A Visit To The Moon - 40 Years Later

When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon July 20, 1969 the world's attention was hard-focused on the mission and the achievements of NASA.

40 years later, two authors look back at the engineers and explorers who took part in the crowning achievement of the space age.

Andrew Chaikin, the foremost Apollo scholar and author of MAN ON THE MOON and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, talks about the incredible danger involved in the missions...

LISTEN: HISTORIAN ANDREW CHAIKIN

Award-winning author Craig Nelson discusses the deeply private man who first set foot on the moon. Nelson's new book ROCKET MEN, tells the personal story of Neil Armstrong and the other Apollo 11 astronauts...

LISTEN: "ROCKET MEN" AUTHOR CRAIG NELSON

The Southern Vampire Romance of Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris includes healthy dollops of humor, social commentary and satire in her Sookie Stackhouse series of books. The "southern vampire romance" novels are the inspiration for the HBO series TRUE BLOOD.

Harris finds inspiration for the supernatural subculture of her fictional world by "people watching" in her home town in Arkansas.

LISTEN: CHARLAINE HARRIS

Joe Queenan Takes Aim

Joe Queenan has a chip on his shoulder. This is apparent to those who have sampled his writing, which pulls no punches in criticizing art, culture, public figures and just about anything else. In his memoir CLOSING TIME, Queenan turns the focus to his harrowing childhood, part of which was spent in a housing project in Philadelphia.

In this interview Queenan talks about his background but more about how in the depts of the financial crisis those that are left out of the conversation are the poor. He reserves a fair amount of venom for a culture he feels gives those hit hardest by financial stress the least amount of concern.

INTERVIEW: JOE QUEENAN'S "CLOSING TIME"

Change in Iran

A growing youth population and the volatile state of the world's economy are factors which present potential for change in Iran. Former Washington Post journalist Robin Wright, who may have visited Iran more times than any other working journalist, sees the potential for a shift in the role Iran holds in the region.

Wright, author of the new book DREAMS AND SHADOWS, discusses the challenges facing the makers of of U.S. foreign policy when dealing with Iran.

LISTEN: ROBIN WRIGHT

Andrew Vachss and the Motivation of Revenge

Novelist, attorney and child protection advocate Andrew Vachss may be the most jaded individual one can meet. At least that is the persona that comes forth in his hard-boiled crime fiction and his blunt statements about the dark corners of humanity he's encountered throughout a career in social and legal services.

In addition to his work as a novelist (which includes 18 books in the "Burke" series), Vachss works full-time as an attorney. He limits his practice to only cases concerning children and youth.

In this interview Vachss talks about how the motivations for his legal practice and his novels come from a similar source...

LISTEN: ANDREW VACHSS

Photographer Autumn DeWilde on Elliot Smith

Photographer Autumn DeWilde is the photographer behind many album covers, liner notes and other pictures of musicians such as The White Stripes and Jenny Lewis. She worked prominently with singer Elliot Smith and has published a book collecting photographs and memories of her late friend. Smith, who had struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. His 2003 death was ruled a suicide.


LISTEN: AUTUMN DeWILDE