"Where the Steel Winds Blow" is Robert Cromie's anthology of 210 war poems. With his book, Cromie wanted to point out the impact of war. There are also war-related songs throughout the program.

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.

Interviewing author Candy Armstrong-Jones about her book “Village of Vice.”

Interviewing author and copywriter Candy Armstrong-Jones about her book “Village of Vice.” She discusses her writing techniques and shares themes from her book.

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.

Pierre Burton, Canadian writer and journalist, discusses his book “The Impossible Railway,” touching on topics including the significance of the Canadian Pacific Railway, poor labor conditions on the railway, and differences between America and Canada. 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.

Interviewing Bruno Bettelheim, writer, scholar, and child psychologist, on his book “The Children of the Dream.” He also discusses his work at the Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School for Disturbed Children in Chicago. 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.

With his book, "Hunting Mr. Heartbreak: A Discovery of America," Jonathan Raban wanted to see if, in the 20th century, a man could have a new life in America. Raban traveled to New York City, to the deep south in Alabama, to Seattle and finally to the Florida Keys.

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.

Sportswriter Jerome Holtzman discusses his book "No Cheering in the Press Box."