Interviewing Norman Thomas on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

According to Norman Thomas, things in life are not as great as they used to be and there's nothing wrong with dissenting. Thomas chose 5 dissenters to write about, Socrates, Galileo, Thomas Paine, Wendell Phillips and Gandhi. Of of all of them, Gandhi was the biggest dissenter of our time, said Thomas.

Socialist Party leader and Presbyterian minister Norman Thomas discusses social progress, his political views, and where society is headed with Studs Terkel. This is the final part of his interview.

Content Warning: This conversation includes racially and/or culturally derogatory language and/or negative depictions of Black and Indigenous people of color, women, and LGBTQI+ individuals. Rather than remove this content, we present it in the context of twentieth-century social history to acknowledge and learn from its impact and to inspire awareness and discussion. Lillian Smith's father taught her that we're all human beings and that no one was better than another person.

Content Warning: This conversation includes racially and/or culturally derogatory language and/or negative depictions of Black and Indigenous people of color, women, and LGBTQI+ individuals. Rather than remove this content, we present it in the context of twentieth-century social history to acknowledge and learn from its impact and to inspire awareness and discussion. Lillian's Smith first book was "Strange Fruit." Smith said people that were reading that book covered up the book jacket so no one could see the title of the book.