The sociologist and photographer spent four years traveling by freight train to gain understanding of the men described in this book, Good Company: A Tramp Life.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

When Leon Edel set out to write a biography of Henry James, he thought it would take him three years. It ended up taking him twenty years.  Jean Strouse chose to focus on the life of the diarist Alice James, Henry's lesser-known younger sister.  Both books are considered to be definitive biographies.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Paul Wilkes discusses his book, Trying Out the Dream: a Year in the Life of an American Family, about a blue-collar worker and his family adapting to suburban life in the 1970s.  Includes a clip from an interview with steelworker Mike Lefevre.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Jane Stern discusses her book, Trucker: A Portrait of the Last American Cowboy, and the life, culture, and myths of truck drivers. The program includes an excerpt from an interview with a truck driver named Paul Deitch.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

With his book, "Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools," Jonathan Kozol spent time in six different schools and concluded that the school systems are no better off than they were 20 years ago.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

In a their man-made raft, Hesselberg and his crew travelled 4300 sea miles out in the open water. Erik Hesselberg talks about navigating the three-month long expedition on the Kon-Tiki from South America to French Polynesia. Hesselberg said everyone should have such an experience as he did, to be unencumbered while out at sea.

The author and communications professor offers some insight into his book Black and White Styles in Conflict. This program includes clips from recordings of a Black preacher's sermon and a white attendee of the 1963 March on Washington.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations