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Democracy Now! interviews the most important authors of the day. Check out our vast archive.

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Chalmers Johnson, 1931-2010, on the Last Days of the American Republic

The distinguished scholar and bestselling author Chalmers Johnson has died. He passed away in California on Saturday afternoon at the age of 79. During the Cold War, he served as a consultant to the Central Intelligence Agency and was a supporter of the Vietnam War, however, later became a leading critic of U.S. militarism and imperialism. He wrote the book Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire in 2000, which became a bestseller...
Nov 22, 2010 | Story
Cornel West on Charles Rangel, Bush & Kanye West, and Why Obama Admin "Seems to Have Very Little Concern for Poor People"

Princeton University professor and author Cornel West join us to talk about Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) being censured for ethics violations, President George W. Bush saying the worst moment of his presidency was when Kanye West called him a racist, and President Obama’s policies toward the poor. "The Obama administration seems to have very little concern for poor people and their social misery," West said. [includes rush transcript]
Nov 19, 2010 | Story
Economist Ha-Joon Chang on Currency Wars, the G20, and Why "There’s No Such Thing as a Free Market"

Korean-born economist Ha-Joon Chang teaches economics at the University of Cambridge and is the author of the forthcoming book, 23 Things They Don’t Tell You about Capitalism. " [Obama] has to buy time to restructure the economy without creating a recession by sustaining this deficit spending, because otherwise our other option is going back to the 1930s," Chang says. "Don’t forget that in the 1930s a lot of countries started...
Nov 19, 2010 | Story
Punk Rock Legend Patti Smith Wins National Book Award for Memoir _Just Kids_

The singer-songwriter, poet, artist and punk rock legend Patti Smith has won the National Book Award in the non-fiction category for memoir, Just Kids. The book tells the story of Smith’s coming of age in New York City and her lifelong friendship and creative collaboration with the renowned photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. We interviewed Patti Smith earlier this year. [includes rush transcript]
Nov 18, 2010 | Story
"Push Michael Moore Off a Cliff": Health Insurance Whistleblower Wendell Potter Details How the Industry Attacked Michael Moore’s Film _Sicko_

When Academy Award-winning film director Michael Moore announced he would be making a documentary about the American healthcare system in 2004, it put the health insurance industry on high alert. One person who immediately went on the offensive was Wendell Potter, who at the time was the chief spokesperson for insurance giant CIGNA. Last year, Potter became the industry’s most prominent whistleblower. We speak to Potter about his role in attacking...
Nov 17, 2010 | Story
"Push Michael Moore Off a Cliff:" Health Insurance Whistleblower Wendell Potter Details How the Industry Attacked Michael Moore’s Film _Sicko_

When Academy Award-winning film director Michael Moore announced he would be making a documentary about the American healthcare system in 2004, it put the health insurance industry on high alert. [includes rush transcript]
Nov 16, 2010 | Web Exclusive
Wendell Potter on "Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans"

In the wake of the midterm elections, Republican lawmakers are vowing to repeal or defund the Democrats’ landmark healthcare reform bill that President Obama signed into law earlier this year. A health insurance insider-turned-whistleblower argues that, instead of repealing the law altogether, Republicans will ultimately settle for gutting the law of its provisions that protect consumers. That’s because the insurance industry is a...
Nov 16, 2010 | Story
Author and Activist Derrick Jensen: "The Dominant Culture is Killing the Planet...It's Very Important for Us to Start to Build a Culture of Resistance"

Derrick Jensen has been called the poet-philosopher of the ecological movement. He has written some 15 books critiquing contemporary society and the destruction of the environment. His many books include A Language Older than Words, Endgame, What We Left Behind, Resistance against Empire, and Deep Green Resistance. We play Part I of our conversation with him. "I think a lot of us are increasingly recognizing that the dominant culture is killing...
Nov 15, 2010 | Story
Haitian American Novelist on "The Immigrant Artist at Work"

Haiti American novelist Edwidge Danticat is the author of several books, including Breath, Eyes, Memory, The Farming of the Bones, Krik? Krak! and Brother, I’m Dying. She joins us in our studio to talk about her latest book, Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work. [includes rush transcript]
Nov 11, 2010 | Story
"Wartorn 1861-2010" New Doc Chronicles Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from Civil War to Iraq & Afghanistan

A new documentary, Wartorn 1861-2010, airing on HBO on Veterans Day, chronicles the lingering effects of war on military veterans throughout American history, from the Civil War through today’s conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We speak with the filmmakers, Jon Alpert and Matt O’Neill, and with the parents of two soldiers who committed suicide after coming home from Iraq. [includes rush transcript]
Nov 10, 2010 | Story