Canadian poet and novelist Margaret Atwood discusses her poetry and her first novel, “Surfacing,” focusing on the novel’s symbolism and the themes of nature, religion and memory. She compares life, attitudes, and politics in Canada with those of the United States.

Studs Terkel discusses life in the Vietnam era with children from Father Charles Pond's St. Timothy Episcopal Church Parish in Chicago. Rose is the featured speaker at 16 years of age she is no longer in school but is very well spoken. Acknowledging that people with mental illnesses are not always able to make sound decisions which are needed for individuals to make group decisions. She sees one of the problems in the world being that people are losing their individuality to a group mentality.

Studs Terkel and Allen Ginsberg talk about poetry, meditation, and the shifting of American socio-political consciousness between the 50's and 70's.

Discussing the book "Against Forgetting: Twentieth-Century Poetry of Witness" (published by Norton) with author and poet Carolyn Forche.

Ralph Ellison, winner of the National Book Award for Fiction for his book "Invisible Man," discusses his early life and education and his life as a writer and lifetime scholar. He speaks on being a musician (trumpet), the joy of music and the Church and how they fit into the lives of African Americans.

Author and poet Gloria Wade-Gayles discusses and reads from her book “Pushed Back to Strength: A Black Woman’s Journey Home,” a collection of essays about race, faith, and family. She discusses how the title of the book was inspired by a phrase her grandmother used to say in which she acknowledges how segregation was pushing her back to her family, to community; pushing her back to strength, stories, ritual, and safety. Studs plays “God Bless the Child” - Billie Holiday (1956), "Wade In The Water" - Brother John Sellers (1960), and "Medley of Spiritual" - Belleville A Cappella Choir.