Nikki Keddie, one of the nation’s leading Middle East scholars, argues that despite Western stereotypes, women in many Middle Eastern countries are making great strides in terms of civil liberties and legal rights. But America’s disastrous occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan threaten to undo much of the progress.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich speaks with Truthdig about the state of healthcare in America, his bill with Rep. John Conyers to provide universal coverage and why progress is inevitable: “It is going to happen, because there is an awareness that government has failed the American people in this regard, and it’s an economic issue, it’s a moral issue and it’s central to who we are as a nation.”
Exclusive: For the first time, the Ohio congressman describes his behind-the-scenes struggle with the party to overcome corporate influence and promote healthcare reform.
Iconic author and historian Gore Vidal speaks with Robert Scheer about his new memoir, “Point to Point Navigation,” and the events that shaped his life and his country, from war with Hitler to the “waking nightmare” of Iraq.
In a Truthdig interview, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) reacts to Rep. John Murtha’s failed bid for House majority leader, and explains why cutting off funding for the Iraq war is the only way to truly protect American troops.
In an original Truthdig interview, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), the potential next chair of a key national security subcommittee, calls for congressional hearings into how and why America invaded Iraq, and demands “accountability” for those who led America into a “war based on lies.”
Kucinich: “Rumsfeld may no longer be secretary of defense, but he made decisions based on lies that took people to their deaths. He has to be held accountable—secretary or not.”
Truthdig Editor Robert Scheer does a career-spanning interview with the “blue-collar liberal” who helped rule California politics as both a congressman and leader of the state legislature over the last 30 years.
Why did Henry Luce, titan of 20th-century journalism, bury the legacy of his boyhood friend and rival, Time magazine co-founder Briton Hadden? That’s the provocative and never-before-told story at the heart of the new book “The Man Time Forgot.” Truthdig interviews its author, Isaiah Wilner. (Above: Hadden, left, and Luce, center, in 1925.)
The life of political scientist Bernard Fall, the first soldier-scholar to predict an inglorious end for America in Vietnam, is remembered in a new biography by his widow. She speaks with Truthdig guest interviewer Sarah Stillman about the government’s lies—in Vietnam then, and in Iraq now.
The authors of the new book “Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIAs Rendition Flights” tell Truthdig guest interviewer Onnesha Roychoudhuri how they pieced together the first comprehensive look at the largest covert CIA operation since the Cold War—a program run not only by shadowy government contractors in the darkest corners of Afghanistan, but also by unassuming America family lawyers in places like Dedham, Mass.
Former Nixon aide John Dean and former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, who were foes during the early stages of the Nixon impeachment hearings in 1973, sound off in separate interviews on the prospects of impeaching President Bush. (Dean and Holtzman will debate the topic at UCLA on Sept. 13 at a Truthdig/The Nation Institute-sponsored event.)
John Dean, the man who famously blew the whistle on the Nixon White House during the Watergate hearings, gives a primer on the discussion he will conduct with former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman on Sept. 13 at UCLA, Bush and the Potential for Impeachment. Hint: Democrats shouldn’t go for impeachment unless they can convict Bush and remove him from office.
John Lennon historian Jon Wiener supplements his Truthdig article on John Lennon and the Politics of Deportation in this interview with Truthdig editor Robert Scheer.
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and his wife, Elizabeth, discuss their recent personal peace-building initiative in Lebanon, where the congressman was the first U.S. official to tour the area and meet with the countrys leaders in the wake of its war with Israel. Truthdig Editor Robert Scheer conducts the interview.
Former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, co-author of The Impeachment of George W. Bush, will be discussing that topic at UCLA on Wednesday, Sept. 13. She speaks with Truthdig about the presidents use of signing statements and how it will feel to share a stage at UCLA with onetime Nixon aide John Dean.
Mark Fainaru-Wada is one of two San Francisco Chronicle reporters who broke the Barry Bonds steroid stories. With a new book out, Fainaru-Wada discussed with Truthdig contributor James Harris whether Congress doesn’t have better things to do than hold hearings into pro sports; whether pro baseball really cares about cleaning up its image; and the federal government’s attempts to get Fainaru-Wada to disclose his confidential sources.
Bender, the producer of every Quentin Tarantino movie, describes how he produced the Al Gore global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” Check out:
Why he thought a guy nicknamed “The Robot” would a compelling documentary subject
His take on Gore’s inability to capitalize on global warming when he was in office
His recognition that climate change barely registers on most voters’ minds
The legendary father of New Journalism discusses his first new book in 14 years; the fallout of his wife’s publication of James Frey’s fabricated memoir; and how he may have spawned the “The Sopranos.”
The wealthy cable entrepreneur and darling of the progressive blogosphere discusses his antiwar primary challenge against Connecticut’s pro-war Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman. “The state party brass, they don’t like primaries. Competition is a little unsettling to them.”
The acclaimed novelist and poet, who escaped from imprisonment and torture in his native Nigeria, discusses his new novella about child prostitution and sex trafficking.
The country’s leading author on the natural world discusses his new book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” which details the truth behind “free range” chicken; the “illusions” of Whole Foods stores; and the reason why the cheapest calories are the least healthy.
The director who has been called the “Woody Allen of the West Coast” talks about her new ensemble film, Friends With Money,Ӕ starring Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Catherine Keener and Joan Cusack, which opened last week.
The best-selling author of “The End of Faith” talks about the way to navigate a dinner party without coming off as the Antichrist; about the “Salman Rushdie effect” that accompanies his newfound celebrity as America’s most prominent atheist; and about the new secular foundation he is founding.
The prominent black activist and mentor for incarcerated youth in Oakland, Calif. argues that it’s time to hold hip-hop artists accountable for the messages behind their music.
In his new book, “The Slave Side of Sunday,” former NFL player Anthony Prior writes about the legacy of racism in professional sports. “We are not looked at as leaders, rather, just a labor force where the money is generated. Plantation capitalism is still alive today,” he tells Truthdig contributor James Harris. (Audio and text interview with the author.)
Obama’s Thankless Thanksgiving
