New York Times columnist Frank Rich's new book is The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina. Rich has been with the Times since 1980, when he was named chief theater critic.
Nell Freudenberger lived every young writer's dream when her first short story was published in The New Yorker. She was 26 at the time and an editorial assistant at the magazine, writing fiction in the morning before work. Her award-winning short story collection, Lucky Girls, was published in 2003 and made our best books list that year. Freudenberger has just published her first novel, The Dissident.
Actor Ed Harris plays Ludwig van Beethoven in the new film Copying Beethoven, and he's also starring in the new play Wrecks, written and directed by Neil LaBute. The play is set to begin previews at New York's Public Theater on September 26 and open on Oct. 10.
Journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran is the former Baghdad bureau chief for The Washington Post. His new book about the Green Zone in Baghdad during the first year of the U.S. occupation is Imperial Life in the Emerald City.
On today's show we look into the Christian Zionist movement, made up of evangelical Christians who see the rebirth of Israel as a prelude to the second coming of Christ. Journalist Gershom Gorenberg is former associate editor and columnist for The Jerusalem Report.
Max Blumenthal is a Puffin Foundation writing fellow at the Nation Institute, based in Washington, D.C. His work has appeared in various publications, and he is a research fellow at Media Matters for America. He has written extensively about the conservative movement, and the Christian right. His recent article in The Nation is "Birth Pangs of a New Christian Zionism."
John Hagee is the founder of the Christian Zionist group, Christians United for Israel. He is the senior pastor of Cornerstone Church an evangelical church in San Antonio, Texas. He is also the author of a number of books; his most recent is Jerusalem Countdown: A Warning to the World.
Writer Alice McDermott won the National Book Award in 1998 for her novel, Charming Billy. McDermott has just brought out a new novel called After This, and our book critic says that it's a stunner.
Artie Lange's personal life -- namely, binge drinking and eating -- often provides fodder for his fellow cast members on the Howard Stern Show. The actor and comedian has appeared in such comedies as Old School and Elf. He stars in the new film Artie Lange's Beer League.
Actor Jeremy Sisto, best known for his role as Billy on HBO's Six Feet Under, is now starring in the new series Kidnapped on NBC. It premieres next Wednesday.
Joan Graves, MPAA board chair is the only member of the board that the MPAA does not keep anonymous. Graves responds to some of the contentions in Kirby Dick's documentary, This Film is Not Yet Rated.
Filmmaker Kirby Dick's new documentary, This Film is Not Yet Rated, peers into the secretive world of the Motion Picture Association of America's film ratings system. MPAA board members are anonymous, deliberations are private, and standards are seemingly arbitrary.
Journalist T. Christian Miller of The Los Angeles Times talks about his new book, Blood Money: Wasted Billions, Lost Lives, and Corporate Greed in Iraq. Miller writes, "In almost every way, the rebuilding has fallen short."
Bob Dylan's new album, Modern Times, hit the top of the record charts last week. Now 65, the singer-songwriter continues to explore blues and older pop styles with lyrics that frequently contain contemporary references.
Gordon Corera, security correspondent for the BBC, warns in his new book that we may be entering a new era of accelerated weapons proliferation. In Shopping for Bombs, Corera writes about the challenges of halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and about A.Q. Khan, the man described by a former CIA director as at least as dangerous as Osama bin Laden.
Louis Wiley is executive editor of the PBS documentary series Frontline, which has been affected by the Federal Communications Commission's crackdown on indecency in broadcasting. The FCC has increased fines tenfold for material they deem indecent.
Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein was appointed to his post in 2002. Previously, he was senior legislative aide to Sen. Tom Daschle.
Tim Winter is executive director of the Parents Television Council (PTC). Last week, the PTC filed an indecency complaint with the FCC over the NBC broadcast of the Emmy Awards because of language used by actresses Helen Mirren and Calista Flockhart.
