Author Interviews Topics

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

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  • Prop_37_protests

    Michael Pollan: California's Prop 37 Fight to Label GMOs Could Galvanize Growing U.S. Food Movement

    As California voters prepare to vote on whether to label GMOs in food, we go to Berkeley to discuss Prop 37 and its implications for the broader food system with journalist and best-selling author Michael Pollan. Among the nation’s leading writers and thinkers on food and food policy, Pollan is the Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Journalism. He’s written...
    Oct 24, 2012 | Story
  • Michael_pollen1

    Michael Pollan: From GMOs to NYC's Soda Ban, Local Efforts Challenge Agri-Giants' National Control

    From California’s Proposition 37 initiative to New York City’s soda ban, journalist and best-selling author Michael Pollan argues that local efforts hold the key to challenging the agricultural industry’s stranglehold over national food policy. With companies like Monsanto influencing Congress and state legislatures, Pollan warns the United States risks falling into a "two-class food system," where only those who can...
    Oct 24, 2012 | Story
  • Walker_purple

    Alice Walker on 30th Anniv. of "The Color Purple": Racism, Violence Against Women Are Global Issues

    On the 30th anniversary of the publication of "The Color Purple," we speak with author, poet and activist Alice Walker about her groundbreaking novel and its enduring legacy. Set mainly in rural Georgia in the 1930s, the book tells the story of a young, poor African-American woman named Celie and her struggle for empowerment in a world marked by sexism, racism and patriarchy. The novel earned Walker a Pulitzer Prize in 1983, making her...
    Sep 28, 2012 | Story
  • Walker_gaza

    Palestine Conditions "More Brutal" Than in U.S. South of 50 Years Ago, Says Author Alice Walker

    We continue our conversation with the legendary poet, author and activist, Alice Walker, who has also been a longtime advocate for the rights of Palestinians. Last summer, she was one of the activists on the U.S. ship that attempted to sail to Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla aimed at challenging Israel’s embargo of the Gaza Strip. Alice Walker also serves on the jury of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, an international people’s...
    Sep 28, 2012 | Story
  • Walker_poem

    "Democratic Womanism": Poet and Activist Alice Walker on Women Rising, Obama and the 2012 Election

    With less than 40 days to go before the 2012 presidential election, poet and activist Alice Walker reads her new poem, "Democratic Womanism," and discusses her thoughts on President Obama’s legacy, including his use of drone strikes. "You ask me why I smile when you tell me you intend in the coming national elections to hold your nose and vote for the lesser of two evils," reads Walker. "There are more than two evils...
    Sep 28, 2012 | Story
  • Harvest

    "Harvest of Empire": New Film Recounts How U.S. Intervention Caused Mass Latin American Migrations

    At a time of heated and divisive debate over immigration, the new feature-length documentary, "Harvest of Empire," examines the direct connection between the long history of U.S. intervention in Latin America and the immigration crisis we face today. Based on the groundbreaking book by award-winning journalist and Democracy Now! co-host Juan González, "Harvest of Empire" takes an unflinching look at the role that U.S. economic...
    Sep 25, 2012 | Story
  • Torture_and_impunity

    As Italy Sentences 23 CIA Agents in Rendition Case, Obama Refuses to Prosecute Anyone for Torture

    Italy’s high court has upheld the sentences of 23 CIA operatives convicted of kidnapping a Muslim cleric under the U.S. program of "extraordinary rendition." The cleric, Abu Omar, was seized from the streets of Milan in 2003 and taken to U.S. bases in Italy and Germany before being sent to Egypt, where he was tortured during a four-year imprisonment. The Americans were all convicted in absentia after the United States refused to...
    Sep 21, 2012 | Story
  • David_cay_johnson-romney

    Romney's Dismissal of "Dependent" 47% in Line with Tax Policies Favoring the "Country Club" 1%

    In a newly unearthed recording released by Mother Jones magazine, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tells a crowd of donors that he thinks 47 percent of Americans are "dependent" on government and see themselves as "victims." The video has ignited what could be the biggest political firestorm facing Romney’s campaign to date. We’re joined by Pulitzer-winning journalist and author David Cay Johnston, a...
    Sep 19, 2012 | Story
  • Kurt_eichenwald-3

    "500 Days": Author Kurt Eichenwald's New Account of How Bush Admin Ignored Warnings Before 9/11

    Newly disclosed documents provide further evidence the administration of George W. Bush ignored repeated warnings about Osama bin Laden’s plans to attack the United States. In "500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars,” author and journalist Kurt Eichenwald fleshes out how the Bush administration dismissed a number of warnings of an al-Qaeda attack against the United States beginning in the spring of 2001, instead focusing on...
    Sep 12, 2012 | Story
  • Hedges-days_of_destruction

    Chris Hedges on 9/11, Touring U.S. Economic Disaster Zones in "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt"

    In the new book, "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt," journalist Chris Hedges and illustrator Joe Sacco look at the poorest areas in the United States, "sacrifice zones" where human beings and natural resources have been used and then abandoned. A former New York Times correspondent, Hedges reported from Ground Zero beginning just after the 9/11 attacks. In 2002, he was part of the team of reporters at the New York Times...
    Sep 11, 2012 | Story