As founder of the watchdog group, Common Cause, and as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under President Lyndon Johnson, Gardner was a strong advocate for citizen participation and service. Here, he emphasizes the need to fight back against the widespread apathy of the times.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

The journalist and writer discusses his controversial writings, his time spent as a celebrity figure, and his thoughts about writers as celebrities.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Studs joins the British novelist at his Chicago hotel room to discuss his latest book, Daniel Martin.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

The editor and philologist talks with Studs about his book, Say It My Way, an examination of the evolution of the English language and its many accidental changes through American through songs, poems, and idioms.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Writer Gore Vidal discusses his book, the Eastern philosophy behind it, and its themes on media sensationalism.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

The cartoonist and author talks about his latest work, Tantrum, which Studs describes as a novel-in-cartoon-form. The oddly-compelling story of a respectable business man who regresses to toddler-like behavior can be seen as an early example of a graphic novel.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Interviewing the blind writer and educator Richard Kinney, president of The Hadley School for the Blind.  His associate, Marcia Berman, accompanies him in the studio.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

The historian and scholar describes how the suicide attempt which lead to his blindness gave him a new appreciation for life. Studs also plays a clip of a blind Chicago housing project resident.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations

The blue-collar writer and poet joins Studs to reminisce about the hard times of the 1920s and 1930s and the founding of his Chicago-based College of Complexes.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Storyteller, humorist, radio personality, and author Jean Shepherd discusses his book, A Fistful of Fig Newtons. Shepherd considers how his various career paths, particularly that of a radio personality, have affected his writing.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations