Boston Arts Academy, and author, the Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School, described her her untraditional approach to education among students often thought to be the most challenging.

October 4
Les Leopold, author, The Looting of America: How Wall Street's Game of Fantasy Finance Destroyed Our Jobs, Pensions, and Prosperity--and What We Can Do About It, described the process that our economy was wrecked by lack of regulation and greed.

John Higgs, author, I Have America Surrounded - The Life of Timothy Leary, discussed the life of the LSD guru and his impact on American society.

September 27
Mark Rudd, author, Underground: My Life with SDS and the Weathermen, told of his life as part of  violent political organization and how it relates to today's terrorism threats.

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, discussed President Obama's decision to not place missile defense systems in Eastern Europe.

September 20
Candacy A. Taylor, author, Counter Culture: the American Coffee Shop Waitress, talked about her travels across the country to interview waitresses.

Norman Solomon, executive director, Institute for Public Accuracy, described his recent visit to Afghanistan where he met with American officials, tribal leaders, and government politicians.

September 13
Richard Huffman, creator of www.baader-meinhof.com, discussed the new film about the 1970s terrorist group and what it tells us about today's dangers.

Cherien Dabis, director of Amreeka, described her film about Arab immigrants to the U.S. and the challenges they face.

August 30
Mason Tvert, author, Marijuana is Safer: So why are we driving people to drink, challenged conventional concepts of the damage from the drug and suggested new policies.

August 23
Chip Berlet, senior analyst, Political Research Associates, and co-author, Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort, discussed political and social roots of recent protests against the Obama health reform bills.

August 16
Detroit film director, Aviva Kempner, spoke about her documentary, Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, the story of the Gertrude Berg, creator of The Goldbergs, and how it dealt with social and political themes as it entertained.

Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald, authors of Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story, discussed Obama's search for "metrics" to decide when the U.S. has achieved its military and political goals in Afghanistan.

August 9
Russell Mokhiber, founder, Single Payer Action, discussed the Obama health plan and alternatives to it.

David Margolick, author, Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink, described the famous fight and its political and racial implications. Repeat program.

August 2
Hal Niedzviecki, author, The Peep Diaries: How We're Learning to Love Watching Ourselves and Our Neighbors, talked about how modern technology has altered our notions of privacy, individuality, security, and our humanity.

Dirk Hanson, author, The Chemical Carousel: What Science Tells Us About Beating Addiction, reviewed existing theories of addiction and treatment and suggested news ones are required to be successful.

July 26
Historian Howard Zinn, author, A Young People's History of the United States, discussed what we are taught about this country in schools.

Jim Nuerackas, editor, Extra, the publication of FAIR, discussed the implications of the disappearance of many print media sources and what may replace them.

July 19
Richard Weissbourd, author, The Parents We Mean To Be: How Well-Intentioned Adults Undermine Children's Moral and Emotional Development, discussed how modern life has altered concepts of child rearing.

John F. Wasik, author, The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream, talked about the consequences of today's costly and damaging suburban lifestyle.

July 12
Gayle Green, author, Insomniac, discussed the disorder's origins, medical approaches, and social and personal consequences.

Mark Bauerlein, author, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30) discussed the effect of the proliferation of electronic communication on learning and cognition.

June 28
Richard Grossman, author, Defying Corporations; Defining Democracy, discussed the new regulations President Obama is proposing to control the financial system.

Michael Klare, author,  Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy, discussed how the world demand for oil will soon outstrip the supply and the political consequences for our economy. His recent essay is at www.tomdispatch.com. Click here for its URL

June 21
Steve Early, author, Embedded with Organized Labor: Journalistic Reflections on the Class War at Home, discussed the current state of the union movement pointing out its strengths in weaknesses in a period economic downturn.

June 14
Jonathan Marks, author, Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge, discussed science as thought and performance, creationism, scientific fraud, and modern scientific racism.

June 7
Sasha Abramsky, author, Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It, discussed solutions to the wide-scale hunger that plagues the richest country in the world.

May 31
Larry Tye, author, Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, sketched the life African-American baseball great and how his career intersected with segregation of the game and society.

May 24
Danny Schechter, editor of MediaChannel.org, discussed his recent article, "American Expression: Card Companies Resisting Reforms, and how the new legislation will effect credit card debtors.

John Nichols, Washington D.C. correspondent for The Nation magazine, discussed the town hall meeting he is hosting in Detroit about the economy and solutions to repair it.

May 17
David Ward, author, Alcatraz: The Gangster Years, described the results of harsh imprisonment at the famous facility and its implications for penitentiaries such as Marion, Illinois and Florence, Colorado.

May 10
Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul, and Mary, related the high moments in his performance and political life, and described the work of Operation Respect which he founded to teaches tolerance and respect to students.

John Taylor Gatto, author, Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling, said that contemporary schools cripple imagination and discourage critical thinking leaving education empty as a vehicle for imparting crucial knowledge and problem solving.

May 3
Marjorie Cohn, president, National Lawyer Guild, discussed the issue of torture and whether the President should have released CIA memos relating to its practice at Guantanamo.

April 26
Actor and activist, Mike Farrell, described his travels across the U.S. in support of his memoir, Just Call Me Mike. The new book is titled Of Mule and Man.

Paul Gunter, Director of Reactor Oversight, at Beyond Nuclear, and Keith Gunter, Co-chair, Peace Action-Michigan, discussed the problems with nuclear power and suggested clean energy alternatives to power the future.

April 19
Erna Paris, author, The Sun Climbs Slow: The International Criminal Court and the Struggle for Justice, described the work of the new ICC and the impact it will have on the behavior of nation states.

Chuck Collins, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, discussed the release of their study, "Reversing the Great Tax Shift: Seven Steps to Finance Our Economic Recovery Fairly."

March 29
Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould, co-authors, Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story, told of their journalistic work in that country since the early '80s, and that the U.S. ignores the complexities of the countries politics and ethnicities at its own peril.

Matthew Rothchild, editor of The Progressive, told about the centenary of his magazine and how it has intersected with the history of the last hundred years. He described an upcoming celebration with Robert Redford as host and a new book with selections from the magazine's century of publishing.

March 22
Loretta Alper, a producer for the Media Education Foundation, and co-director, War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits are Spinning Us to Death, commented on the sixth anniversary of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and the impact it's had  on the American economy in cities like Detroit.

March 15
Jerry Mander, author, The Superferry Chronicles: Hawaii's Uprising Against Militarism, Commercialism, and the Desecration of the Earth, described the legal and direct action fight against the attempts of a corporation to force a huge ferry the islanders opposed. Mander is also the author of the highly recommended Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television.

Matthew Stein, author, When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Long Emergency, spoke about preparedness for everything from a simple power failure to an absolute collapse of civilization. Be prepared, he says.

March 8
Allison J. Pugh, author, Longing and Belonging: Parents, Children, and Consumer Culture, described her three year study of children and their parents regarding how they dealt with pressure to consume.

Bonnie Garvin, writer and producer of "The Killing Yard," described the different aspects of constructing film particularly as it relates to her film which chronicled the story of Detroit attorney and his defense of an Attica Uprising defendant.
     Garvin is giving a Detroit-area workshop, March 21 & 22 on screenwriting. For more information, go to Facebook and type in Bonnie Garvin Screenwriting Workshop, or email her at bonniesworkout@sbcglobal.net.

March 1
John Gibler, author, Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt, described the contemporary Mexican economy and its politics and how it relates to immigration, drugs, and NAFTA.

Christine Guarino, Director of Cultural Affairs for Macomb Community College, described the upcoming conference, "The 60s: How a Decade Shaped a Generation." A full schedule of concerts and workshop is at www.lorenzoculturalcenter.com.

February 22
Azadeh Moaveni, author, Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran, described how her work as Time magazine's correspondent in Iran intersected with her personal life.

February 15
Jay Mathews, author, Work Hard; Be Nice: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America, described the theories and practice of a nationwide network of middle schools called the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), that he said could be the model for education reform.

February 8
Alan Michael Collinge, author, The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History and How We Can Fight Back, described how educational loans can cripple individuals, and how the five million default loans may be the next bubble to burst.

Larry Gabriel, author, Daddy Plays Old-Time New Orleans: Six Generations in the Music Business, told the story of his musical family based in Detroit and New Orleans.

February 1
Aaron Glantz, author, The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans, spoke about the need for properly caring for the increasing under of war veterans from the Iraq and Afghan conflicts.

Charles Bracelen Flood, author 1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History, talked about how the Obama presidency uses the Lincoln iconography and sense of historical moment as it begins its entry into a period of crisis for the country.

January 25
Dean Baker, author, Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy, explained the growth and collapse of the stock and housing bubbles, and how they effect the economy of Detroit and Michigan.

Charles and Sandra Simmons, directors of The Hush House Community Museum and Leadership Training Institute for Human Rights, described the work of their facility in providing models of excellence for young people in their poor Detroit neighborhood. The Hush House is open to the public; call 313-896-2521 for visiting information.

January 18
Greg Mortensen, author, Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace. . .One School at a Time, told the story of how he helped create almost 80 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, amidst war and opposition from the Taliban. Mortensen will be in speak in the Detroit area, Sunday, January 25 (see calendar page).

Lamar Waldron, author, Legacy of Secrecy: The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination, described his research which has uncovered those responsible for killing President Kennedy and Martin Luther King.

January 11
Kim Fellner, author, Wrestling with Starbucks: Conscience, Capital, Cappuccino, discussed the pluses and minuses of the giant coffee chain.

January 4
Reese Erlich, author, Dateline Havana: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Future of Cuba, discussed the impact of the American embargo on Cuba for the economy of both nations.

2009

December 28
Rudy Simon, part of a 14-person Detroit delegation to Iran organized by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, described his travels throughout the country and his impressions of the people and the government.

December 21
Frida Berrrigan, co-author of the report, U.S. Weapons at War 2008: Beyond the Bush Legacy, discussed the global impact of arms sales and military assistance that is used by other countries to purchase American weapon systems on the U.S. and Michigan economies.

December 14
Robert Justin Goldstein, professor emeritus of political science at Oakland University, and author, American Blacklist: The Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations, discussed the impact of the half century old listings on political debate today.

December 7
Wafaa Bilal, author, Shoot An Iraqi: Art, Life, and Resistance Under the Gun, described his early life in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the death of his brother in during the U.S. invasion, and how he responded to it with a controversial art project. Click on link to see it.

Daniel J. Weiss, Senior Fellow and Director, Climate Strategy, for the Center for American Progress, discussed the proposed auto company bail out and now the Big 3 have to begin manufacturing environmentally friendly cars as a way to financial stability.

November 30
Jana Lipman, author, Guantanamo, A Working Class History Between Empire and Revolution, described the history of U.S. base and the adjoining city of the same name and how both figures in Cuban/American political relations.

Barbara Harvey, founding member, American Jews for a Just Peace, described her travels to Israel and Palestine and spoke about the prospects for peace in that region.

November 23
Bill Ayers, author, Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Antiwar Activist, and the man the Republican campaign tried to link to Barack Obama as "palling around with terrorists," described the impact on his life and election.

Lamar Waldron, author, Legacy of Secrecy: The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination, said that on the 45th anniversary of the Kennedy killing, the government still has not released all relevant document, ones that show conclusively that Lee Harvey Oswald was not the assassin. Using available documents, Waldron says it was a mafia crime boss that ordered the hit.

November 16
Norman Solomon, syndicated columnist, stated that Barack Obama has a mandate for spreading the wealth through increased government spending on social programs and infrastructure construction.

Robert Kuttner, senior fellow, Demos Institute, and author, Obama's Challenge: America's Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency, said the problems facing the new president and the solutions he offers will determine his success in the office.

November 9
Ismael Ahmed, director, Michigan Department of Human Services, promoted The Voices for Action Poverty Summit that the Greater Media stations are involved with held Thursday, Nov. 13 at Detroit's Cobo Hall.

Ron Aronson, author, Living Without God: New Directions for Atheists, Agnostics, Secularists, and the Undecided, described how free thinkers live in a society that gives claims to great religiosity.

November 2
Carl Glickman, editor, Those Who Dared: Five Visionaries Who Changed American Education, discussed the current state of the U.S. educational system, and how the ideas of several people can reinvigorate it.

October 26
Jeff Halper, coordinator, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, discussed the prospects for peace with the Palestinians.

Lew Daly, senior fellow at Demos, and author, Unjust Deserts: How the Rich are Taking Our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take It Back, discussed how disproportionately distributed wealth hurts the economy and democracy.

October 19
Isabel MacDonald, communications director with FAIR, wrote about the role anti-Muslim sentiment is playing in the upcoming elections. www.smearcasting.com

October 12
Antonia Juhasz, author, The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry and What We Must Do To Stop It, described how the major petroleum companies can control world energy prices and including what gasoline costs at the pump.

Fred Pearce, author, Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff, discussed his 100,000 mile journey to investigate the origins of everyday commodities and the impact they have on the environment.

October 5
Gary Paul Nabhan, author, Where Our Food Comes From, described the serious limits to our capacity to feed the world, and suggested steps to bring agriculture back within community levels.

Chuck Collins, senior scholar at the Institute for Public Policy, described the effects the proposed bailout will have on states like Michigan and metropolitan areas such as Detroit.

September 28
Danny Goldberg, author, Bumping into Genius: My Life Inside the Rock and Roll Business, described his work with the rocking greats from Led Zeppelin to Nirvana.

Ashar Usman, one of three comics who star in the film, Allah Made Me Funny: The Movie, spoke about how he extracts humor from the Muslim experience and community in America.

September 21
Greg Palast, a reporter for the BBC 's TV News Night, talked about his coverage of the U.S. election for the British network.

Stuart Townsend, director, Battle in Seattle, starring Charlize Theron and Woody Harrelson, discussed his film  and public policy relating to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and protests against its 1999 meeting.

September 14
Larry Beinhart, author, Salvation Boulevard, used the novel format to confront the role of religion in politics in which a Muslim student accused of murdering an atheist professor is defended by a Jewish lawyer who uses a born-again Christian as an investigator.

David W. Moore, former senior editor with the Gallup polling organization, and author, The Opinion Makers: An Insider Exposes the Truth Behind the Polls, talked about the manner in which poll results are more of an aid to the media and politicians than to the population.

September 7
Kath Weston, author, Traveling Light: On the Road with America's Poor, described her extensive travels across the country on Greyhound buses to get a ground level sense of the culture of poverty.

Harvey Wasserman, author, Solartopia: Our Green Powered Earth, spoke about the proposal of John McCain to build 45 new nuclear power plants

August 25

August 18
Sally Castleman, chair, Election Defense Alliance, talked about how the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were stolen through election fraud, vote suppression, and electronic manipulation of voting machines. This information is vibrantly illustrated in the documentary, "Stealing America: Vote by Vote."

August 17
Dave Zirin, author, A People's History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play, commented on the 2008 Olympics and the impact they have on China's standing in the world.

Henry Rosemont, Visiting Scholar, Brown University Department of Religion, discussed the evolution of China from a fractured society into a world power that still suffers great problems.

July 27
Doug Henwood, editor, Left Business Observer, commented on the current economic problems the country and particularly Michigan is facing.

July 20
Judy Polumbaum, author, China Ink: The Changing Face of Chinese Journalism, discussed her interviews with writers in China as a window through which to view the changes in the society as a whole.

Joseph Nevins, author, Dying to Live: A Story of U.S. Immigration in an Age of Global Apartheid, used the death of Julio Cesar Gallegos, who died trying to enter this country illegally, to amplify the larger questions of American immigration policy.

July 13
Buffy Sainte-Marie, Academy Award-winning singer-song writer, UNESCO spokesperson, and Native American activist, discussed the state of Native people in North America today.

Tyler Colman, author, Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink, discussed each of the issues contained in the subtitle of the book.

June 29
Michael Klare, Professor of Peace & World Security Studies, Hampshire College, and author, Rising Powers; Shrinking Planet: The Geopolitics of Energy, discussed the impact of the expanding economies of China and India and how their need for oil and other resources will bring them into conflict with the U.S.

June 22
Daniel Pinchbeck, author, 2012: The Return of Quetzacoatle, discussed the Mayan prophecy of great change for that year as it relates to the world's economic and political problems.

Susan Quinn, author, Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art Out of Desperate Times, discussed the history of the 1930's Federal Theatre Project, and how such a program today would be of benefit.

June 8
Terry K. Aladjem, author, The Culture of Vengeance and the Fate of American Justice, described the cultural context in which people are more concerned with extracting punishment from malefactors than with how to prevent anti-social behavior.

Historian Bruce Chadwick, in his book, 1858: The War They Failed To See, described the political situation in the year prior to the historic election of Abraham Lincoln and drew parallels to today.

June 1
Vincent Bugliosi, the famed prosecutor of Charles Manson, has now trained his sights on the president of the United States in his latest book, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder. He laid how his proofs, and says he is sending them to 1,000 U.S. prosecutors with the hope they will begin legal proceedings.

May 25
Distinguished American novelist, Russell Banks, author, Dreaming Up America, delved into the American character, both past and present.

May 18
Mark Bauerlein, author, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future, said that the proliferation of technological communication in all aspects of the lives of young people is creating a shrinking ability for knowledge retention, verbal talents, and decision making.

Thom Hartmann, author, Walking Your Blues Away: How to Heal the Mind and Create Emotional Well-Being, described an approach to using walking to heal emotional trauma and bring forth optimal mental functioning.

May 11
Utah Phillips, singer/song writer, troubadour of the Industrial Workers of the World, described his life on the road and in the labor movement.

James Gustave Speth, Yale University dean and author, The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability, discussed the ecological, social and political crises the planet faces, and said his organization, 1 Sky, is addressing them with solutions.

May 4
Stan Cox, author, Sick Planet: Corporate Food and Medicine, asserted that large food corporations threaten the global food supply.

Mark Juergensmeyer, author, Global Rebellion: Religious Challenges to the Secular State, described the how radical religionists are confronting a modern world through force of arms.

April 20
Suzanne Gordon, co-author, Safety in Numbers: Nurse-to-Patient Ratios and the Future of Health Care, described the coming nurse shortage that threatens quality patient care and how the importance of corrupt staffing of nurses plays into this.

Katarina Walhberg, social and economic policy program coordinator, The Global Policy Forum, described the current world wide food crisis and said it will only worsen unless immediate steps are taken to address it.

April 6
Brian D. Schultz, author, Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons from an Urban Classroom, described his experiences in creatively teaching in a deprived school district and how they can act as a model for other such settings.

Michael Rubyan, co-director, "Life is for the Living," a documentary about the controversy over stem cell research described the impact of disease on the six families he featured in his film, and their hopes for cures. Also, Amber Shinn, communications director, Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee, discussed the bi-partisan effort to have Michigan lift its restrictions on stem cell research.

March 30
Geoff Thale, director, Washington Office on Latin America, discussed how recent events in the countries south of us have an impact on our economy, particularly the proposed free trade agreements.

Larry Adelman, executive producer of the PBS four-hour special on stress and health, Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick, described how one's economic status was a greater determiner of health than previously assumed.

March 23
Tamara Traut, co-author, Up to Our Eyeballs: How Shady Lenders and Failed Economic Policies Are Drowning Americans in Debt, talked about the precarious financial position of tens of millions of citizens, and what policies need to be instituted to correct the situation.

Ismael Ahmed, director, State of Michigan director, Department of Human Resources, discussed the extent of poverty in our state, its causes, and what his department is doing to turn it around.

March 16
Betsy Hartmann, author, Deadly Election, moves from her usual writing venue of non-fiction to the novel form to talk about the dangers and possibilities inherent in the upcoming presidential election.

Peter Linebaugh, author, The Magna Carta Manifesto: Liberties and Commons for All, described how this centuries old document formed the basis of the U.S. Constitution, the anti-slavery movement, and its continuing relevance for today.

March 9
Leslie Balong, Cuba and South America Coordinator, Global Exchange, discussed the recent political changes in Cuba and what lies ahead for the nation regarding U.S. policy.

Ali Abunimah, from Electronic Intifada, discussed the issue of Palestine/Israel.

March 2
Nancy Polikoff, author, Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families Under the Law, argued that all families, regardless on their composition, deserve full recognition and rights under the law.

Marnia Lazreg, author, Torture and the Twilight of Empire: From Algiers to Baghdad, discussed why powerful nations fighting small insurgent groups resort to torture.

February 24
John Moe, author, Conservatize Me: A Lifelong Lefties Attempt to Love God, Guns, Reagan, and Toby Keith, discussed the political and cultural gulf between liberals and conservatives.

Jamey Lionette, essayist in Manifestos on the Future of Food & Seed, described the impact of mass-produced, industrialized food production and convivial alternatives.

February 17
Show host Peter Werbe discussed his recent trip to Cuba commenting on the politics and culture of the island.

February 10
Susan Allport, author, The Queen of Fats: Why Omega-3s Were Removed from the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them, discussed the importance of plant-based foods for good health.

February 3
David Sirota, author and nationally syndicated columnist, discussed George Bush's State of the Union speech, commenting particularly on the plan to grant tax rebates as an economic stimulus.

January 27
Elena Herrada, executive director, Detroit Obrero Centro, discussed the impact of raids by immigration authorities on the people of the Mexican-American community and the Detroit economy.

Chalmers Johnson, author, Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic, drew upon his experience as a CIA consultant and Naval officer, to warn about the direction the military/industrial complex is taking the country both economically and politically.

January 20
Jeff Cohen, author, Cable News Confidential, talked about his days as a producer and on-air host on Fox News and MSNBC, and how news is shaped around issues like Iraq then, and Iran today.

Graphic novelist, Rick Geary, creator of J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography, discussed the history of the FBI under its legendary first director and what his reign said about institutionalized power.

January 13
Two of the most important interviews Peters says he's done in recent years.

Edwin Black, author, Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives, described the manner in which elites have created energy monopolies for their benefit, but ones that do great harm to the majority of people and the planet.

Ismael Hossein-Zadeh, author, The Political Economy of U.S. Militarism, described how the military-industrial complex not only enriches the ruling elite, but also acts as a strategy to destroy social programs hated by conservatives.

December 24
Dave Zirin, author, of Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports, discussed the performance-enhancing drug scandal in major league baseball, and how its impact went beyond just the players involved.

December 16
Jonathan Schell, author, The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger, talked about the consequences of expanded proliferation of nuclear weapons as well as an increasing belligerence between the U.S. and Russia.

Chris Albers, former president, Writers Guild of America-East, explained the ongoing issues in the writers' strike from the unions perspective.

December 9
Dave Marsh, author, The Beatles Second Album, told how the mop tops were influenced both musically and politically by Motown music and led them to refuse to play before segregated audiences during their 1964 U.S. tour.

December 2
Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Coordinator with Beyond Nuclear, described the dangers of the nuclear waste accumulating at Michigan generating plants and discussed the proposal for new reactors at state and Ontario sites.

Joel Kovel, author, OVERCOMING ZIONISM: Creating a Single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine, discussed the current Middle East peace talks.

November 25
Robert Matheu, co-author, CREEM: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine, told the story of the seminal Detroit-based publication and its impact on the city's cultural and political scene during its run, 1969-88.

November 18
Derrick Jensen, author, As the World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Stay In Denial, said that small, personal acts of environmental and consumer choices aren't sufficient to meet the challenge of global warming. He said, larger, structural changes are needed.

Craig Covey, mayor-elect, city of Ferndale, Michigan's first openly gay mayor, spoke about this achievement and also described his work with the Michigan AIDS project.

November 11
Cathy Wilkerson, author, Flying to Close to the Sun: My Live and Times as a Weatherman, described her life during the 1970s as an underground guerrilla hunted in by the FBI.

Naomi Klein, author, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, discussed the use of public disorientation following massive collective shocks--wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters--to push through highly unpopular economic policies, particularly ones that privatize government programs.

November 4
Dahr Jamail, author, Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq, described his experiences as an unaffiliated American journalist who toured the back streets and battle zones to get stories on how the war effected average Iraqis.

Graham W.J. Beal, Director, of the Detroit Institute of Arts, discussed the $158 million renovation the museum has undertaken and the impact it will have on it visitors for an appreciation of the arts, movies and music presented there.

October 21
Robert Jensen, author, Getting Off: Pornography and the end of Masculinity, continued his discussion about effect pornography has on the culture and the concepts it creates about sexuality, masculinity, and women.

October 14
Pete Seeger, the revered American folk singer and civil rights activist, discussed the documentary about his life, The Power of Song, and how his years of performing altered his life and the lives of others. Now playing at Royal Oak's Main Theatre. See home page for link to theatre.

Robert Jensen, author, Getting Off: Pornography and the end of Masculinity, discussed the impact sexually explicit material has on male self-definition and the results women experience.

October 7
Robert H. Frank, author, Falling Behind: How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class, described a deteriorating economic situation for the middle-class, due, not to falling income, but rising consumption which strains budgets and engenders debt.

David Barsamian, author, Targeting Iran, said Iran and the United States are on a collision course. He discussed the 1953 CIA coup and the rise of the Islamic regime; Iran's internal dynamics and competing forces; relations with Iraq and Afghanistan; and the consequences of U.S. policy.

September 30
Frances Moore Lappe, author,, Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad, discussed how ordinary citizens can alter the world.

Frank Joyce, labor communications consultant, evaluated the terms of the UAW/GM labor pact.

September 23
Norman Solomon, author, MADE LOVE, GOT WAR: Close Encounters with America's Warfare State, gave a personal account of four decades of trying to stop this country's march to one war after another.

September 16
Ann Wright, a former State Department diplomat, and a retired 29-year Army colonel, discussed the Congressional testimony by Gen. David Patraeus and Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker.

David Cole, co-author, Less Safe, Less Free: Why America is Losing the War on Terror, said that the Bush administration's anti-terror policies are counter-productive. He suggested other means to confront the threat of domestic security.

September 9
Katherine S. Newman, co-author, The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America, discussed the tens of millions of citizens between the poor and middle-class and the economic problems they experience.

September 2
Doug Henwood, editor, Left Business Observer, described the subprime housing bubble fallout on Wall Street and the impact it has on the Detroit area.

Cristina Page, author, How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America: Freedom, Politics and the War on Sex, and spokeswoman for birthcontrolwatch.org, said that widespread availability of birth control will satisfy both pro-choice and anti-abortion viewpoints by reducing unwanted pregnancies.

August 26
Reese Erlich, author, The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis, analyzed the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, and whether there will be an American military strike at that country.

Larry Birns, director Council on Hemispheric Affairs, described the effect of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Michigan and Detroit.

August 12
Henri Picciotto, chair, Jewish Voice for Peace, described the work of his organization to bring about a vision of peace and justice for the Israelis and Palestinians.

Monique Harden, director, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, described the work of her organization in New Orleans to assure a quality environment and the rights of hundreds of thousands displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

August 5
Jonathon Mooney, author, The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal, described his personal story as a child labeled dyslexic and ADHD who rose above the description to graduate with honors from Brown University. He discussed how to deal with similar children in an education setting.

July 29
Carolyn Nordstrom, author, Global Outlaws: Crime, Money, and Power in the Contemporary World, described the parallel economy based in smuggling counterfeiting, sex and slave trade, and numerous other illegal activities which total in the billions.

July 22
Joe Bageant, author, Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War, said millions of American working class poor are on the brink of economic catastrophe.

July 15
Christopher M. Finan, author, From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act; A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America, described the battle throughout U.S. history to make the First Amendment guarantee of free expression a reality.

July 1
Guy Dauncey, author, Cancer: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic, said that the solution to the disease lies more with community, state, and national commitment to an environment free of carcinogens than with individual choices of diet and lifestyle, although he emphasized the importance of the latter.

Norman Solomon, author of the dialogue for the DVD, "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death," charged that intentional dishonesty and marked the reasons for U.S. war from Vietnam to Iraq. The video is narrated by Sean Penn.

June 24
Scott Ritter, author, Waging Peace: The Art of War for the Antiwar Movement, and a former U.S. Marine, said that citizen involvement with the great issues of the day, such as the Iraq occupation, acts out the mandate of the Constitution.

Felicia Kornbluh, author, The Battle for Welfare Rights: Politics and Poverty in Modern America, described how welfare is administered, how the general population conceives of it, and how the poor in the U.S. still are an unresolved problem for the country.

June 17
Danny Schechter, director and producer of the DVD, "In Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Bursts," described the mounting debt crisis in the U.S., both public and private.

Josh Breitbart, organizers for the Allied Media Conference coming up in Detroit, June 24, talked about the event and how independent media producers represent a field of information and creativity sometimes lacking in the mainstream media.

June 10
Dave Zirin, author, Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports, spoke about the corporatization of sports and its impact on the game, taxes, and the sports themselves.

Gerald Horne, author The Deepest South: The U.S., Brazil and the African Slave Trade and White Pacific: U.S. Imperialism and Black Slavery in the South Pacific after the Civil War, described how slave owners, faced with the defeat of the Confederacy, tried moving their institution to South America, Hawaii, and the South Pacific

June 3
Dale McCowan, author, Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion, discussed the challenges of parenting without a formal spiritual underpinning for ethics.

Melissa Rossi, author, What Every American Should Know About Who Really Rules America, described the different elite groups in the U.S. who use a variety of techniques to achieve their policy goals, usually to the detriment of the average person.

May 27
Daniel Imhoff, author, Food Fight: The Citizen's Guide to a Food and Farm Bill, discussed pending legislation in the Farm Bill which has an impact on food quality, cost, availability, as well as issues such as immigration and taxes.

Anne Ellinger, co-director, the Bolder Giving Initiative, described her project which urges wealthy people to contribute 50 percent of their income to social causes.

May 20
Sasha Abramsky, author, American Furies: Crime, Punishment, and Vengeance in the Age of Mass Imprisonment, charged that the U.S. prison system has failed and produces more crime at a huge cost to the taxpayer.

May 13
John Sinclair, author, Guitar Army: Rock and Revolution with the MC5 and the White Panther Party, discussed the impact of the music of the famous Detroit rock band, and the political organization he founded.

May 6
Patti Smith, singer and poet, described how her work not only expresses her individual creativity, but extends from a larger community. Her latest album is "Twelve."

Fred Pearce, author, With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change, defined what the changes the world will suffer unless there are large and immediate changes to how humanity lives on the planet.

April 29
Dr. Howard Schubiner, director of the Providence Hospital Mind-Body Center, described his work utilizing the healing technique of Dr. John Sarno dealing with chronic symptom complexes that are likely to have a significant psychological component including Low Back Pain, Sciatica, Neck pain, Whiplash, Fibromyalgia, Tendonitis, Tension headache, Migraine headache, Insomnia, Non-ulcer dyspepsia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and others.

Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr., senior counsel, the NYU Brennan Center for Justice, and author, Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror, discussed the pressures on the U.S. Constitution by the White House in their campaign against terrorism.

April 22
Greg Palast, author, Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets & Strange Tales of a White House GONE WILD, talked about the string of scandals emanating from the Bush administration, including ones to come like the plan to fix the 2008 vote.

Gene Baur, president, Farm Sanctuary, America's leading farm animal protection organization, described the effects of factory farming on animals, the humans that consume them, and the environment.

April 15
Peter Philips, author, Censored 2007: The Top 25 Censored Stories

Joseph Gerson, Empire and the Bomb; How the U.S. Uses Nuclear Weapons to Dominate the World

April 8
Jonathan Cohn, author, Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis & the People Who Pay the Price, described increasing costs and diminishing services that U.S. citizens are facing. He spoke also about how the high costs of health care jeopardize Detroit auto Industries economically.

April 1
Jermey Scahill, author, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, described the role played by military contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan, and after the Katrina disaster.

Bill McKibben, author, The End of Nature, discussed the dire consequences of global warming unless strict controls are placed on fossil fuel energy sources.

March 25
Deepa Fernandes, author, Targeted: Homeland Security and the Business of Immigration, discussed not only current immigration policy and proposed legislation, but also how many big corporations are profiting greatly from the situation.

March 18
Detroiter Rudy Simons described his recent visit to Iran with the Fellowship of Reconciliation as a civilian diplomat. His group met with government officials and ordinary citizens to talk about Iran's nuclear program and reform of the theocracy.

Helen Caldicott, founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Nuclear Policy Research institute, and author, War in Heaven: The Arms Race in Outer Space, spoke about the dangers of such a policy that not only makes the world less safe, but diverts funds from domestic programs.

March 11
Dorothy Marcic, author, Respect: Women & Popular Music, demonstrated how changes in attitudes about women and by them can be traced through the lyrics reflected in the music through the last hundred years. She is also the playwright of Respect: The Musical, now playing at Detroit's Gem Theatre.

Dean Baker, co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research, commented on the recent sudden dip in stock prices, the potential for a housing bubble burst, and de-industrialization, and how it affects Detroit and Michigan. His book, Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer, is available for free downloading.

March 4
Mike Farrell, actor and author, Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist, described his life as a U.S. Marine, M*A*S*H star, and his quest for social change in America.

Karolyn Smardz Frost, author, I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad, described the flight and plight of a slave couple who left their owners in Kentucky in 1831, came to Detroit, their adventures of escape from slavecatchers in the city, and their eventual journey to freedom in Canada.

February 25
Peter Navarro, author, The Coming China Wars: Where They will be Fought and How They Can be Won, said that China's policies and strategies greatly jeopardize the U.S. economy and standard of living. He urged Congress to take up the problems of debt, trade, currency manipulation, counterfeiting, and a host of issues that give China an advantage immediately.

Martin Garbus, author, The Next 25 Years: The New Supreme Court and what it means for Americans, discussed how the current composition of the highest bench will effect many of the long-standing contentious legal issues such as abortion.

February 18
Ali Abunimah, author, One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse, said that only the creation of one nation for both Jews and Palestinians will solve this long-standing Middle East conflict.

William Rivers Pitt, author, House of Ill Repute: Reflections on War, Lies, and America's Ravaged Reputation, said that America can experience a renewal only if leaders or a movement emerges with a vision of how a new nation.

February 11
Joel Westheirmer, editor, Pledging Allegiance: The Politics of Patriotism in America's Schools, talked about how concepts of national pride and their use in classrooms effects the overall quality of education.

Jeffery Montgomery, chair, of the Triangle Foundation in Detroit, discussed their campaign to get the Michigan state legislature to pass a statue prohibiting bullying in schools.

February 4
David Steinman, author, Safe Trip to Eden: Ten Steps to Save Planet Earth, discussed how an ecological approach to climate change can insure a healthy earth in which economies based around the automobile, like that of Detroit's, can flourish.

Dilip Hiro, author, Blood of the Earth: The Battle for the World's Vanishing Oil Resources, gave a history of how oil gained a central place in the world's economy, and what the alternatives are.

January 28
William Hartung, senior Research Fellow, World Policy Institute, discussed the President's State of the Union speech on how his proposals about items like health care and fuel independence and efficiency effect Detroit and Michigan.

Peter F. Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Citizens Energy Corporation, described his organization's program for delivering discounted fuel oil to low income families in Michigan. Citgo Oil company provides the product as a gift from the Venezuelan government to the poor of this country.

January 21
Jim Motavalli, editor, E: The Environmental Magazine, continued the discussion from last week about the future of fossil fuel power automobiles and how the Detroit-based car companies at the International Automobile Show are relating to new technologies.

Heather Wokusch, author, The Progressive's Handbook: Get the Facts and Make a Difference Now, described European reaction to Bush's recent plan for escalating the war in Iraq from her vantage point in Vienna.

January 14
Matt Leonard, Campaigner, Freedom From Oil Campaign, described his group's work to convince the auto companies to produce vehicles which achieve greater mileage and ones that operate on alternative fuels be put into production such as the GM Volt.

Dan Georgakas, director of the Greek American Studies Project at City University of New York, and author, My Detroit: Growing Up Greek and American in Motor City, described the Greek-American experience from the old country to the Detroit factories and Greektown, with explanations on how the community interacted with the labor and civil rights movements.

January 7
Steve Hendricks, author, The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and The Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country, described the dire social and economic conditions on Indian reservations that led to the emergence of the radical American Indian Movement (AIM) in the 1970s and the group's confrontation with the FBI.

December 17
John Ross, author, Zapatistas! Making Another World Possible: Chronicles of Resistance 2000-2006, discussed the impact of NAFTA on Detroit and Michigan, as well as on Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, Mexico, and said it was all linked.

December 10
Ethan Nadelmann, executive director, Drug Policy Alliance, and co-author, Policing the Globe: Criminalization and Crime Control in International Relations, how making drugs increasingly illegal over the last 50 years drives both illegal trafficking and expansion of police powers.

December 3
Nationally syndicated talk show host, Thom Hartmann, described his latest book, Walking Your Blues Away: How to Heal the Mind and Create Emotional Well-Being. Rather than merely another self-help book, Hartmann, said the technique used to overcome emotional trauma has its root deep in early human history.

Jeff Cohen, founder of FAIR, and author, Cable News Confidential; My Misadventures in Corporate Media, told of his work as an on-air commentator on CNN, Fox, and MSNBC, as well as producing the "Donahue Show" at the latter. He described how executive demands and timidity kept programming within limits acceptable to the network owners.

November 26
Jackson Katz, author, The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help, talked about how at risk from rape and abuse all women are in this society. He called upon males to take on violence against women as a man's issue and not to remain silent when learning of abuse.

Steve Lehto, author, Death's Door: The Truth Behind Michigan's Largest Mass Murder, chronicled what is known as the 1913 Italian Hall Massacre where more than six dozen people, mostly children were crushed to death following the false cry of "Fire!" at Christmas party for striking miners. He told the history of the region, its labor struggles, and the economic and social conditions which exist in the state's Upper Peninsula today.

November 19
Bill Morgan, author, I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg, discussed the political, social, and cultural impact the famed poet's verse, "Howl," has had on America life. Many of the references in the poem relate to actual events experienced by Ginsberg and his associates.

Kim Jensen, author, The Woman I left Behind, described her novel as a tale of love between a Palestinian exile and a young American woman. She said some of it was autobiographical, but mostly characters were created in a manner to discuss intercultural relationships and to display Palestinian history and culture.

November 12
Sandor Katz, author, The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements, profiled grassroots food activists who are challenging the way we think about corporate-produced commodities, and to think about both what we eat and how it is produced.

David Suzuki, author, David Suzuki: The Autobiography, at age 70, is one of North America's leading environmentalists. He reflected on his life and his work to bring to public attention the problems of ecology and also solutions.

November 5
Dave Marsh, author, Bruce Springsteen on Tour: 1968-2005, and biographer of the rock great, spoke about Springsteen's commitment to social and political issues and how a portion of each of his concert's proceeds are donated to causes like soup kitchens for the homeless.

Michele Wucker, author, Lockout: Why America Keeps Getting Immigration Wrong When Our Prosperity Depends on Getting It Right, said that most popular conceptions about immigrants are incorrect, that the system itself is broken, and that it is imperative that a legal and operational process be established that meets the needs of all involved.

October 29
Howard Zinn, author, A People's History of the United States, spoke about the award he is receiving from a Detroit organization for his lifetime achievement as an historian.

John Higgs, author, I Have America Surrounded: The Life of Timothy Leary, talked about the LSD advocate and what effect his advocacy of the drug had on society and a generation of young people.

October 22
Bill Brown, author, We Know You Are Watching, discussed the increasing presence of surveillance cameras in urban environment. He questioned whether the minimal increase in crime prevention is worth the trade-off of government intrusion into private life. It is published by Factory School Publications. http://factoryschool.org/pubs

Scott Ritter, a former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, and author, Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change, said his book is a "national intelligence assessment" of the current situation in Iran. He discussed whether or not that country actually is developing nuclear weapons, and if so, what the proper response of the world community should be.

October 15
Larry Tye, co-author with Kitty Dukakis, discussed their new book, Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy. Tye described the controversial technique, gave its history, and told of the 100 patients and doctors he recently interviewed. He said it had its place in psychological treatment, but only as a last step.

Jeff Faux, founder, Economic Policy Institute, discussed globalization and how it effects the economies of Michigan and Detroit. He said current policy works to the detriment of the middle class and trade agreements should be re-negotiated with the majority of people's needs taken into consideration.

October 8
Helen Caldicott, founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Nuclear Policy Research Institute, and author, Nuclear Power is Not the Answer, discussed the rise in interest in nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels. She cited numerous arguments against nuclear power from safety and security, to cost and waste. Caldicott also offered a large-scale plan to meet modern energy needs without poisoning the planet.

Ian Williams, author, Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776, told about the role played by the beverage in colonial history, and how it was to that period as oil is to today.

October 1
Russ Gibb, founder of Detroit's Grande Ballroom, discussed the social and cultural impact of the now famous rock acts that came to his establishment between 1966 and 1972.

Carol Leigh, author, Unrepentant Whore: Collected Works of Scarlot Harlot, described the sex workers rights movement of which she was a founder. She also spoke about the abusive of women and children and their depiction in pornography.

September 24
Detroit native, Heidi Ewing, and director of the documentary, Jesus Camp, said the film showed the cultural divide in this country, and put a human face on the evangelical Christians who want to alter the country to conform to their religion.

Anne E. Brodsky, Professor of Psychology, University of Maryland, and author, With All Our Strength, described the situation in Afghanistan based on her five recent trips. She emphasized the deteriorating conditions for women and the educational system as the conflict continued and warlords and the Taliban re-asserted their power.

September 17
Thom Hartmann, nationally syndicated talk show host, and author, Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class--And What We Can Do About It, described the increasingly precarious economic position of the tradition middle-class. He also noted the consequences for the democratic process when wealth is distributed between only the very rich and poor. He suggested political involvement as a way of combating the trend he noted.

Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), talked about his group's opposition to the Ft. Benning, Georgia facility that trains soldiers for Latin American governments. He said that the US House of Representatives had twice denied funding to the School of the Americas.

September 10
Dr. Cindy Williams, Principle Research Scientist, Security Studies Program, MIT, evaluated how safe the country is, what security measures have been adopted since 9/11, and what is still needed.

Sasha Abramsky, a senior fellow at the Demos Institute, described the effects on the democratic process of large scale incarceration which denies convicted felons, even following release and time served, from voting. His book is Conned: How Millions Went to Prison, Lost the Vote, and Helped Send George W. Bush to the White House.

August 27
Dr. Jared Bernstein, senior economist, Economic Policy Institute, spoke about the one year anniversary of the Katrina hurricane. He addressed the problems of rebuilding, the impact on the economy, wages, and race.

August 20
Gwendolyn Mink, co-author, Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and Policy, discussed the effects of the welfare reform legislation which passed Congress ten years ago. She also talked about the new rules for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the impact on poor households in cities like Detroit and Pontiac.

Gerald Horne, author, The Final Victim of the Blacklist: John Howard Lawson, Dean of the Hollywood Ten, described the anti-communist crusade of the 1940s and 50s, and how it affected film content. He related to today's charges that critics of the War on Terror are soft on terrorism.

August 13
Charles Epping, a Swiss-based banker and author of Trust, described the complexity of world finances, and how events far from a city like Detroit have a great impact on our economy and future. Click here for a trailer for the novel.

Penny Coleman, author, Flashback: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide, and the Lesson of War, described her own experience with a suicidal Vietnam veteran husband. She said there is no statistics on the total number of men from that war who have taken their own lives, but some experts think the total may be greater than the battle deaths. She advocated paying more attention to the men and women serving in the Iraq war today, and to have services available for their problems when they return home.

August 6
Harvey Wasserman, author, Solartopia: Our Green-Powered Earth, A.D. 2030, talked about global warming and alternatives to fossil fuel energy. He said that the technology for alternative systems, wind, solar, etc., were already available and were cost efficient, more so than oil and coal.

Nicholas von Hoffman, author A Devil's Dictionary of Business, summarized the world of finance and commerce in a alphabetical style of entry of activities that shape the world.

July 30
Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics, University of San Francisco, described the issues in the Israeli/Hizzbolah war. He advocated a regional peace plan that would take into account the security and territorial needs of all of the involved parties.

Doug Henwood, editor and publisher, the Left Business Observer, spoke about how Federal Reserve policies effect local economies such as those of Detroit and Michigan. He also talked about the impact of de-industrialization on our region. Henwood's book, Wall Street, which explains the stock market crap shoot, is avail on-line for free download.

July 23
Spencer Overton, author, Stealing Democracy; The New Politics of Voter Suppression, charged that both parties manipulate a complex web of election regulation to control who votes and how votes are counted. He advocated a national uniform voting code, a removal of corporate funding, and a voting day holiday to bring back democratic integrity.

Victor Navasky, former publisher and editorial director of The Nation magazine, discussed his political memoir, A Matter of Opinion. He spoke about the importance of small opinion journals such as his in shaping ideas and politices that effect the country.

July 16
Kate Bornstein, author, Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws, discussed the pressures on young people in general, but specifically those outside of the mainstream who are often the most at risk.

Chris Toensing, executive director, Middle East Research and Information Project, talked about the escalating violence between Israel and guerrilla groups, and the prospect for it spilling over into other countries.

July 9
Dean Kuipers, deputy editor of the Los Angeles CityBeat, and author, Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke, told the story of a rural Michigan rock venue owned by two advocates of marijuana legalization who wound up in an armed confrontation with the FBI. He discussed the War on Drugs and how it plays out when enforced.

Mary-Wynne Ashford, author, Enough Blood Shed: 101 Solutions to Violence, Terror, and War, discussed ways to begin the process in one's personal life, our cities, and in our political structure.

July 2
Larry Tye, author, Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class,  told the story of how African-American men assigned to the most servile tasks on the railroads used their position to elevate themselves socially and financially, form militant trade unions, and be the conveyance for news of the North to isolated black communities in the South, and brought jazz back up with them.

June 25
John Walsh, Senior Associate for the Andes and Drug Policy, Washington Office on Latin American, said the drug suppression strategy of eliminating the source has failed. He spoke about the recent spate of deaths in Detroit from Fentanyl-laced heroin.

June 18
Greg Palast, author, Armed Madhouse

June 11
William Hartung, President's Fellow, New School for Social Research, World Policy Institute, evaluated U.S. federal and military budget priorities and their impact on economies like Michigan's.

June 4
Darren Spedale, author, Gay Marriage: For Better or For Worse? What We've Learned from the Evidence, reported on his two-year study of same sex marriage in Denmark. He said that the evidence shows that such unions actually strengthen traditional marriages.

Elwood Reid, author, D.B., a novel based on the legendary plane hijacker, D.B. Cooper.

May 28
Derrick Jensen, author, Endgame: The Problem of Civilization, said that many of the political, social, and environmental problems the world faces stem from causes beneath the surface of them. He advocated more decentralized, self-sustaining, fossil fuel-free communities or to expect ongoing and worsening crises.

Barbara Murray, executive director, AIDS Partnership Michigan, discussed the current state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the 25th anniversary of the identification of the disease. She advocated numerous prevention steps, talked about the advancement in medical intervention, and urged people to attend the organization's upcoming fundraiser.

May 21
Kristian Williams, author, American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination, said that prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, rather than being an aberration, is identical to the same type of behavior along a historical continuum going back to the first European contact in the New World.

Dean Baker, author, The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer, debunked the myth that the right wing favor the market over government intervention. The book is available on line for a free download.

May 14
Christopher Pyle, professor of politics, Mt. Holyoke College, and author, The President, Congress, and the Constitution, commented on the nomination of Gen. Michael Hayden, as CIA director. He said that the Air Force general had violated the Constitution and the terms of the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by presiding over unwarranted wire taps while heading the National Security Agency.

Dave Lindorff, co-author, The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office, laid out legal and Constitutional arguments for beginning such proceedings.

May 7
Anthony Flint, author, This Land: The Battle Over Sprawl & the Future of America, described how the consequences of unplanned urban sprawl creates more problems than those fleeing the cities hope to solve. He used the example of Detroit as a city in collapse that could be resurrected using sound urban planning techniques to create self-sustaining living areas.

Philip Dray, author, We Are Not Afraid, retold the story of the murder of Civil Rights workers, Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner in 1964 Mississippi. The book has been re-issued following 18 years since its original release. Dray said he thinks the story is important not only because of the sacrifice of the young men, because it shows how people can actively create history.

April 30
Stephen Kinzer, former New York Times Central America bureau chief and author, Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, described the pattern of U.S. foreign intervention that often resulted in creating more problems in the long run such as in Iran and Guatemala than it solved.

Nancy McLean, author, Freedom is not Enough: The Opening of the American Workplace, talked about the social and political process that led to on the job diversity. She focused on several individuals instrumental in this including several from the Detroit area.

April 23
Caroline Paul, author, Fighting Fire, a memoir of her years as a member of the San Francisco Fire Department's elite rescue squad, and East Wind, Rain, a new novel about the day after the Pearl Harbor attack, discussed how people react when confronted with danger and tragedy.

Betsy Leondar-Wright, co-author, The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide, related the differences between economic groups based on race, and what can be done to alleviate the situation.

April 16
John Burroughs, director, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy, spoke about the implications of Iran's announcement that it had successfully enriched uranium, and what options are open for dealing with the situation.

Julian Sher, co-author, Angels of Death: Inside the Biker Gangs' Crime Empire, spoke about the myths and realty of motorcycle gangs like the Hell's Angels. He traced a pattern of crime and murder that reached not only in California, but throughout the world and including the Detroit area.

April 9
Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer, former editor, New England Journal of Medicine, and author, On the Take: How Medicine's Complicity with Big Business Can Endanger Your Health, spoke about how many physicians are compromised in their assessment of the medicine and research because of their financial connection with drug corporations.

Carolyn Nordstrom, author, Shadows of War: Violence, Power, and International Profiteering in the Twenty-First Century, described the immediacy of war-zone survival, and took us into the offices of power brokers, and then to the vast extra-legal networks that fuel war and international profiteering.

April 2
Author Kelpie Wilson, described her novel, Primal Tears, as an allegory about the human refusal to give respect to all aspects of nature.

Labor reporter David Bacon compared the different Senate and House bills regarding immigration. He always described the economic impact of immigration on wages and profits.

March 26
Ellen Frank, author, The Raw Deal: How Myths and Misinformation about the Deficit, Inflation, and Wealth Impoverish America, spoke about the effects of the concentration of wealth on a democratic system. She explained much about the workings of the economy, such as the stock market and Fed rate changes, and was critical of much of the reporting on these matters in the mainstream press. 

Christopher Baker, author of Cuba Classic: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles, and Cuba: A Moon Handbook, used his new pictorial book about US cars as a way of discussing the embargo against the island and its implications for politics in Cuba and in Florida, and what he thinks will occur after Fidel Castro leaves office.

March 19
Antonia Juhasz, author, The Bush Agenda, spoke about the situation in Iraq on the third anniversary of the war. She spoke about not only the military aspect, but the effect the expenditures on the conflict had on states like Michigan.

Elliot Lewis, author, Fade: My Journeys in Multiracial America, discussed how different concepts of racial identify are becoming more prevalent and challenging more traditional ways of looking at ethnicity.

March 12
Kent Zimmerman, co-author with David Hilliard, formerly chief of staff of the Black Panther Party, of Huey: Spirit of the Panther, described the turbulent times in which the book's subject, Huey P. Newton, had many confrontations with the police and the work the group did in the community to aid the poor. Zimmerman said that much of what was considered radical then, such as health care centers and community food banks are considered mainstream today.

Mike Hoffman, founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and a  Lance Corporal in a Marine Corps artillery battery during the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, explained his transformation into an anti-war leader. He condemned the war and expressed concern for the men and women in the army who are stuck in a quagmire with no exit strategy and not even proper equipment. He also condemned the way in which returning and wounded vets are treated by the government.

March 5
Tamara Draut, director, Economic Opportunity Program at Demos, and author, Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead, talked about why so many young adults in the Detroit area are struggling for financial independence. She listed the problems, ranging from high rents to soaring health care costs, and suggested programmatic solutions to address the issues.

John Clark, professor of Philosophy at Loyola University in New Orleans, described how the devastation of his city still remains six months after Katrina struck and discussed how preparedness plans are necessary for all big cities including the Detroit area.

February 26
Patricia Campbell, vice-president of the Irish Independent Workers Union, compared Michigan's problem with de-industrialization, rising unemployment, and a shrinking tax base with the situation in our country.

Lawrence D. Hogan, author, Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African-American Baseball, described a hundred years of leagues comprised of players who were excluded from the Major Leagues because of racist restrictions.

February 19
Frank Joyce, the recently retired Public Relations Director for the United Auto Workers union, described a two-week tour of Vietnam. He talked about a range of issues that impact Detroit including globalization, relations with our former enemy, and the environmental impact of increased production in Asia.

February 12
Noel Saleh, president of the board, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), located in suburban Detroit, discussed problems and strengths related to recent immigrants and their impact on jobs, the overall economy, and culture. He also talked about the the recent controversy regarding the cartoons of Muhammad.

Karen Dolan, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, discussed the budget proposed by President Bush and the impact on Michigan. She noted that 140 programs will eliminated, many with local ramifications.

February 5
Mark Weisbrot, co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research, discussed his recent visit to Venezuela and how that country's policies effect gas prices in the United States. He said gasoline was $.40 a gallon in that country.

Medea Benjamin, co-founder, Global Exchange and Code Pink: Women for Peace, described her recent visit to the World Social Forum in Caracas. She said that mass movements, not elites, were defining the social and economics of South America.

January 29
Fran Shor, author, Bush-League Spectacles: Empire, Politics, & Culture in Bushwhacked America, analyzed the political and cultural crisis of the contemporary United States.

Chesa Boudin, author, The Venezuelan Revolution: 100 Questions & 100 Answers, told us, "When I arrived in Venezuela, I came across the first participatory democracy I have ever seen. Participatory  democracy is a model that attempts to stimulate and guarantee the people's active participation in the process of governing the country. Today in Venezuela, this new model is being developed and promoted as an alternative to the more traditional representative democracy.

January 22
Paul Loeb, author, The Impossible Will Take A Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope, described his book of essays in which authors such as Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel, many others spoke about the sudden and even unexpected emergence of altering the world in which they lived, even when things seemed the darkest.

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author, Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the Contra War, spoke about her experiences in Nicaragua during the US-financed war against the Sandinista government and its impact on the Indian people of the Atlantic coast.

January 15
Danny Schechter, author, When News Lies, described the production of his DVD, "Weapons of Mass Deception," and discussed the implications on public policy when the media fails to aggressively challenge official government views.

Leonard Steinhorn, author, The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy, said Boomer values have permeated the culture. Although political positions may seem polarized in the country today, he says, there are few who really wish to return to 1950s sorts of social arrangements. Most people want a cleaner environment, more transparency in government, a friendlier workplace, a more skeptical press, respect for minority rights—things that the Boomers began insisting upon when they came of age in the `60s. After exploring the Boomer influence on various aspects of the culture (women`s rights, diversity, religion, environment, higher education), he ended by offering some challenges to the Boomers as they enter their twilight years.

January 8
Felice Yesket, co-author, A Primer on Economic Inequality & Insecurity, gave a compendium list of the economic problems facing our countries and offered several social and statutory solutions to improve the situation.

Paul Gunter, director of the Reactor Project of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, comment on the attempt site new nuclear power plants in the U.S. He spoke with concern about the amount of spent nuclear fuels accruing at facilities such as Monroe, Michigan's Fermi II plant that currently have no permanent secure site.

January 1
Nell Bernstein, author, All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated, described a little recognized problem in the criminal justice system: what becomes of children when their parents are arrested and sent to prison. She noted that there were almost no protocols for dealing with kids at the time of arrest and also talked about the psychological effects on them. She suggested several solutions.

December 25
Peter Arnett, the Pulitzer Prize winning international war correspondent, spoke about his career in journalism and its impact on the information necessary for an informed public to make decisions about government policy.

Thom Hartmann, nationally syndicated talk show host and author, We the People: A Call to Take Back America, described the process whereby corporations and political elites have taken control of the political process and are jeopardizing democracy. He called for greater popular participation in the political and electoral process.

December 18
Melissa Rossi, author, What Every American Should Know About Who's Really Running the World, described the institutions and organizations that determine what happens with local economies and ultimately with jobs and financial security in the Detroit area. An incredible compendium of the ruling elites.

Beth Shulman, author, The Betray of Work: How Low Wage Jobs Fail 30 Million Americans, described the plight of those who work full-time yet remain below the poverty line and with little or no health insurance.

December 11
William D. Hartung, senior fellow, World Policy Institute, spoke about the function of the World Bank and the impact of its policies and programs on local economy. He also talked about the Delphi bankruptcy and the unsettled situation with General Motors.

Derek Jensen, author, Strangely Like War: The Global Assault on Forests, told about the widespread deforestation that is occurring worldwide. He described the impact on wildlife, but also on indigenous people in the Third World, the pollution and environmental degradation, soil erosion, and other negative effects of uncontrolled logging. He advocated conservation of wood and paper products to start, but also long-term policies that would protect the remaining forests.

December 4
Paul Krassner, author, One Hand Jerking, Reports From an Investigative Satirist, described his many decades of using satire to bring the issues of the day into starker relief.  

Larry Birns, director, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, spoke about Venezuela's recent election and what it portends for American policy. He also discussed Venezuela's donation of home heating oil at discounted prices to poor Americans.

November 27
Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's Energy and Environment Program, pointed to the record profits of the major oil companies as evidence we are being overcharged for gasoline. He said he had testified before Congress to urge passage of bill that would heavily tax windfall profits.

Richard Heinberg, author, The Party's Over: Oil, War & the Fate of Industrial Societies, told us that oil production will peak in the decade, leaving in its wake a scramble over an ever more scare resource. He advocates an immediate end to dependence on oil, foreign or domestic, conservation, and a scaling down of energy requirements.

November 20
Lamar Waldron & Thom Hartman, authors, Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK, say new archival evidence shows that the President was assassinated by the Mob.

Michael Ratner, president, Center for Constitutional Rights, discussed the current public and political debate regarding the government's use of torture and legislation in Congress about the subject.

November 13
Robert Weissman, Director of Essential Action, talked about the threat of avian flu, the government plan to stockpile Tamiflu, and issues regarding patent sharing with other drug manufacturers which would increase the supply of the aniviral.

Irish Times reporter and author of The Battle of Venezuela, Michael McCaughan, discussed his first hand accounts of the rise of the country's president Hugo Chavez, his opposition, and the impact of his oil policies on U.S. gas prices.

November 6
David Swanson, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.Org, discussed the indictment of Lewis Libby and its impact on the debate about the quality of intelligence that the Bush administration used as the reason for the Iraq war.

David Engwitcht, author, Mental Speed Bumps: The Smarter Way to Tame Traffic, discussed ways to control automobile problems by the use of non-technical means beginning with an invigorated community that views roads as public space, not just as highways. He also has innovated concepts such as the Walking School Bus and the Neighborhood Pace Car to reduce traffic volume and to slow down what remains.

October 30
Professor Michael Schwartz, author of "Why Immediate Withdrawal from Iraq Makes Sense," discussed the recent events in Iraq including the new constitution and the growing insurgency.

Herb Boyd, author of We Shall Overcome, described his personal interviews with Rosa Parks and her significance to the civil rights struggles.

October 23
Norm Stamper, former police chief of Seattle, Washington, and author, Breaking Ranks: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of Policing, called for a major overhaul of policing and the way police and the community relate to one another.

Meredith Fort, co-editor, Sickness and Wealth: The Corporate Assault on Global Health, examined how institutional actors of globalization—multinationals, the IMF and World Bank, the WTO, and First World governments—have enacted policies that virtually sentence millions to disease and premature death.

October 16
James Loewen, author, Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism, described how thousands of towns from Maine to California, including Michigan, established towns for whites only which ordered people of color to be gone after dark from their city limits.

Hussein Ibish, vice chair, Progressive Muslim Union, described how Muslims and Arabs are portrayed in the media and in Hollywood films and the impact it has on how Middle Eastern people are perceived.

October 9
Eugenie C. Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education, described the controversy in public school around the demands that religion explanations for the origin of species be presented in classrooms along with the traditional theory of evolution.

David Sirota, senior editor at In These Times, discussed the implications of the nomination of Harriet Miers as Supreme Court Justice for future cases she may rule on that directly effected her tenure as Bush personal attorney.

October 2
Antonia Juhasz, a visiting scholar at Foreign Policy in Focus, spoke about the price of recovery in both Iraq and New Orleans.

David Margolick, author, Beyond Glory: Louis vs. Schmeling and a World on the Brink, retold the story of the famous fight within a context of race, the Depression, and a looming war.

September 25
Phyllis Bennis, fellow, Institute for Policy Studies, summarized the recent meeting of world leaders at the United Nations.

September 18
Stephen J. Ducat, author, The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars & the Politics of Anxious Masculinity, discussed the private meaning behind public displays of manliness by politicians and how they are designed to shape opinion.

Suzanne Mattei, head of the Sierra Club's New York City office, discussed the environmental and toxic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She based many of her opinions on her work in the wake of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. She advocated greater preparedness and government honesty in reporting on the effects left in both incidents.

September 11
Robert Jensen, author, The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege, spoke about the racial component of the victims of Hurricane Katrina and called for an end to divisions in this country.

Capt. Paul Watson, founder and president, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, spoke about the impact of industrialized fishing and illegal whaling on ocean creatures. He warned that overfishing may soon crash fish stocks that millions of humans depend upon. Watson is appearing in the area this week.

September 4
David Shipler, former New York Times bureau chief, and author, The Working Poor: Invisible in America, spoke about the fastest growing sector among wage workers, those whose income places them below the poverty level. He described his interviews with both workers and employers and discussed the impact of poorly waged citizens on everything from health to democratic participation.

August 28
Pierce O'Donnell, author, In Time of War: Hitler's Terrorist Attack on America, described the 1942 incident of the capture of Nazi saboteurs, their capture and execution as the legal basis for which the current Administration bases its policy of "enemy combatants" on.

William Blum, an ex-US State Department official and author, Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Intervention Since World War II, commented on Pat Robertson's remarks regarding the assassination of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

August 21
Dave Zirin, sports commentator and author, What's My Name, Fool?: Sports and Resistance in the United States, talked about how sports have always been politicized, but it is more obvious currently in such questions as public funding for stadiums, and the positions athletes take on social issues.

Ed Mead, president, California Prison Focus, spoke about the large number of prisoners in America, and conditions in prisons. He said without large scale rehabilitation programs like he participated in during 18 years in jail, recidivism will continue.

August 14
Harvey J. Kaye, author of Thomas Paine and the Promise of America, spoke about how the spirit of this Founding Father still had an important message for today's democracy and how his spirit had infused reformers throughout the nation's history.

August 7
Ronald K. Siegel, author, Intoxication: The Universal Drive for Mind-Altering Substances, provided an understanding of the almost universal drive for altering consciousness and offered recommendations for curbing the negative aspects of drug use in Western culture.

Detroiter Herb Boyd, author, We Shall Overcome, described the history of the civil rights movement from its origins and through the days of Martin Luther King up until the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Boyd said race remains a problem that still has to be faced by all Americans.

July 31
Ismael Ahmed, director, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Service, described the new Arab American National Museum. He said the Dearborn facility tells the story of Arab immigrants to the the U.S., their accomplishments and their contributions to national life. He said it was for everyone in the community as an aid to understanding the diversity of the many ethnicities that comprise the city.

David Bacon, a labor reporter whose most recent article is, "Reconnecting Labor with Its Radical Roots," attended the recent AFL-CIO conference in Chicago where two of the largest unions split from labor federation. He said the jury was out on whether this would strengthen the labor movement or weaken it, but said that unless something is done, organized labor, as we know it, could soon be reduced even further from its current low numbers.

July 24
David Carson, former Detroit-area disc jockey and author of, Grit, Noise, and Revolution: The Birth of Detroit Rock 'n' Roll, provided a narrative history of this city's music from its birth in the black urban ghetto through its adoption by while suburbanites as the music of its generation. He described the music's social context and roots as one of black culture and white rebellion.

Prof. Kevin Boyle, author,  Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age, told the story of the Sweet Case, where armed black men defended their home against a white mob on Detroit's East Side in 1925. The trial, with famed attorney Clarence Darrow for the defense, brought national attention to the city and the NAACP's battle against growing residential segregation in the North.  

July 17
Bill Fletcher, president of TransAfrica Forum, described the recent G-8 meeting in Scotland which pledged aid to the beleaguered continent as being more like charity which didn't begin to touch the structural problems that are at the root of the problem. He said that efforts such Live-8 were important to raise consciousness about conditions in Africa.

Allistair Millar, director of the Counter-TerrorismEvaluation Project, commented on the London transportation bombings, their causes and suggestions on how to prevent further ones.

July 10
Jeffrey McGowan, author of Major Conflict: One Gay Man's Life in the Don't Ask Don't Tell Military, told his first personal account of a gay man’s silent struggle in the don’t-ask-don’t-tell military, from a cadet who rose to the rank of major, left as a decorated Persian Gulf hero, and whose same-sex marriage was the first on the East Coast.

July 3
Gary Stromberg, author, The Harder They Fall: Celebrities Tell Their Real-Live Stories of Addiction and Recovery, added his own account of a fall from grace. He ran a major public relations firm in Hollywood dealing with the biggest stars such as the Rolling Stones and Elton John and produced the film, "Car Wash." Stromberg's drug addiction caused it all to go to ruin. Since going into recovery, he's helped numerous other prominent people with their abuse problems such as Alice Cooper, Pete Hamil, Richard Pryor, all who tell their stories in his book.

June 26
Alex Klaits, author, Love and War in Afghanistan, told us about the current situation in that war-ravaged country through the eyes of 14 Afghans he interviewed. He said although war is the defining characteristic, people there still try to create a life of love and joy through their tribal traditions.

Norman Solomon, executive director, Institute for Public Accuracy, returned from his journalist visit to Iran during that country's national election. He described the differences between the competing Iranian political factions, commented on the fairness of their electoral process, their nuclear program, and how all of it has an impact on U.S. policy in the Middle East.

June 19
Jonathon Schwarz, consultant to After Downing Street dot Org, discussed the impact of the British government memo discussing the U.S. rationale for the Iraq invasion on the current state of the war and public perception. He urged full citizen participation in the critical events of our era.

Jim Motavalli, editor, Green Living: The E Magazine Handbook for Living Lightly on the Earth, dispensed practical tips on how to live healthier and more eco-friendly lives for both homes and businesses. He also commented on the current state of the environmental movement.

June 12
Ethan Nadelmann, executive director, Drug Policy Alliance, interpreted the recent Supreme Court decision which upheld the right of the federal government to regulate medical marijuana when it conflicts with state laws. He said agrees that properly, the law should be altered by Congress, not the courts.

Norman Solomon, executive director, Institute for Public Accuracy, commented on the revelation of the identity of Deep Throat, the Washington Post's secret source for its Watergate scandal articles, and how it related to today's problems with government secrecy. Solomon said the was traveling to Iran as an election observer and would be a guest at a later time.

June 5
Alan Burdick, senior editor, Discover, and author, Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion, described his worldwide travels, including to the Great Lakes, to assess the impact of alien species on the biological diversity of indigenous flora and fauna. He described entire regions devastated by the introduction of plants and animals that overwhelmed the native species.

Also, repeat show: Maureen Sullivan, author of The Family of Woman: Lesbian Mothers, Their Children, and the Undoing of Gender, put a human face on family units comprised of gay women and their offspring--ones born from natural birth. She said there was little difference in the statistics of success of parenting and relationships than with the society's traditional families.

May 29
Betsy Leondar-Wright, author of Class Matters, warned about the perils of the growing American wealth gap. She spoke about building bridges across class lines to create a more equitable society where poverty is eliminated. Wright used her work with Bill Gates, Sr. as an example.

Ben Scott, Policy Director, for the public interest media group, Free Press, gave us a report on the National Conference for Media Reform, held in St. Louis the weekend before. The over 2500 delegates expressed a concern about the concentration of media ownership, access to DSL for all people regardless of income, cable TV issues, and the attempt of government to alter programming on the Public Broadcasting System. He advocated a series of remedial efforts that came out of the many workshops.

May 22
Daphna Golan-Agnon, author of Next Year in Jerusalem: Everyday Life in a Divided Land, spoke to us from Israel and talked about what it's like being in a city where the threat of suicide bombings is constant. She advocated reconciliation of the two people contending for the same land and urged respect for human rights and the national aspirations of the Palestinians. Golan-Agnon is a co-founder of B'Tselem, the Israeli peace and human rights group.

Martin Duberman, author, Haymarket: A Novel, discussed how his rendition of a famous 19th century Chicago riot that left numerous police and strikers dead following a rally for the eight-hour day has bearing on today's labor movement.

May 15
Marcus Raskin, co-founder of the Institute for Policy Studies, a former member of Kennedy National Security Council, and author, Democracy's Shadow: The Secret World of National Security, described the inner workings of elite decision making for foreign policy that effects American society.

Victoria de Grazia, professor of History and Columbia University, and author, Irresistible Empire: America's Advance Through 20th Century Europe, described the effect of U.S. consumer values in altering that of Europe over the last 50 years. She also discussed the Slow Food movement which resists the "MacDonaldization" of the dining experience as a model for how we can bring daily life back to a more convivial quality and pace

May 8
Ron Kovic, author of Born on the Fourth of July, and subject of the Oliver Stone film of the same name starring Tom Cruise, talked about his life and the transformations he experienced following a crippling wound in Vietnam.

Graphic novelist, Peter Kuper, explained the expanding art genre formally identified as "comic art," and how he employed it to adapt Upton Sinclair's classic muckraking title, The Jungle. He said he was attracted to the story's plot line that showed the deplorable health and labor standards in Chicago's slaughterhouses at the beginning of the last century. Sinclair's original book led to the passage of numerous food safety statutes.

May 1 Celebrate this holiday as the labor and pagan festival it originally was.
Martin Torgoff, author, Can't Find My Way Home: America in the Great Stoned Age, 1945-2000, spoke about how illicit drugs have changed the American cultural landscape in the past half-century and the impact they've had on almost every aspect of public life.

Dr. David DiChiera, founding general director of the Michigan Opera Theatre, described the enduring popularity of the art form, the huge scope and personnel of its productions, and its centrality to the vitality of Detroit and Michigan. He also described the upcoming MOT world premier of "Margaret Garner," a contemporary opera with lyrics by Toni Morrison, which tells the poignant story of a mother's plight as a fugitive slave prior to the US Civil War.

April 24
Bruce Gagnon, coordinator, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, described the Bush administration plans for placing both defensive and offensive weapons above the earth's atmosphere. He spoke about the costs of such programs, their destabilizing effect in international relations, and their potential for accidents.

Chuck Collins, coordinator, Responsible Wealth, labeled the impact of the U.S. House of Representatives vote to repeal the Estate Tax as having an negative impact on our economy which is already in deficit, and  will lead to a further concentration of wealth which erodes democratic principles.

April 17
Dave Dempsey, author, On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21st Century, said, “The Great Lakes are a global treasure that we take for granted at our own peril." Dempsey contrasted the Great Lakes and the affection shown them by individuals with the history of their neglect and mistreatment by governments and others. He provided human and natural history, and a call for a new approach to their protection in the coming century.

Suzanne Gordon, author, Nursing Against the Odds: How health Care Cost Cutting, Media Stereotypes and Medical Hubris Undermine Nurses and Patient Care,  described the nursing shortage, its causes and the impact it is having on patient care. She said that when profit becomes the sole justification for medical policy, everyone involved suffers.

April 10
Megan Abbott, author of The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir and Die A Little, described changing attitudes about gender from what was portrayed in the dark detective films and novels of the 1940s and '50s to today.

Christopher Philips, author, Six Questions of Socrates: A Modern Day Journey of Discovery Through World Philosophy, described his travels throughout the world, including Detroit, where he posed six fundamental questions of existence to people assembled in what he calls Socrates Cafes.

April 3
Susan Sered, Research Director, Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University, and author, Uninsured in America: Life and Death in the Land of Opportunity, explained the consequences of inadequate medical care through the 120 interviews she did with the uninsured, medical providers, policy makers and advocates.

Tom Hayden, author, former California state legislator, and social activist, discusses the potential for changing the Democratic Party into a more progressive and responsive political institution. Peter thinks he's dreaming. Hayden will be in Detroit, April 9 for a teach-in on Iraq. See calendar on main page.

March 27
BBC investigative journalist, Greg Palast, explained why Paul Wolfowitz has been nominated head of the World Bank, and what role it plays in US plans for Mid-East oil.

Jean Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on alcohol and tobacco advertising and the image of women in advertising. She discussed the Terri Schiavo case as to how it related to the stroke produced by an eating disorder. She said that unrealistic models of beauty and weight lead to a self-loathing of women's bodies when they realize they can't meet the cultural standards imposed upon them in advertising.

March 20
Terry Jones, a Monty Python founder, and author, Terry Jones's War on the War Terror, rips Bush and Blair a new one.

Alfred W. Blumrosen, professor of law, Rutgers University, and author, Slave Nation, How Slavery United the Colonies and Sparked the American Revolution, told of the role slavery played in the Declaration and the US Constitution, and how the advocates of universal human freedom, such as Thomas Jefferson, had to compromise with the Southern slave owners.

March 13
Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society spoke to us from aboard ship in the waters of the Canadian Maritime provinces where his group is trying to bring international public attention to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of baby Harp seals. 

Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, gave an assessment of the impact of the appointment of John Boyton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.  She said that U.S. policy toward the international body is crucial during a period of great upheaval in areas such as the Middle East.

March 6
Dr. Stephen Zunes is a professor of Politics and chair of the Peace & Justice Studies Program at the  University of San Francisco and serves as a senior policy analyst and Middle East editor for the Foreign Policy in Focus Project . He discussed the current situation in the Middle East including Lebanon/Syria, Israel/Palestine, and Iraq.

February 27
Pun Plamondon, author, Lost to the Ottawas: The Journey Back, described his descent into alcoholism and drug addiction, and how discovering his Native American roots allowed his recovery and the reconstruction of his self-esteem and place in a community.     

Jay Cantor, author, The Death of Che Guevara, told how he used the novel form for an exploration of the nature of truth and storytelling and the psychology of radical activism.

February 20
Heather Bouchette, fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, spoke about the Bush 2005 budget, emphasizing who will benefit and who will suffer under its terms, the effects on the deficit, and the long-range impact on the economy.

February 13
Danny Schechter is a television producer and independent filmmaker who also writes and speaks about media issues. He is the author of "Falun Gong's Challenge to China" (Akashic Press), "The More You Watch, The Less You Know" (Seven Stories Press) and "News Dissector: Passions, Pieces and Polemics" (Electron Press). He is the executive editor of the MediaChannel.org, the world's largest online media issues network  He spoke about the quality of news gathering and presentation today, and how unfettered media is crucial to democratic decision making. He currently is promoting his documentary, "Weapons of Mass Deception."

February 6
Frank Brodhead, author, Demonstration Elections, analyzed the recent Iraqi elections in terms of effects on the ability of the country to form a viable government, and how it will determine the length of stay for U.S. troops. http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=7079

Gerald Horne, author, Black and Brown: African Americans and the Mexican Revolution, stressed the importance of Black History Month in understanding the American experience. He explained how this small piece of forgotten history put into perspective the role of minorities in the Armed Forces today. http://www.edunow.com/0814736734.shtml 

January 30
Lawrence Frank, chair of the Regional Planning Department at the University of British Colombia, and author, Urban Sprawl and Public Health, discussed the effect of low-density, automobile-dependent communities on human health and well-being. He cited numerous statistics associated with such living patterns from obesity to depression. Frank suggested reconfiguring urban areas that stressed face-to-face, walkable living and work patterns. http://islandpress.org/books/detail.html?cart=110695931070180&SKU=1-55963-305-0

David L. Marcus, Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. News & World Report journalist, and author, What It Takes To Pull Me Through: Why Teenagers Get in Trouble and How Four of Them Got Out, told the story of how one therapeutic facility in Massachusetts helps teen-agers with problems. He described how conditions are worse than ever for young people who have less supervision, less contact with parents, and more access to addition to everything from drugs to the Internet. www.davemarcus.com 

January 23
Andrei Millard, editor, The Electric Guitar: A History of an American Icon, described everything about the instrument that he defined as the most important of the 20th century. The book is published in cooperation with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and Millard discussed its effect on culture and music, but also its impact on gender and race relations.  http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title_pages/3145.html

David Clements, photographer, and Bill Harris, author, of Talking Shops: Detroit Commercial Folk Art, spoke about the uniquely Detroit self-decorated places of business primarily in inner-city areas. They talked about the desire of small-scale entrepreneurs to realize the American Dream under circumstances that made it almost impossible but who retained a desire to make their meager shops more attractive through the creative application of folk art.  http://wsupress.wayne.edu/glb/art/clementsts.htm

January 16
Javier Silva, Senior Research and Policy Associate with the Demos Institute, and author, "A House of Cards: Refinancing the American Dream," said that in the US, families are increasingly relying on credit cards to make up for stagnant wage growth and soaring costs. He warned that transferring good debt (mortgage) to cover bad debt (cards) was a dangerous individual strategy, and in the aggregate could fuel a "housing bubble" crisis. The report is available at www.demos-usa.org.

Michael Ratner, president, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and author, Guantanamo: What the World Should Know, drew a graphic picture of interrogation techniques at the American base in Cuba and in Iraq and Afghanistan,  that violated US and international law and the Geneva Accords. He said that not only was torture ineffective in gaining information, but will endanger our troops if they are captured. www.ccr-ny.org.

January 9
David Shipler, former New York Times bureau chief, and author, The Working Poor: Invisible in America, spoke about the fastest growing sector among wage workers, those whose income places them below the poverty level. He described his interviews with both workers and employers and discussed the impact of poorly waged citizens on everything from health to democratic participation. http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?0375408908

Dean Baker, co-director of the Washington DC-based Center for Economic and Policy Research, discussed the idea of privatization of Social Security. He denied that the system has any systemic problems and said it is basically sound. http://www.cepr.net   

January 2
Kathleen Cleaver, former Black Panther, now professor of law at Emory University, and author of the introduction to We Want Freedom: A Life In The Black Panther Party, by imprisoned Mumia Abu-Jamal, discussed the history of the black activist group, the impact on race relations in the United States and the controversial legal case of the death row author of the book.  http://www.refuseandresist.org/mumia/art.php?aid=1300

December 26
Meredith Fort, co-editor, Sickness and Wealth: The Corporate Assault on Global Health, examined how institutional actors of globalization—multinationals, the IMF and World Bank, the WTO, and first world governments—have enacted policies that virtually sentence millions to disease and premature death. http://southendpress.org/books/sickness.shtml

Huwaida Arraf, a Detroiter of Palestinian ancestry, and Adam Shapiro, her Jewish American husband, discussed their efforts through the International Solidarity Movement to alter the image of the Palestinian desire for a secure homeland and to bring peace to the region. www.palsolidarity.org

December 19
Rudy Simons, Detroit area businessman, described his fact-finding mission to Haiti along with Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. Simons met with residents who told of the violence and poverty that have increased since the overthrow of the Aristead government. http://www.everythingunderground.com/Tribune-%20Bush-hatti.htm

Gloria H. Albrecht, Professor of Religion at University of Detroit/Mercy, and author, Hitting Home: Women's Work and the Betrayal of Family Values, argued that government and business have abandoned their social responsibility to sustain the well being of families. That modern families will continue their plight if left solely to the vagaries of the market. http://continuumbooks.com/(qkd2jrb043zcx5yrahkwht45)/BookDetail.aspx?BookID=10726

December 12
David Harris, author, The Crisis, The President, the Prophet, and the Shah--1979 and the Coming of Militant Islam, detailed the events of 25 years ago that started the recent confrontation between the West and Islam that culminated in 9/11.  http://www.twbookmark.com/books/13/0316323942/index.html

Rod Coronado, spokesperson for the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity, told about the struggle to save mountain lions in a national park from being hunted out of existence. Although on the face of it, a story about hunting and wildlife preservation, it was as much about development and government resource allocation policy.   http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/efj/feature.cfm?ID=187&issue=v23n3

December 5
Dave Marsh, author, Louie, Louie: The History and Mythology of the World's Most Famous Rock 'n' Roll Song, told the story of the song that began so-called Garage Rock, and became an icon of youth rebellion in the early 1960s. Kids, as well as parents, principals, police and even the FBI, which launched a two year an investigation, were convinced that the song's lyrics containing obscene although barely intelligible references. There weren't.  http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=6722

Howard Mansfield, author, Bones in the Road, talked about the loss of cultural memory through the impermanence of cyberspace and television. He also discussed the consequences of paving over large portions of the earth with asphalt giving the illusion of freedom through transportation, but instead making us ever more rootless. www.howardmansfield.com

November 28
Peter Philips, Director, Project Censored, described how he and his colleagues determine which articles qualify for inclusion in their yearly, Top 25 Censored News Stories. The project has been doing this for 29 years, according to Philips, and serves the function of noting important, ignored stories ignored by the mainstream media which effect our  economy and our political process. www.projectcensored.org

Greil Marcus, co-editor, The Rose & the Briar: Death, Love and Liberty in the American Ballad, told us how enduring folk songs, some 400 years old, continue to be present in popular culture and reiterate themes not otherwise treated in mass media. He noted that ballads weren't slow songs as they such are popularly described, but rather songs which told stories.   http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall04/005954.htm

November 21
Detroiter Herb Boyd, author, We Shall Overcome, described the history of the civil rights movement from its origins and through the days of Martin Luther King up until the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Boyd said race remains a problem that still has to be faced by all Americans.  http://www.sourcebooks.com/content/catalog/catalog.asp?isbn=140220213X

Susan Bennett, co-author, President Kennedy Has Been Shot, recounted the JFK assassination through the words and photos of journalists who were in Dallas on that day.
http://www.sourcebooks.com/content/catalog/catalog.asp?isbn=1402201583

November 14
David Suzuki, author, Tree: A Life Story, used the life of a single tree, from the moment the seed is released until 500 years later it falls to the forest floor as a way to illustrate the interconnectedness of life system, and their precarious nature.  www.davidsuzuki.org

Journalist Dave Lindorff examined the battle for Fallujah and its implications for US Iraq policy. He compared this battle for a large city to that of a similar one during the Vietnam war in Hue.
www.thiscan'tbehappening.net

November 7
Tod Ensign, executive director, Citizen Soldier, a GI and veterans rights advocacy, and author, America's Military Today, spoke about the challenges facing the US armed forces, as well as individuals contemplating a career in the military. www.citizen-soldier.org

Joe Sherman, author, Gasp!: The Swift and Terrible Beauty of Air, described everything about what we breathe and depend upon for life. He described the first breath of life, to historic scientific views of air, to the challenge of increasing pollution in the atmosphere and the effect it will have on us and future generations. http://www.shoemakerhoard.com/catalog/air.html

October 31
Former California State Senator Tom Hayden and author, Street Wars: Gangs and the Future of Violence, painted a chilling portrait of the tens of thousands of  youth gang members that now are a permanent feature of big cities from the US to Central America. He said the violence and the criminal gangs have become globalized and only a concerted effort of job availability and peacemaking on the streets and in the prisons will halt this trend. www.tomhayden.com

Mike Hoffman, founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and a  Lance Corporal in a Marine Corps artillery battery during the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, explained his transformation into an anti-war leader. He condemned the war and expressed concern for the men and women in the army who are stuck in a quagmire with no exit strategy and not even proper equipment. He also condemned the way in which returning and wounded vets are treated by the government. www.ivaw.net

October 24
Howard Zinn, historian, and author of  Voices of a People's History of the United States, a companion volume to his nationally bestselling history text. Prof. Zinn he wanted to give voice to the many ordinary people who contributed to the development of American history and to let them speak their own words.  http://www.sevenstories.com/Book/index.cfm?GCOI=58322100666900

Joseph F. Kennedy, editor, Building Without Borders: Sustainable Construction for the Global Village, outlined pioneering efforts to create sustainable shelter for billions currently under-housed. He described projects around the world that are housing the homeless without destroying natural habitats to do so, by drawing upon local traditions such as bamboo, straw bale and earthen construction. http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/3837

October 17
Ariel Dorfman, author, Other Septembers; Many Americas, told us about being in Chile on September 11, 1973 when a U.S.-sponsored coup destroyed the democratic government of his country and ushered in 17 years of fascism. He compared it to his feelings about the attack on the same date 28 years later on his adopted country. http://www.adorfman.duke.edu/

John Sperling, author,  The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro America, spoke about the great division in the United States and how much of it can be broken down regionally. He compared how much taxes one region pays disproportionately to another, and, which region benefits from government programs.  http://www.retrovsmetro.org/

October 10
Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer, former editor, New England Journal of Medicine, and author, On the Take: How Medicine's Complicity with Big Business Can Endanger Your Health, spoke about how many physicians are compromised in their assessment of the medicine and research because of their financial connection with drug corporations. www.onthetake.net

Carolyn Nordstrom, author, Shadows of War: Violence, Power, and International Profiteering in the Twenty-First Century, described the immediacy of war-zone survival, and took us into the offices of power brokers, and then to the vast extra-legal networks that fuel war and international profiteering. http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10101.html

October 3
Richard Lord, author, American Nightmare: Predatory Lending and the Foreclosure of the American Dream, discussed how unscrupulous mortgage lenders prey on the poor and the unaware by pushing them into loans that will ultimately lead to the record foreclosures currently occurring. He said that neither state nor federal legislators seem willing to address the problem which will be exacerbated when variable rate loans begin to rise. http://commoncouragepress.com/index.cfm?action=book&bookid=304

Elwood Reid, author, D.B., described his latest novel based on a fictionalized account of the famous early '70s plane hijacker who parachuted into the mountains of Washington and was never heard from again. Reid said his themes include how men react under stress, the desire for a life of adventure and escape from humdrum daily existence, and theconsequence of obsessions.
Review 

September 26
Prof. Kevin Boyle, author,  Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age, told the story of the Sweet Case, where armed black men defended their home against a white mob on Detroit's East Side in 1925. The trial, with famed attorney Clarence Darrow for the defense, brought national attention to the city and the NAACP's battle against growing residential segregation in the North.  http://www.henryholt.com/searchnn.htm

Ted Lewis, Project Director, Fair Election International, described how his group has brought in electoral experts from 14 countries to monitor the U.S. elections. Their concerns are ballot access, registration and voting procedures, security of voting technology, and exclusion from the polls. Lewis said the monitors will talk to community organizations, secretaries of states, registrars and observe registration drives. They will present both a pre- and post-election report. www.fairelection.us 

September 19
Richard Heinberg, author, Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World, gave a pessimistic view of the world's future if it continues to depend on fossil fuels for its energy source. He presented several possible scenarios, the worst being war, economic collapse and environmental catastrophe. However, he expressed an optimism that we can innovate enough technological changes to move beyond fossil fuels into alternative sources of energy.  www.museletter.com

Harvey Wasserman, author of "Free and Green," in the Jan.-Feb. Mother Jones magazine, cited the crisis in fossil fuels in terms of decreasing availability, their environmental impact, and increasing costs such as gasoline, natural gas, and fuel oil prices in Michigan. He called for an end to taxpayer subsidies to the fossil fuel industries and for them to compete on an equal basis with renewals such as wind and solar power. He said Traverse City, Mich., and Bowling Green, Ohio were examples of how wind power could be used successfully. www.harveywasserman.com

September 12
Larry Beinhart, author, The Librarian, discussed his new novel, a political thriller, which takes up many of the issues of the current election cycle.  http://www.nationbooks.org/book.mhtml?t=beinhart

Jonathon Adelstein, Commissioner, Federal Communication Commission, spoke about issues before the regulatory body such as fines for broadcasting indecency, media consolidation, citizen input into the decision making process, and whether to allow low frequency broadcasting.  http://www.freepress.net/future/page.php?n=points

September 5
Mark Crispin Miller, author, Cruel and Unusual: Bush/Cheney's New World Order, said that we are living in a nation that would appall the Founding Fathers. He accused the Republicans of having little to do with conservatism, and instead, said they are bent on establishing a theocratic state that would overthrow traditional values. www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-0393059170-0

Julie Hurwitz, executive director of the Detroit-based Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center described the kind of work they do on behalf of workers in industries that are fleeing overseas,  how they have supported municipal living wage ordinances, and suits for environmental justice to protect students  at a Detroit elementary school. www.sugarlaw.org

August 29
Maureen Sullivan, author of The Family of Woman: Lesbian Mothers, Their Children, and the Undoing of Gender, put a human face on family units comprised of gay women and their offspring--ones born from natural birth. She said there was little difference in the statistics of success of parenting and relationships than with the society's traditional families. http://www.libertas.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ID=1346

Ellen Frank, author, The Raw Deal: How Myths and Misinformation about the Deficit, Inflation, and Wealth Impoverish America, spoke about the effects of the concentration of wealth on a democratic system. She explained much about the workings of the economy, such as the stock market and Fed rate changes, and was critical of much of the reporting on these matters in the mainstream press.  http://www.beacon.org/catalogs/sp04/frank.html

August 22
Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine, and author, Sex, Lies and Politics: The Naked  Truth, shared his thoughts about sex, freedom of speech, government, privacy, the war on terror, religion, and personal freedoms. www.larryflynt.com

Christopher Baker, author of Cuba Classic: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles, and Cuba: A Moon Handbook, used his new pictorial book about US cars as a way of discussing the embargo against the island and its implications for politics in Cuba and in Florida, and what he thinks will occur after Fidel Castro leaves office.
www.cuba-automobiles.com

August 15
Greg Palast, author, of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, discussed the dangers present in paperless, touch-screen voting machines. He also expressed a concern about African American voters being barred from voting by mistakenly designating them as felons. He said one million black voters failed to have their ballots tabulated in the 2000 elections. www.gregpalast.com

Dave Dempsey, policy advisor for the Michigan Environmental Council and author, On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21st Century, warned that the unique bodies of water surrounding us are in grave peril. He named industrial pollution, municipal waste, and invading species as the greatest dangers. He said short-sighted policies have inflicted wounds on the lakes on such a scale that only large scale commitment to reversing the damage will save them from becoming fishless dead zones. www.davedempsey.org

August 8
Jerry Levin told the story of his kidnapping 20 years ago when he was the CNN Beirut bureau chief and his subsequent escape. He and his wife, Sis, an educator, described their current work in the Middle East. They work with the Christian Peacemaker Teams to teach skills and a philosophy of non-violence to people in the West Bank city of Hebron. http://www.cpt.org/

David Solnit, editor of Globalize Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World, weaved together the experiences and insights of community organizers, direct action movements, and global justice struggles from around the world. The totality of the book poses a vision of a radically altered world free from hunger, disease, war and poverty.  http://globalizeliberation.org/

August 1
Anne-Christine D'Adesky, author, Moving Mountains: The Race to Treat Global AIDS, told us about her participation in the International AIDS conference held in July in Bangkok, Thailand. She described a frightening picture of the spread of the disease and its lethal capacity which now effects 46,000,000 people world-wide, as well as its impact on not only local economies and politics of countries in Africa and Asia, but in the US as well. She said the fight is for the availability of generic drugs which can stem the epidemic.  Published by Verso Books

Marjorie Cohn, professor of law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, and vice-president of the National Lawyers Guild, analyzed the findings of the US Commission on the 9/11 attack on the US.  She recommended not only an increase in security but getting to the root causes of the Muslim hostility toward our country based on US foreign policy. www.nlg.org

July 25
Larry Tye, author, Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class,  told the story of how African-American men assigned to the most servile tasks on the railroads used their position to elevate themselves socially and financially, form militant trade unions, and be the conveyance for news of the North to isolated black communities in the South, and brought jazz back up with them. www.larrytye.com

Eric Zuesse, author, Iraq War: The Truth, charged that Bush did not rely on "faulty intelligence" as a rationale for invading Iraq, but purposely lied knowing there were no weapons of mass destruction. He also said that the invasion was part of a long range plan to turn the US into a Christian theocracy instead of secular, constitutional democracy. http://liberty.hypermart.net/Reviews/Iraq_War_The_Truth.htm 

July 18
Jennifer Abbot, Director and Editor, of the documentary film, The Corporation, told us her production examined the role of the corporation in modern life. She described how the institution has become the dominant feature in both the economic and political world. Her film has won numerous awards. www.thecorporation.com

Laura Flanders, author,  The W Effect: Bush's War On Women, argued that Bush administration gender politics have hurt women dramatically from endangering their right to choose to weakening the family and a women's economic status. www.lauraflanders.com

July 11
David Barsamian, author of numerous books of his transcribed interviews with famous people such as Studs, Turkel, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, described the process of question guests so as to elicit their core ideas. He said he hopes his interviews aid in the democratic process of  policy decision making. www.alternativeradio.org www.southendpress.org

Sarah Triano,  national coordinator of Disabled and Proud, told about the upcoming national Disability Pride march that will occur July 18 in Chicago. She spoke about increased opportunities for disabled people and the continuing prejudices against them. She said there are many Detroit and Michigan groups which aid the cause of the disabled.  www.disabledandproud.com

July 4
Marjorie Cohn, professor, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, vice-president, National Lawyers Guild, and author of "The Concentration Camp at Guantanamo," commented on the recent US Supreme Court decision which stated that detainees must have access to the court system. She spoke about how the rule of law was necessary to uphold even in difficult times. Her article is at:  http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forum/forumnew135.php

George A. Collier, author, Basta: Land & The Zapatista Rebellion in Chiapas, described the Indian people's uprising in the southern most state of Mexico. He said that this small area has had an enormous impact on plans for regional globalization and acts as a model for people living outside the Western and international paradigm who want to maintain much of their traditional ways. www.foodfirst.org.

June 20
Carl Pope, director, the Sierra Club, and author, Strategic Ignorance, said that after a century of progress, environmental quality is declining.  He offered "ten common sense solutions" for the next 20 years which would restore a positive environmental agenda.
www.sierraclub.org.

June 6
Amy Goodman, host of the syndicated Democracy Now! radio show, and author, The Exception to the Rulers, spoke about how the media is failing in its role as policy questioners of political power, and instead, repeats uncritically the statements of those in office. She said a vibrant, independent press is what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they Constitutionally protected freedom of the press. www.democracynow.org

Robert W. McChesney, author, The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the 21st Century, spoke about how American media system functions, and how citizens can play an active role in shaping policy.  www.freepress.net  

May 30
Sam Pizzigati, author, Greed and Good, Understanding and Overcoming the Inequality That Limits Our Lives, argued that concentrations of wealth today, similar to what existed a century ago, distorts every aspect of American life from jobs to sports. He suggests a "maximum wage" which would be tied to the minimum wage to eliminate the great disparities of wealth.  www.greedandgood.org

May 23
Thom Hartmann, author, We the People: A Call to Take Back America, described the process whereby corporations and political elites have taken control of the political process and are jeopardizing democracy. He called fro greater participation in the political and electoral process. www.thomhartmann.com

Howard Markel, U-M Professor of Pediatrics, and author,  When Germs Travel: Six Major Epidemics That Have Invaded America Since 1900 & the Fears They Have Unleashed, told the story of the social and medical impact  that mass outbreaks of illness  have had. He said that often panic about an epidemic leads to scapegoating ethnic groups. He said that access to public health facilities for all insures the health of everyone. more info

May 16
Laura Flanders,  author,  Bush Women, described the many females who are prominent in the Bush administration. She was critical that much of the media reporting about them concentrates more on what they wore at a Senate hearing than the content of their testimony. www.lauraflanders.com

May 9
Andrei Codrescu, NPR commentator and author of the novel, Wakefield, explained that his retelling of Faust story is a parable for the 1990s. He said he used fiction to examine the economic and political illusions that Americans operated under during that era, and why the nation currently seems so adrift. www.codrescu.com

Paul Rieckhoff, a returned Iraq war GI and 9/11 first responder in New York City, described his experiences with the 3rd Infantry Division. He said the armed forces were unprepared for the conflict and his unit frequently did not have enough equipment, ammunition or water. He said morale was low and may plummet with extended tours and the recent torture scandals. www.paulrieckhoff.com 

May 2
Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder, School of the Americas Watch, spoke about the campaign to close the U.S. Army facility in Columbus, Georgia which trains Latin American troops for counter-insurgency in their home country. Fr. Bourgeois is speaking in Detroit May 2 for the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights [see www.mchr.org] or www.soaw.org.

Jim Motavalli, editor, E: The Environmental Magazine, discussed his special issue on the "Politics of Paper." He described the impact on our national forests, the increase of paper use with the advent of computers, the effect of the clorine bleaching process on paper on the environment, and impact of tree plantations. Motavalli advocated a huge reduction in forest products by switching to other plants for the basis of paper fibers and a huge increase in paper recycling. www.emagazine.com

April 25
Craig Unger, author, House of Bush; House of Saud, described the secret relationship between the world's two most powerful families. Unger charged that the business and political connections between the two often determine U.S. domestic policy to the detriment of the American people. www.houseofbush.com

April 18
Naomi Klein, syndicated columnist for the Toronto Star, described her recent visit to Iraq. She spoke with American GIs as well as ordinary Iraqis and political and religious leaders. All are worried about what the future portends. www.nologo.org

Rev. Edwin Rowe, senior pastor, Central United Methodist Church, spoke about the history of his church which has sought improvement in Detroiter's well being since it was established in 1865. He commented on the "Passion of the Christ," and talked about the necessity of the message of Jesus which promoted peace and tolerance

April 11, 
Robert Jensen, author, The Struggle to Claim our Humanity, spoke about the necessity of maintaining a spirit of tolerance and hope for the future in the face of war and terrorism. www.citylights.com

Tyson Slocum, research director, Public Citizen's Energy Program, and author, "How Oil Companies Keep Gasoline Prices High," described the process of how this is accomplished. Through mergers and the vertical integration of all functions from well head to pump, the oil companies control the price of gas to their benefit. Slocum called for laws which forbid holding back oil or refining of gasoline, and for an increase in fuel standards, plus general conservation of energy use. www.citizen.org

April 4
Robert D. Bullard, author of Highway Robbery: New Routes to Equity, explained that public investment in roads and freeways has left the poor cut off from economic and social development. But, rather than being to the advantage of the suburban middle-class, this creates a less than optimal situation in health, time spent commuting, job creation, and the environment. Bullard called for social investment in reliable mass transit that would benefit everyone. www.ejrc.cau.edu/

Alan Sager, co-director, Health Reform Program at Boston University's School of Public Health, commented on the recent report that Medicare will run out of money for benefits by 2026. He said that there is enough funding in that system alone to provide good health care for everyone, not just seniors, but that half the money expended is waste and genuine cost controls are needed. He opposed privatization of medicine and said this will worsen the situation. www.healthreformprogram.org

March 28
Zoe Weil, author of Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times, identified ten commonly held qualities necessary for humane child rearing in a world often dominated by television images which contradict these values. She offered advice on how to create a model for behavior and a belief system that would aid the child in developing skills to create a spirit that is "vital with a heart full of love."  www.iihed.org

Meredith Maran,  author of Dirty: A Search for Answers Inside America's Teenage Drug Epidemic, exposed the suffering and the thrills that an adolescent experiences on the road to addiction, and during recovery. She focused on several case studies from her book to suggest that the problem of teen-age alcohol and drug abuse is not being properly addressed and that the problem is increasing, not decreasing. www.meredithmaran.com

March 21
Chuck Collins, co-author with Bill Gates, Sr., of Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes, spoke about the debate regarding the inheritance tax. He said it was necessary to maintain it for a government revenue base, but also to allow a redistribution of income of the wealthiest individuals. Without this, he argued, the deficit will increase and disproportionate political power will accrue to the wealthy. www.responsiblewealth.org

Alistair Millar , Senior Analyst at the British American Security Information Council, spoke about the situation in Iraq on anniversary of the U.S. invasion. He said that the country shows little sign of stability and has a great possibility of falling into civil war once the U.S. turns its administration back to an Iraqi authority. www.fourthfreedom.org

March 14
John Philips, founder of the Center for Law in the Public Interest, described his legal firm's actions in reclaiming billions of dollars taken from the government by corporate fraud. He described his role in the HCA Medicare case where the HMO had to repay almost $2 billion. He told about the role of whistleblowers who, under a Civil War statute, receive a portion of  the recovered fines. He said although corporate corruption is reduced, it still exists.

Jennifer Gonnerman, author, Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett, told the story of the woman in the book's title who was released from prison after serving 16 years on a drug charge and how she fared during the period of re-entry into civilian society. She discussed the consequence of harsh sentencing  policies, particularly on poor families, in states like New York and Michigan.  www.lifeontheoutside.com

March 7
David Osborn, renown novelist, and author of the The Last Pope, told us that his latest title brings into focus all the controversy revolving around the Catholic Church and religion in general. Although his work is fiction, he used the plot device of the election of a Pope by the College of Cardinals to discuss the direction of the church, the pedophile scandal, and Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ."  www.sourcebooks.com

Bruce J. Miller, author of Take Them at Their Words: Shocking, Amusing & Baffling Quotations from the GOP and Their Friends, charged that much of what comes out of the Republican right is destructive to community debate over important issues. He chose quotes to illustrate his point which involves statements from Republicans of racism, sexism, misogyny,  homophobia, ultra-nationalism as well as threats of violence to liberals. He called for a ramping down of the discourse and a concentration on the issues rather than name calling. www.academychicago.com

February 29
Marie Mason, an organizer for the Michigan Sweetwater Alliance, a local group concerned with water privatization and maintaining access to essential services, reported that 80,000 households in the Detroit area had water shutoffs in 2003, mostly poor families. This also affected heating in homes with steam heat. Mason said giant water firms are buying up aqua sources around the world which denies access to rural poor in Third World Countries. She called for a moratorium in Michigan on unpaid water bills for the poor, noting that the costs to public are much greater when children are taken from these families and put in foster home at state expense. www.waterissweet.org.

Allen Cholger, International Representative, PACE International Union, described the crisis in health care confronting Americans. He said 45-70 million citizens are without coverage in a year, many cut their medicine dosages to save money, some seek medical care only when in advanced stages of illness. Cholger proposed a system called JUST HealthCare which would be a single payer universal government financed medical program such is available in all other modern, industrial countries. www.justhealthcare.org 

February 22
Alexander Sanger, Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund, and author, Beyond Choice: Reproductive Freedom in the 21th Century, said the pro-choice movement must assert that abortion rights are an indispensable part of our biological destiny. He argued that choosing to bring pregnancies to full term or not should rest with the woman, and this allows the best choice for the mother, the family, and society rather than being constricted by laws.  http://march.feminist.org/

Thom Hartmann, author, The Edison Gene: ADHD and the Gift of the Hunter Child, said that children with the syndrome have gifts, not liabilities. He asserted that most innovators have the ADHD gene which provide a highly adaptive and useful skill set for people who excel in their fields. He presented ways in which school situations can accommodate children with those genes, not the other way around, particularly utilizing drugs to gain a non-creative conformity.  www.thomhartmann.com

February 15
Harvey Wasserman, author of "Free and Green," in the current Mother Jones magazine, cited the crisis in fossil fuels in terms of decreasing availability, their environmental impact, and increasing costs such as gasoline, natural gas, and fuel oil prices in Michigan. He called for an end to taxpayer subsidies to the fossil fuel industries and for them to compete on an equal basis with renewals such as wind and solar power. He said Traverse City, Mich., and Bowling Green, Ohio were examples of how wind power could be used successfully. www.motherjones.com.

Tom Tomorrow, political cartoonist.  www.thismodernworld.com

February 8
Rudy Simons, a Detroit area businessman, described his trip to Colombia  with Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. He said their purpose was to see the impact on the Drug War and the anti-guerrilla counter-insurgency program, Plan Columbia, was having on the people. Simons told about trips to the deep interior of the state of Choco and of their visit to small hamlets that had suffered at the hands of the paramilitary forces, the narcotrafficantes, and government  troops. He also said that most of the U.S. taxpayer money which funds Plan Colombia is used by the government to purchase arms. www.mchr.org 

Thomas Ponniah, editor, Another World is Possible: Popular Alternatives to Globalization at the World Social Forum,  attended the international meeting mentioned in the title of his book in Mumbai, India last month. He told us that over a thousand workshops addressed the question of creating globalization from below, rather than having decisions forced upon countries by elites. He said the big issues addressed were adequately waged jobs, an economy that works for everyone, water and other environmental topics, and war and peace. www.globalexchange.org

February  1
David Potorti, author, September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, described his emotions at the news of his brother's death in the World Trade Center, and they have evolved since. He said that many families of 9/11 victims want to turn their grief into action that guarantees  such acts of terror won't occur again. He and his group have traveled to Afghanistan and Iraq to talk with families of people who have died in bombings. www.peacefultomorrows.org

Dedrick Muhammad, coordinator, the Racial Divide Project, United for a Fair Economy, explained the conclusions of the study he authored, "The State of the Dream: Enduring Disparities in Black and White," which deals with the gap between racially based income and life chances. He said that the statistics associated with a generation ago still prevail today in income, housing, education, employment, life expectancy, etc. He said that often the behavior or situation we associate with minority  groups is more accurately keyed to class rather than ethnicity. He called for an economy which provides increased employment and equal benefits and opportunity.
www.faireconomy.org

January 25
Bruce Gagnon, director, Global Network, discussed the moon base and travel to Mars proposed by George Bush's administration. He said the costs are prohibitive given the budget deficit and domestic needs. Gagnon also worries about the use of nuclear fuel to power rockets, as well as the risks the militarization of space could bring. www.space4peace.org.

Lynn Landes, a jounalist specializing in voting technology issues, warned of the pitfalls of touchscreen voting which she said has poor security, is prone to errors, and leaves no paper trail for verification. She advocated a return to paper balloting until the voting technology can assure that each vote is counted properly. Landes also expressed similar concerns about the validity of the Michigan Democratic Party primary which will be carried out over the Internet. www.ecotalk.org.

January 18
David Moats, Pulitzer prize winning editorial page editor of the Rutland (Vt.) Herald, and author, Civil Wars: A Battle for Gay Marriage, described the contending sides during Vermont's political contest as to whether to allow gays to marry or have civil unions. He said this microcosm of America will have an impact on all states as politicians stake out their opinions on the issue and legislatures, like Michigan's face the same question.

Eric Weitz, author, A Century of Genocide: Utopias of Race and Nation, described how citizens of a nation can justify turning on their neighbors with disastrous and murderous consequences.   He cited the current atmosphere of terrorism and war that could potentially lead to a victimization of people if they are seen as root of a country's problems. He spoke of the need to see members of ethnic groups as individuals as well as group identified.  www.pup.princeton.edu

January 11
Michael Scherer, Washington correspondent, The Nation magazine, and author of "Is Our Meat Safe," discussed the latest Mad Cow disease scare. He said that meat is for the good part safe, but that much reform is needed in the area of inspection. He advocated passage of Country of Origin Labeling legislation which would inform consumers where all meat and produce originated from allowing choice in the market place. www.thenation.com

January 4
David Bacon, author, The Children of NAFTA, talked about the trade agreement's 10th anniversary, and its impact on the jobs and the wage levels of Detroit area workers. He said that unless globalization is managed in a manner that takes into account the needs of U.S. workers, we'll be in a "race to the bottom." www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9989.html

December 28
Keith Kloor, senior editor, Audubon Magazine, told us about his publication's special issue on the truth and consequences of global warning. He said all scientific evidence supports the concept and detailed the possible catastrophic results which could occur unless the problem is addressed. He detailed numerous solutions from government policies to individual life changes to address the situation. www.audubon.org

December 21
Robert Scheer, nationally syndicated columnist, and, author, The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq, charged that the invasion and occupation of Iraq was based upon false information purposely communicated to the American people. He said that such intentional misinformation erodes the democratic process. www.fivelies.com

Gerald Horne, author, Race War!: White Supremacy and the Japanese Attack on the British Empire, told the amazing story of the wide spread support for the Japanese prior to World War II among the colonized people of Asia, but also from many African-Americans. The racial, anti-white propaganda of the Asian empire appealed to many of those under the yoke of European domination and subject to racial discrimination in this country. Horne contended that it was this confrontation which began a reversal of racism in the US and the British colonies.    http://www.nyupress.org/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=3228

December 14
Alexandra Robbins, author, Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power, told about the role of secret societies among the
financial and social elite. She focused on Yale's Skull and Bones, of which both presidents Bush are members of, and how membership allows a small group of men to
have extraordinary power in shaping public policy. www.secretsofthetomb.com

Vijay Prashad, associate professor and director of International Studies at Trinity
College, and author, Keeping Up With the Dow Jones: Debt, Prison, Workfare, discussed
the contention that the U.S. economy is rebounding. He said the current uptick is fueled
by rising debt of poor and middle class workers, and jobs that are low paying service positions
while employment in the manufacturing base continues to disappear abroad.
www.southendpress.org

December 7
Stephen Prothero, Chair of the Boston University Department of Religion, and
author, American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon, described
how the different images of Jesus changed throughout American history,
adapting themselves to the politics of the time. www.fsgbooks.com

Derek Jensen, author, Strangely Like War: The Global Assault on Forests, told about
the widespread deforestation that is occurring worldwide. He described the impact on
wildlife, but also on indigenous people in the Third World, the pollution and environ-
mental degradation, soil erosion, and other negative effects of uncontrolled logging.
He advocated conservation of wood and paper products to start, but also long-term
policies that would protect the remaining forests. www.chelseagreen.com

November 30
The Peter Werbe Show presented, "Chile: Promise of Freedom,"
produced by The Freedom Archives, which told the story of the Sept. 11, 1973
military coup against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende.
The documentary gave voice to many of the people involved in the government at
the time, several of whom became victims of the Pinochet fascist dictatorship
which ruled Chile for almost two decades. The Nixon government and particularly
Henry Kissinger come under harsh indictment for their role in instigating the
government's overthrow. Available from AK Press. www.akpress.org.

November 23
David Corn, Washington Bureau Chief for The Nation magazine (www.thenation.com) and
author of The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception, said
interest wasn't so much in partisan attacks on Bush, but rather to examine the
nature of modern politics where so much is determined by media images rather
than a debate of policy issues. www.bushlies.com

November 16
Wayne Besen, author, Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies
Behind the Ex-Gay Myth, told about the attempt by the religious Right to claim that
homosexuality could be "cured" by prayer. Besen said that gay sexuality isn't a
choice, but is biologically determined and that attempts to "pray it away" did great
damage to individuals and was part of a homophobic agenda of conservatives.
www.anythingbutstraight.com

Prof. Adolph Reed, Jr., co-chair of the Committee for Free Higher Education, argued
that no-cost college tuition was economically feasible, would broaden the base of a
university educated population, and would eventually pay great dividends socially and
financially for the nation. www.freehighered.org

November 9
Raquel Pinderhughes, author of the essay, "Poverty and the Environment:
The Urban Agriculture Connection," which appears in Natural Assets: Democratizing
Environmental Ownership, discussed the importance of city gardens in poor
neighborhoods. She described her world-wide travels to view the impact of urban
agriculture in other poor and traditional communities and described the benefits of
better and cheaper food, and how urban plots bring people in an area together.
www.islandpress.org

November 2
Alexander Cockburn, co-editor, The Politics of Anti-Semitism, questioned the broad manner in which the charge of anti-Semitism is leveled against critics of Israel's Sharon government's military, political and social conduct.
www.counterpunch.org   www.akpress.org

Peter Kornbluh, director, National Security Archives, George Washington
University, and author, The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity
and Accountability, described his research into the recently released government documents regarding the U.S. role in the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Chile in 1973. http://www.nsarchive.org

October 26
Laurel Legler, producer, "MC5: A True Testimonial," described the impact
of the seminal Detroit rock band and how it coincided with the upheaval in
politics and moral during the 1960s. www.futurenowfilms.com

October 19
Steven High, author, Industrial Sunset: The Making of North America's
Rust Belt, 1969-1984, described the process of de-industrialization which
has created problems throughout our region and hitting Detroit particularly
hard. www.utpress.utoronto.ca

Steven Watson, author, Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties, chronicled
the impact of Andy Warhol and the art and cultural movement he spawned
on everything from advertising to movies. www.factorymade.org

October 12
Greg Palast, author, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, assessed
the win of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the California recall election. He
said, although the star factor weighed heavily, he charged that the
election was essentially an "auction," whereby the wealthiest candidate
won. www.gregpalast.com

October 5
Kendra Whitlock, Director of Pops and Specials, Detroit Symphony
Orchestra, explained how the recently opened Max M. Fisher Music
Center, will aid education efforts of the DSO.

September 28
Dan Perkins, creator of Tom Tomorrow's "This Modern World," described
the process of political cartooning. www.thismodernworld.com

Richard Heinberg, author, The Party's Over: Oil, War & the Fate
of Industrial Societies, told us that oil production will peak in the
decade, leaving in its wake a scramble over an ever more scare resource.
He advocates an immediate end to dependence on oil, foreign or domestic,
conservation, and a scaling down of energy requirements. www.newsociety.com

September 21
Jim Hightower, author, Thieves in High Places, said that American
democracy has been thwarted by wealthy elites who put profit before
the common good. He described his travels where he said he sees
people all over the country working to re-invigorate democracy.
www.jimhightower.com

Christine Ahn, editor, Shafted: Free Trade and America's Working
Poor, talked about her book which presents accounts from ordinary
working people and farmers who describe the effects of NAFTA on
job loss and the collapse of family farms.
www.foodfirst.org

September 14
William Hartung, fellow at the World Policy Institute discussed
the cost of the occupation of Iraq and the effect it will have on
the U.S. economy. He said the expenditure of billions on rebuilding
Iraq coupled with large tax cuts will drive the U.S. further in debt
and make the country unable to deal with its issues of health,
schools, infrastructure and prescription drugs.
www.worldpolicy.org

Derek Coronado, policy and research coordinator, Citizens
Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario and Southeastern
Michigan CEA), outlined the problems and suggested solutions for the
clean-up of the Detroit River and Great Lakes Basin. He mentioned
that bald eagles are returning to the area and the lake trout are gain
plentiful, but said that the dumping of toxins into the river and lakes
continues. Peter will host the Sixth Annual CEA River Boat Tour,
Saturday, September 20. See Detroit Seen on Home page.
www.mnsi.net/~cea

September 7
Marlene Dobkin de Rios, author, LSD, Spirituality, and the Creative
Process, described the 1950s experiments of Dr. Oscar Janiger in-
volving administering the hallucinogen to subjects to note the effect
on their creative abilities, and to emotionally disturbed persons to
test for the drug's curative properties. www.innertraditions.com

Jerry Lembcke, Vietnam veteran, and author, CNN's Tailwind Tale:
Inside Vietnam's Last Great Myth, related the scandal at the cable
network that involved an alleged U.S. attack with poison gas on a
camp of American defectors in Laos. The story proved to be false
producers were fired by CNN. Lembcke said this is one of many
myths, such as the existence of POWs, which are used to explain
the U.S. defeat in Vietnam.  jerrylembcke@holycross.edu

August 31
David Barr, designer and sculptor, the Michigan Labor Legacy
Landmark, described the process of bringing into being the huge
downtown Detroit monument to working people. Barr talked about
the meaning of the different elements that comprise the 6-story high statue.
He said it was important to emphasize the role common working
people play in the history of our country and city.

Andrei Codrescu, National Public Radio commentator, and author,
it was today, a new collection of his poems, talked about what he calls,
"the connection between modern life and millennial malaise." He spoke
about the role of a poet in an era dominated by computers and whether
such writing has relevance in a world marked by terrorism and wars.
http://literati.net/Codrescu/  www.corpse.org

August 24
Guy Dauncey, author, Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate
Change (www.newsociety.com), discussed the reason for the recent
blackout and suggested a sustainable energy plan for the US based on
renewal sources. He said that a fossil-based economy is both impractical,
faced with problems like we recently experienced, and bad for the environment.
www.earthfuture.org  www.earthisland.org

Joe Conason, author, Big Lies, The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine &
How it Distorts the Truth, listed the many way in which a conservative
agenda is promoted and hurts the needs of this country. He illustrated
the web of power and wealth that connects corporate and financial in-
terests through the media. click for book info.

August 17
    William P. Quigley, professor of law, Loyola University, and author,
Ending Poverty As We Know It, talked about his campaign to guarantee
every American a job at a living wage. He described the extensive levels
of poverty in this country which is the richest in the world. He said that
economic guarantees should be made into a Constitutional amendment.

    Jerry Lubin, curator, "The Art of Labor," described the exhibition that
will be opening at Pontiac's Creative Arts Center. He said as Labor Day
approaches, the artistic representation of working people's contributions
to our city and state is very appropriate. He spoke about the different
art pieces and what they signified.

August 10
    Medea Benjamin, founding director, Global Exchange, described her
experiences in Iraq, both before and after the U.S. invasion. Her organi-
zation has established a Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad and she
spoke about her interaction with American GIs and Iraqi people.
www.globalexchange.org; www.occupationwatch.org

    Jim Embry, director, Detroit's James and Grace Lee Boggs Center.
http://www.boggscenter.org/index-old.htm

August 3
    Joyce Millen, co-author Global Aids: Myths and Fact (South End Press),
and Lecturer in Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, discussed
the pandemic disease and the devastating impact it has on Third
World countries as well as the potential in our nation. She told
of her experiences as a health worker in Africa, and described
the impact of the media in perpetuating AIDS myths. Millen said
our era will be judged on how we respond to this crisis.
www.southendpress.org

July 27
    Tom Barwin, city manager, City of Ferndale, discussed the ne-
cessity of planning light-rail, mass transit. He said it was a element
that could help stop urban sprawl, end traffic congestion, speed
people from the suburbs attending downtown events, lessen our
dependence on foreign oil, and spur economic development.

July 20
    Chad Kister, author, Arctic Quest: Odyssey Through a
Threatened Wilderness, related the story of his 700-mile journey
by raft and foot through the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. He
described not just an exciting adventure, but also the impact oil
exploration and drilling has on that fragile ecology. He urged con-
servation of resources and alternative fuels.

    Christopher Nyerges, author, Extreme Simplicity: Homesteading in the City, asked us to rethink and reprioritize our way of living. He described his home in Los Angeles which uses alternative
energy for power, extensive composting and re-use of materials,
and gardening and preserving as model of how our entire society
could function. He said his efforts had an ethical, ecological, and
practical function.   

July 13
    Bruce Mirken, director of communications for the Marijuana
Policy Project described the War on Drugs as a total failure that
not only failed to stop illegal substances but cost the American
taxpayer billions of wasted dollars.   

July 6
    Danny Goldberg, CEO of Arista Records and author, Dispatches
from the Culture Wars, said that civil liberties are in danger from an
an administration obsessed with terrorism. He was also critical of
liberals like Joe Leiberman and Hillary Clinton for their attacks on
popular culture.

May 18
    Michael Lydon, author, Flashbacks: Eyewitness Accounts of the
Rock Revolution, described his experiences as a Newsweek rock
reporter in "Swinging London" during the wild mid-1960s such as 
interviewing the Beatles. When he returned in 1967, he covered
such events at the Monterey Pop Festival, and eventually became
the managing editor of Rolling Stone magazine.
 
May 11
    Peter Howe, editor, Shooting Under Fire: The World of the War
Photographer, spoke about the pressures, critical decisions, and
ethical choices a combat photographer faces in battle situations.
He told us about what motivates photographers to face danger
and their commitment to recording history with their camera.
www.artisanbooks.com

May 4
    Marvin E. Gettleman, co-editor, The Middle East & Islamic World
Reader, spoke about the importance of knowing all aspects of the
world the U.S. has so dramatically intervened in. He said his book
presents varied points of views, historical, religious and political. He
commented on the significance of entries as varied as Osama Bin Laden, George Bush, and Ariel Sharon. www.groveatlantic.com.

April 27
     1. Thomas Wilkins, conductor in residence, Detroit Symphony
Orchestra. www.detroitsymphony.com
      2. Richard Heinberg, author, The Party's Over: Oil, War & the Fate
of Industrial Societies, told us that oil production will peak in the
decade, leaving in its wake a scramble over an ever more scare resource.
He advocates an immediate end to dependence on oil, foreign or domestic,
conservation, and a scaling down of energy requirements. www.newsociety.com

April 20
    1. Michigan Humane Society guest from their enforcement division.
    2. Ronald K.L. Collins, co-author, The Trials of Lenny Bruce

April 13
    1. Seymour Melman on U.S.' permanent war economy.
    2. Sally Kravich, author, Vibrant Living: Creating Radiant Health
& Longevity. Kravich described the elements in modern society, from high stress jobs to
fast food to pollution, which create poor health. She advocated a series of
natural ways to reverse the effect including dietary, exercise, and attitude changes.

April 6
    1. Emilee Thompson, vice-president, Southeast Michigan Anti-Rape
Network, P.O. Box 51813, Livonia 48151
    Thompson informed the audience that rape remains a serious problem
in our area and outlined the steps member groups of her network were
taking in education and dealing with victims. She discussed attitudes and
cultural cues which prompted some men to think that force was permissible in
sex.
    2. Howard Lyman, author, The Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle
Rancher that Won't Eat Meat www.madcowboy.com
    Lyman promoted the idea of a vegan diet for both health and ecological
reasons. He discussed the possibility of Mad Cow disease entering the
food chain and how ridding one's diet of animal products could add to
quality of life and longevity.

March 16
    Brad Van Guilder, Wayne County community organizer, for the
Ann Arbor Ecology Center, talking about importing trash into Mich-
igan. www.stoptrash.org
    Jim Turner, past president, Preservation Wayne

March 2
    Eric Foner, author, Who Owns History: Rethinking the Past in a
Changing World. Pub: Hill & Wang
    Heather Ann Thompson, author, Whose Detroit? Politics, Labor and
Race in a Modern American City. Pub: Cornell University Press

February 23
    Greg Critser, author, Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest
People in the World. Pub: Houghton Mifflin

February 16
    Bob Myers, member, Workers Aid, co-author, Taking Sides:
Against Ethnic Cleansing In the Former Yugoslavia. Contact Myers
for info on book at bobmyers_wa@hotmail.com
    Todd Gitlin. Numerous books and articles. Check www.google.com.

February 9
ALL STATIONS
    Dr. Mark Cooper, Director of Research, Consumer Federation
of America, author, Cable Mergers and Monopolies www.consumerfed.org
    Lucy G. Barber, author, Marching on Washington: The Forging of an
American Political Tradition www.ucpress.edu

February 2
WCSX
    Thom Rutledge, author, Embracing Fear and Finding the Courage to
Live Your Life www.webpowers.com/thomrutledge

January 26
WRIF & WMGC
    Thom Rutledge, author, Embracing Fear and Finding the Courage to
Live Your Life www.webpowers.com/thomrutledge
WCSX
    Charles Greenwell, Conducting Assistant, Detroit Symphony
Orchestra www.detroitsymphony.com
    Rudy Simon, Vice-Chair, Cranbrook Peace Council, just back
from Iraq with Bishop Thomas Gumbleton and September 11 Families

January 19
WMGC
    Charles Greenwell, Conducting Assistant, Detroit Symphony
Orchestra www.detroitsymphony.com
    Rudy Simon, Vice-Chair, Cranbrook Peace Council, just back
from Iraq with Bishop Thomas Gumbleton and September 11 Families
for Peaceful Tomorrows www.peacefultomorrows.org

Sunday, January 12
All Stations
    Mark Hertsgaard, author, The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates
7 Infuriates the World. www.fsgbooks.com
    Beth McKuen, Market Manager, Coalition On Temporary Shelter (COTS)
www.cotsdetroit.org 

Sunday, December 22
WMGC:
    Mark Crispin Miller, author, The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations
on a National Disorder
http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/2002/07/19_Mark_Crispin_Miller.html
    Jim O’Neal, editor, The Voice of the Blues: Classic Interviews from
Living Blues Magazine www.LivingBlues.com.

WCSX and WRIF
    Diane McWhorter, author, Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama.
The climactic battle of the civil rights revolution
    Dana Frank, co-author with Howard Zinn and Robin D.G. Kelley,
Three Strikes: Miners, Musicians, Salesgirls, and the Fighting Spirit of
Labor's Last Century http://www.beacon.org/f02cat/zinn.html

Sunday, December 15
ALL STATIONS   
    Debby McDonald, Investigator, Michigan Humane Society, www.michiganhumane.org
    Dana Lyons, author, The Tree, introduction by Pete Seeger
and Julia Butterfly Hill; illustrated by David Danioth. www.danalyons.com
or  www.illumin.com