Cultured Media

Discussion with Laura Waters Hinson, director and producer of “As We Forgive,” about her stumbling upon her thesis topic on a church trip to Rwanda, told the ongoing story of reconciliation between killers and the families of genocide victims. The majority of militia members have been released after confessing their slaughter of women and children. Some have chosen to do community service in penitence. Plus, a look at a new Rwandan report accusing top French officials of complicity in the 1994 genocide.

Listen on the Diane Rehm Show

The world food supply is an oligarchy. Only a few large corporations have control of the supply chain. Farmer suicides are up. Even our supermarkets are designed to cause us to buy highly processed foods. Raj Patel explores the global food system and what he contends are its inefficiencies in Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Mr. Patel details how food is produced, marketed and sold and reports that currently more people are starving and more are overweight than at any other time in history. Raj Patel discusses his book with Evan Kleiman, host of the radio program “Good Food” that is heard on Southern California NPR affiliate KCRW. Raj Patel is a fellow at the Institute for Food & Development/Food First and has written for the Guardian and Los Angeles Times. He is currently a visiting scholar at the UC Berkeley Center for African Studies.

Listen on After Words

In “The Return of History and the End of Dreams,” Robert Kagan, Washington Post columnist and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace senior associate, argues that the international stability predicted after the end of the Cold War did not emerge and that instead we now have a contest for power between liberal democracies, autocratic governments, and radical Islamists.? He states that the majority of the world has regressed into 19th century diplomacy with their spheres of influence.

Listen on Book TV

Anecdotes from the time of the founding fathers that do not make the founding fathers appear as noble as their statues around Washington, D.C. This care-free discussion covers serious topics such as adultery, pregnant mistresses and their orphans, overseas travel, and the role of women as second class citizens.

Author and ABC News political commentator Cokie Roberts tells the story of some of early America’s notable women and their achievements in “Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation”. In her book, she draws on personal correspondence, private journals and previously unpublished writings to recount the history of former first ladies such as Abigail Adams and Dolley Madison and other women such as Theodosia Burr, Aaron Burr’s daughter. Ms. Roberts discussed her book with Pat Schroeder, CEO of the Association of American Publishers and former Democratic Congresswoman from Colorado.

Listen on Book TV - After Words: “Ladies of Liberty”

A special program about the housing crisis. We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with the collapse of the investment bank Bear Stearns? Why did banks make half-million dollar loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so much about the 1930s? It all comes back to the Giant Pool of Money. Ira Glass and his associates interview mortgage buyers and investors.

Listen on This American Life

Why Islamic states thrived for hundreds of years, what led to their downfall, and the some of current challenges of Islamic governments in the modern world. Noah Feldman, professor at Harvard Law School, is a contributing writer for the “New York Times Magazine,” adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of “Divided by God, What We Owe Iraq,” “After Jihad” and “The Rise and Fall of the Islamic State.”

Listen on Diane Rehm

At 24, Marya Hornbacher, author of “Madness,” was diagnosed with the most severe form of bipolar disorder. After struggling for years with eating disorders, she finally learned what caused her wild mood swings. A personal account of struggling with, treating, and eventually accepting bipolar disorder.

Listen on Diane Rehm

Long-time acting coach William Esper explains the ‘Meisner Technique’ and how actors use it to create compelling characters. William Esper, founder of the William Esper Studio and the Professional Actor Training Program at Rutgers.

Listen on Diane Rehm

For many modern Americans, the very idea of reciting an unchanging creed, composed centuries ago, is troublesome. But, Jaroslav Pelikan, who died on May 13, 2006, was a scholar who devoted his life to exploring the vitality of ancient theology and creeds. He insisted that even modern pluralists need strong statements of belief.

Here, we revisit Krista’s 2003 conversation with him, who, then, in his 80th year, had released a historic collection of Christian faith from biblical times to the present and from across the globe. They discuss the history and nature of creeds, and how a fixed creed can be reconciled with an honest, intellectual faith that changes and evolves.

Listen to interview with Jaroslav Pelikan on Speaking of Faith

A California appeals court ruled that parents must be certified teachers in order to home school their children. The decision has sent a chill through the nation’s growing home schooling community. We’ll look at trends in home schooling and new attempts to regulate it.

The interview is with:

• Mike Donnelly, staff attorney, Home School Legal Defense Association
• Rob Reich, associate professor of political science and ethics in society, Stanford University
• Gretchen Roe, home schooling parent for the past 14 years; part-time home schooling community liaison for Calvert School

Listen on the Diane Rehm Show