Friday, August 17, 2001

Fighting Fires
Elizabeth Farnsworth investigates the raging western wildfires. Then, Ray Suarez discusses fire containment efforts with Lyle Laverty, the U.S. Forest Service's National Fire Plan Coordinator; Michelle Ackermann, wildfire policy coordinator at The Wilderness Society; and Holly Fretwell of the Political Economy Research Center.

Political Wrap
Kwame Holman begins tonight's political wrap with a look at President Bush's week. Then, Terence Smith discusses the week in politics with Wall Street Journal columnist Paul Gigot and Time Magazine columnist Margaret Carlson.

Growing Apart
Gwen Ifill investigates the trend of increasing segregation in American schools and society.

The Emperor of Ice Cream
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky shares a poem by Wallace Stevens, perfect for a hot Friday in August.

Thursday, August 16, 2001

Newsmaker: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Recently returned from Moscow, Secretary Rumsfeld discusses the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, nuclear weapons reductions and the future of the U.S. military with Ray Suarez.

Reporters Notes at Issue
Houston journalist Vanessa Leggett is currently in jail for refusing to hand over her notes and research materials to federal officials. Terence Smith discusses the debate with Lucy Dalglish, executive director of The Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, and Bruce Fein, general counsel for The Center for Law and Accountability.

Favoring Boys in India
Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on India's census, which reveals a steadily declining ratio of girls to boys.

The Wild Blue
Gwen Ifill talks with historian and author Stephen Ambrose and World War II pilot and former Senator George McGovern about Ambrose's new book, The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B24's over Germany.

Wednesday, August 15, 2001

Too Young to Die?
In anticipation of the execution of Napoleon Beazley in Texas, Ray Suarez discusses juvenile capital punishment with NYU law professor Bryan Stephenson of the Equal Justice Initiative; district attorney Robert Horan of Fairfax County, Virginia; Nancy Gannon of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice; and Michael Rushford of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation.

Inside China
Terence Smith reports on a delegation of U.S. senators just returned from a six-day visit to China, Taiwan and South Korea. Senators Joseph Biden (D.-Del.) and Fred Thompson (R.-Tenn.) provide details about their visit.

High-Tech U.
John Merrow reports on a high-tech alternative to the traditional four-year college degree.

Political Comebacks
Kwame Holman examines former public figures re-entering the political arena. Then, Gwen Ifill discusses these political comebacks with presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin; journalist and author Haynes Johnson; and historian Richard Norton Smith.

Tuesday, August 14, 2001

Portrait of America
Gwen Ifill discusses what the recent census numbers say about the changing face of America with demographer Jeffrey Passel of The Urban Institute; Dean Rebecca Blank of the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan; and economics professor Michael Walden of North Carolina State University.

Elderly Drivers
Betty Ann Bowser reports on the increasing number of elderly drivers on roads today.

A Russian View
Ray Suarez looks at U.S.-Russia relations from a Russian point of view with Alexei Arbatov, deputy chairman of the Defense Committee of the Russian Duma and a member of the Yabloko Party, the leading Democratic opposition party in Russia.

Author William Wong
Terence Smith talks to William Wong, author of the new book Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America.

Monday, August 13, 2001

Making Peace
As Macedonia signs a groundbreaking peace accord, Spencer Michels looks at the negotiations in the former Yugoslav Republic. Then Gwen Ifill discusses the accord with Vasil Babamov, president of the Macedonian American Friendship Association; Ilir Zherka, president of the National Albanian American Council; and Daniel Serwer, senior fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Grading the System
Kwame Holman evaluates education reform, and Ray Suarez talks with four leading school superintendents about their reactions to Washington's efforts.
(background)
(discussion)

Foreign Correspondence: Russia
Terence Smith talks with John Daniszewski of the Los Angeles Times about his experience as the paper's Moscow bureau chief.

Who We Are
Roger Rosenblatt takes a look at photographs that reflect upon who we are.