Soviet intellectuals Tamara Mamedova, Nicolai Pogodin, and Anatol Safronov talk with Studs Terkel about their work with the Institute for Soviet-American Relations (U.S.) and Soviet arts and culture.

In his book, Make-Believe Presidents: Illusions of Power from McKinley to Carter, the American journalist Nicholas von Hoffman examines which presidents had power and which did not.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

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. Almost all the characters in Robert Kotlowitz's book, "The Boardwalk" are fictitious with the exception of Teddy, a Jewish, 14-year-old boy, who Kotlowitz explains is Robert Kotlowitz.

Jessica Mitford an English born author, investigative journalist, and civil rights activist discusses her book "Kind and Usual Punishment: The Prison Business,". Ms Mitford and Studs discuss her finding that prisoners were used as test subjects for drug trials and other medical research, and slave labor. Ms Mitford's book makes the argument that prisons are a governments means to making money from the prisoners they have punished. They speak about reform needed in the laws and decriminalization of many things and the abolishing of prison altogether. Ms.

The investigative journalists discuss and read from America: What Went Wrong? The book is based on a series of articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer about corporate greed and its effects on the middle class.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Studs interview with Dieter Lattman, German author and journalist. They discuss the powerful influence that German intellectuals have over the general public and how this led to the silent acceptance and ignorance of concentration camps and euphemism in Germany pre WWII. Littman praises William Shirer's book, "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" but warns that he did not know about the average German family. Littman shares some of his memories as a German youth living during the Nazi reign. Interview takes place in Germany.

Writer Gore Vidal discusses his novel, 1876, and how the political corruption and social atmosphere of the times inspired its plot. Vidal reads several excerpts from the book.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Ronnie Duggar’s book, “Politician: The Life and Times of Lyndon Johnson,” shows Johnson’s rise to power. Duggar explained that from a young age, Johnson knew to court power. While at the Teachers College in Texas, Johnson told his cousin, “It starts at the president’s office,” where Johnson was the president’s right arm man. Once in the Senate, Johnson chose to be on the Armed Services Committee because he knew Senator Richard Russell ran the Senate. Johnson courted powerful men and in exchange, these men would advance his career.