Discussing the book, "Eighty Years at Hull House," and interviewing the co-author, Mary Lynn McCree Bryan. Mary Lynn McCree Bryan discusses the Hull House and its founders in Chicago, Illinois. Includes two clips of Florence Scala speaking: one about nature and about a tree that was taken down at Hull House and one about Jane Addams. Includes a clip of Jessie Binford discussing Jane Addams.

Discussing the book "An ethnic at large" with the author Jerre Mangione.

Discussing the book "Deadly deceits: my twenty five years in the C.I.A" with the author Ralph McGehee.

Author Fred Freed discusses the history of the atom bomb, its impact on the world, and the scientists involved in its making. He also touches on Japan during World War II and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

American screenwriter, Walter Bernstein, discusses his book "Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist", a memoir about his life during and following his blacklisted status due to his alleged communist views. Bernstein uses the case of John Henry Faulk versus Laurence A. Johnson to serve as an example of how the entertainment industry was being diminished during this time.

Living in Montana in the early 20th century had many hardships, as covered in Jonathan Raban's book, "Bad Land: An American Romance". Raban said people were looking for new lives in the west but they encountered prairie fires, hail storms and grasshopper plagues.

Author Sidney Blumenthal discusses his book "The Permanent Campaign," touching on topics including political consultants, modern campaigning, and the election process.

In the book, "By the Bomb's Early Light: American Thought and Culture at the Dawn of the Atomic Age," Paul Boyer covers people's feelings and attitudes after the bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. Boyer admits he, himself, when he was a young boy, he sent away for a free atomic ring that was being advertised. The program includes an excerpt of David Lilienthal talking.

Some people thought the 60's were glorious years and other people thought they were destructive years. "The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage," is Todd Gitlin's autobiography where he offers his perspective of those years.

Buffalo, land, barbed wire, treaties and legal cases are all topics of Vine Deloria's book, "American Indians, American Justice". A lawyer and a Sioux Indian himself, Deloria points out a tricky question for the courts -- What constitutes Indian country?