BILL MOYERS JOURNAL PODCAST | PBS

BILL MOYERS JOURNAL travels to ground zero of the mortgage meltdown—Cleveland, Ohio. Correspondent Rick Karr takes viewers to Slavic Village, one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in the nation when it comes to the spate of foreclosures caused by the subprime mortgage crisis. There, more than 1,000 homes stand vacant and decaying in a neighborhood that once thrived with families living the American dream of home ownership. Moyers gets perspective from veteran journalist William Greider on the current financial crisis and what he calls "the great deflation of Wall Street."

Conservatives Mickey Edwards and Ross Douthat discuss why they believe their movement has gone off track during the last eight years and what it means for the Republican Party. Douthat is senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly and co-author of Grand New Party, and Mickey Edwards is a former Republican Congressman and author of Reclaiming Conservatism. Also on the program, Bill Moyers introduces "Deepening the American Dream," a Web-only project at www.pbs.org/moyers that features essays and videos of some of Moyers' notable guests laying out their vision for the future of the American dream.

Injury rates reported at America's poultry plants have dropped dramatically in recent years, and so have workplace safety inspections. Are regulators rewarding companies for inaccurate reporting of injuries? Bill Moyers Journal and Expose: America's Investigative Reports go inside America's poultry industry, which employs almost a quarter million workers nationwide, to show the reality of working conditions and to investigate how official statistics showing a drop in workplace injuries may have been the result of deceptive reporting. Also on the program, Bill Moyers interviews Senator Barbara Boxer about global warming. Plus, a Bill Moyers essay on big oil.

This week, as many Americans celebrate "Juneteenth," a special day of recognition commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, Bill Moyers Journal examines racial inequality in America through the prisms of the legacy of slavery and the current socio-economic landscape. Bill Moyers interviews Douglas Blackmon, the Atlanta bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal, about his latest book Slavery by Another Name, which looks at an "age of neoslavery" that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II. And Moyers get perspective from historical and cultural sociologist Orlando Patterson and Glenn C. Loury, an economist and expert on race and social division.

While many Americans are working harder for less money and paying more for everyday items like gas and food, the rich are getting richer. Bill Moyers Journal analyzes the growing inequality gap on the ground in Los Angeles where recently union workers marched to bring attention to how they are getting squeezed out of the shrinking middle class. Bill Moyers also interviews Steve Fraser, historian and author of Wall Street: America's Dream Palace, about the modern parallels and differences to the first Gilded Age, the big disparity between the rich and poor, and the increasing strain on working Americans. And Holly Sklar, co-author of Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies that Work For All of Us, discusses what current economic conditions say about the state of the American dream.

Bill Moyers on the Democratic Party and its new nominee. Plus, there's nothing new in Scott McClellan's book about the propaganda campaign or the role of the press in selling the war, so why is it such big news? Journalists Jonathan Landay and John Walcott of McClatchy newspapers and Greg Mitchell of EDITOR AND PUBLISHER analyze the reaction of the administration and the media to McClellan's book. And, the Annenberg School's Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Dr. Ronald Walters, director of the African American Leadership Institute and Scholar Practitioner Program at the University of Maryland, contemplate what's next for Obama, Clinton and the rest of the election cycle.

Bill Moyers interviews former talk show host Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro on the true cost of war and their documentary, Body of War, depicting the moving story of one veteran dealing with the aftermath of war. With extensive excerpts from the film, the filmmakers talk about Iraq war veteran Tomas Young who was shot and paralyzed less than a week into his tour of duty. Three years in the making, Body of War tells the poignant tale of the young man's journey from joining the service after 9/11 to fight in Afghanistan, to living with devastating wounds after being deployed to Iraq instead.

A Bill Moyers essay on the recent spate of resignations of executive appointees in Washington. Then, there may be a potentially dangerous chemical leaching into our food from the containers that we use every day. BILL MOYERS JOURNAL and EXPOSÉ: AMERICA'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS examine why, even though studies show that the chemical Bisphenol A can cause cancer and other health problems in lab animals, the manufacturers, their lobbyists, and U.S. regulators say it's safe. Also, Jeffrey Toobin, one of the most recognized legal journalists in the country, discusses what the Supreme Court might look like if John McCain is elected President. And, Bill Moyers on the best way to honor our veterans this Memorial Day.

A Democratic house divided. Bill Moyers interviews Berkeley Law professors Christopher Edley, Jr. and Maria Echaveste - he's for Obama and she's for Clinton. They met working in the Clinton administration and now, having been married for nine years, Edley and Echaveste are both advising their respective candidates. Edley serves as dean and professor of law of UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, where Echaveste is a lecturer in residence. Also on the program, independent journalist Melody Petersen talks about the dangers of a market-driven pharmaceutical industry, and a Bill Moyers essay.

Bill Moyers Journal profiles the fight the California Nurses Association (CNA) has been waging over universal healthcare. "There shouldn't be a double standard," says Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of CNA. "We, as the public, pay for Dick Cheney's care...why is the government not providing the same type of care to all Americans?" Also on the program, Bill Moyers interviews British law professor Philippe Sands, author of Torture Team, a new book on the approval of coercive interrogation by high-level American officials.

Five years after the President declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq, Bill Moyers interviews Victor S. Navasky and Christopher Cerf about their latest book Mission Accomplished, described as a "hilarious but depressing compilation of experts who were in error about the war in Iraq." Media and politics expert Kathleen Hall Jamieson analyzes the latest from the presidential campaign. And Bill Moyers reflects on Jeremiah Wright.

Bill Moyers interviews the Reverend Jeremiah Wright in his first broadcast interview with a journalist since he became embroiled in a controversy for his remarks and his relationship with Barack Obama. Wright, who retired in early 2008 as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where Senator Obama is a member, has been at the center of controversy for comments he made during sermons, which surfaced in the press in March.

Just back from being under fire in Sadr City this week, award-winning journalist Leila Fadel, Baghdad Bureau Chief for McClatchy, gives viewers on-the-ground analysis of the latest events and close-up look at the state of the war. And, Bill Moyers talks with Marth Nussbaum, the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at University of Chicago, about church and state, and her newest book, LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE: IN DEFENSE OF AMERICA'S TRADITION OF RELIGIOUS EQUALITY.

As food prices go sky high and millions go hungry in America, why are tax dollars being spent on farmers who don't farm? Bill Moyers Journal teams up with the PBS series Exposé: America's Investigative Reports to follow the trail of Washington Post reporters who uncovered more than $15 billion in "wasteful, unnecessary, or redundant expenditures" that have flowed from Washington to America's farmers. The broadcast also looks at shortages at America's food banks; and Bill Moyers talks with David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, about challenges of combating hunger and the new farm bill being negotiated in Congress.

Bill Moyers Journal takes viewers on the ground in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—a country almost one-fourth the size of the US—to follow aid workers and local relief efforts that are bringing hope to a forgotten land. "The aid agencies are almost substituting for a social welfare system that hasn't operated in these areas for decades," says Dominic MacSorley, Emergency Director for Concern Worldwide, an international aid organization. The broadcast profiles an innovative program that employs locals to bike food to remote areas. "The spirit of the people…hasn't dampened," says MacSorley. "The future for this country should be much, much brighter than it is."

Forty years after race riots in Detroit, Newark, and dozens of other cities stunned the nation, has anything changed? Bill Moyers interviews Newark Mayor Cory Booker for a frontline report on race and politics today. The program takes a look at an update of the Kerner Commission Report, which blamed the violence on the devastating poverty and hopelessness endemic in the inner cities of the 1960s and includes an interview with former Oklahoma Senator Fred Harris, one of the last living members of the Kerner Commission

Bill Moyers interviews former talk show host Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro on the true cost of war and their documentary, Body of War, depicting the moving story of one veteran dealing with the aftermath of war. With extensive excerpts from the film, the filmmakers talk about Iraq war veteran Tomas Young who was shot and paralyzed less than a week into his tour of duty. Three years in the making, Body of War tells the poignant tale of the young man’s journey from joining the service after 9/11 to fight in Afghanistan, to living with devastating wounds after being deployed to Iraq instead.

Bill Moyers Journal goes beyond the rhetoric and examines the reality of waste and abuse of power in Washington with a look at the investigations being conducted by Congress's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "If no one thinks they're being watched and being held accountable, they think they can get away with anything," says Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), the Committee's chairman. Plus, viewer mail and an essay from Rick Karr on government secrecy.

John McCain has won the GOP nomination. Can he win the hearts and minds of the Christian right? Bill Moyers Journal reports on popular conservative evangelist John Hagee and his controversial endorsement of McCain. Hagee, leader of the politically powerful group Christians United for Israel (CUFI), has been criticized for controversial remarks about Catholics and about America’s role in the Middle East. Then, Bill Moyers talks about the state and future of conservatism in light of Senator McCain's nomination with former Congressman Mickey Edwards (R-OK), author of RECLAIMING CONSERVATISM: HOW A GREAT AMERICAN POLITICAL MOVEMENT GOT LOST - AND HOW IT CAN FIND ITS WAY BACK, and Matt Welch, editor of REASON magazine and author of MCCAIN: THE MYTH OF A MAVERICK.

As Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama make their appeals to lower-income voters in Ohio and Texas, expert on media and politics Kathleen Hall Jamieson analyzes the messages on the campaign trail in the lead up to Tuesday's potentially decisive primaries. Also on the program, historian Nell Irvin Painter examines what history reveals about the current state of inequality in America. Painter looks at today’s economic disparity as a new “Gilded Age” that threatens democracy.

Bill Moyers Journal and the PBS series Exposé: America's Investigative Reports offer a hard and fresh look at how earmarks really work. Watch a preview. The broadcast profiles Seattle Times reporters on the trail of how members of Congress have awarded federal dollars for questionable purposes to companies in local Congressional districts-often to companies whose executives, employees or PACs have made campaign contributions to the legislators. Also on the program, Sarah Chayes, author and former journalist who has been helping rebuild Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime, with a look at the front lines of America's war there.

Does America's $9 trillion federal debt mean we are mortgaging our future and jeopardizing individual savings, healthcare, and retirement for generations to come? Bill Moyers gets a reality check from Public Agenda's Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson, co-authors of Where Does the Money Go?: Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis. Susan Jacoby, author of THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON, talks about the crisis of ignorance in the U.S. and how a 'flight from reason' is playing out in American politics and society. "We have really, over the past 40 years, gotten shorter and shorter and shorter attention spans," says Jacoby. And photographer Lori Grinker takes viewers to Amman, Jordan for a devastating look at the fate of Iraqi refugees displaced by the conflict.

One of America's most prominent conservative evangelicals, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, gives his perspective on the role faith is playing in this campaign season and his take on what's happening with the evangelical vote in the primaries. Rodriguez, who has voiced his support for a moral, biblical response to the issue of immigration, is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. And, thousands have weighed in on The Moyers Blog to suggest one book the next President should take to the White House. Bill Moyers reviews the submissions for essential presidential reading. Also on the program, one of the nation's leading experts on media and politics Kathleen Hall Jamieson separates the fact from the spin in the Super Tuesday results.

In the week of the State of the Union address, Bill Moyers Journal goes beyond the rhetoric and examines the reality of waste and abuse of power in Washington with a look at the investigations being conducted by Congress's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. “If no one thinks they're being watched and being held accountable, they think they can get away with anything,” says Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), the Committee's chairman. Also on the program, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, one of the nation's leading experts and media and campaigns, on the events of the week.

Bill Moyers interviews John Grisham, best-selling author of The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Rainmaker, in a far-ranging conversation that gives viewers insight into the beliefs and background that influenced Grisham’s work and provides an unexpected look at his views about the state of the nation. "I get angry when you look at our democratic system, and I wonder how democratic it really is," says Grisham, a former criminal defense attorney and former member of the Mississippi state legislature. "The elections are manipulated by religion, by money, by corporations. And then once the people are elected and they go to Washington, they fall under the influence of really serious money." Also on the show: a look at campaign ad spending, Katherine Newman on the downturn on the homefront and a Bill Moyers essay on rhetoric and reality.

With all the talk of change coming out of the presidential campaigns, can we expect big money to lose its grip on Washington? Bill Moyers interviews NEW YORK TIMES investigative reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winner David Cay Johnston who says America's system has been rigged to benefit the super-rich. Also on the program, Bill Moyers talks with Harvey J. Kaye whose book Thomas Paine and the Promise of America channels the "the greatest radical of a radical age." Bill Moyers sits down with journalist Craig Unger, contributing editor of VANITY FAIR and author of the bestselling House of Bush, House of Saud and, most recently, The Fall of the House of Bush, who offers analysis on President Bush's recent trip to the Middle East.A Bill Moyers essay on Martin Luther King, Jr., LBJ, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

He won in Iowa and lost in New Hampshire, but what does Obama’s candidacy tell us about the politics of race in America? Bill Moyers talks with Shelby Steele, who has written widely on race in American society and is author of the recent book A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win. And leading expert on media and politics Kathleen Hall Jamieson sorts spin from reality after the primary.

Thousands of media outlets descended on Iowa, erecting a powerful wall of TV cameras and reporters between the voters and candidates. This week on Bill Moyers Journal in two interviews, Bill Moyers talks with Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich, candidates with an inside view of the process who know well the power of the press to set expectations and transform the agenda. Also on the program, leading expert on media and elections Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, examines the campaigns and coverage in Iowa and looks at the media's power to benefit some candidates and disadvantage others.

Bill Moyers interviews best-selling historian Thomas Cahill in a far ranging interview that takes viewers from the Coliseum in Rome to death row in Texas and examines what our attitudes toward cruelty can tell us about who we are as Americans. "However difficult it may be the only way you are going to gain closure is to let go of your hatred" says Cahill, who is best known for his The Hinges of History series of books, which includes the widely read How the Irish Saved Civilization. Cahill says his books ask how we became the people we are: "It's human cruelty that is evil. We're not willing to acknowledge that this is inside of us. It's there," he says. "I'm really interested in what's good about us."

In the midst of the holiday spending and consumption frenzy, Bill Moyers interviews author Benjamin Barber about how capitalism isn't living up to its potential to serve society. "Capitalism is no longer manufacturing goods to meet real needs and human wants," says Barber. "It's manufacturing needs to sell us all the goods it's got to produce." Barber is the author of 17 books including international best-seller Jihad vs. McWorld and Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole. Also on the program: is it time to rewrite the Constitution? Moyers gets perspective from the University of Texas Law School's Sanford Levinson, author of Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It). And an update on changes to media regulations voted on this week by the FCC.