Q&A Recent Events - C-SPAN Video Library

Q&A with Jim Gates

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

National Medal of Science Laureate Jim Gates talked about the process by which a scientist is nominated and selected for the highest honor the U.S. government bestows upon scientists. He detailed memories from his childhood, and how he developed an interest in science as a young student. He shared the story about a PBS Science Now video he appeared in titled, "30 Second Science." The goal of the video was to explain the fundamentals of the scientific research of string theory in physics in 30 seconds. He told of his continuing dedication to teaching and explained entering his 41st year as a teacher. Professor Gates was born in Tampa, Florida, and received a B.S. in physics and mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his Ph. D. in physics from M.I.T. He is the Regents Professor of Physics with the University System of Maryland, and the John S. Toll Professor of Physics and the Director of the University of Maryland's Center for String and Particle Theory.

Q&A with Scott Shane

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Scott Shane talked about his [New York Times] Sunday feature story, "From Spy to Source to Convict," an examination of a former CIA officer in prison for leaking information to a reporter. He detailed the charges against former agent John Kiriakou, a 14-year veteran of the agency who gained notoriety by speaking out against water boarding in an ABC News interview with reporter Brian Ross. Mr. Shane outlined his own involvement as one of the reporters with whom Kiriakou spoke. He said the case was one of six prosecutions during the Obama administration for leaking information to the news media, and that previously only three other prosecutions for leaking information to the press had been prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917. He suggested that e-mail and other electronic records have contributed to the increase in cases being brought, and that Attorney General Eric Holder had not exercised prosecutorial discretion to stop the cases from proceeding.

Q&A with David Stockman

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

David Stockman talked about his new book, [The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America], in which he suggested that Wall Street and the Federal Reserve had joined forces to harm the economy, punish savers, and fuel new financial bubbles that will soon burst. He said federal budget control had been surrendered to lobbyists, PACS, and special interests that block legitimate attempts to implement real spending cuts. In this interview he described his early days in Congress and his appointment to be Ronald Reagan's director of the Office of Management and Budget at age 34. He explained the Gallery of Economic Heroes and Villains he compiled dating back to the beginning of the 20th century and how each one has improved or harmed the economy. He said he began writing the book because he was outraged in 2008 when the TARP bailout was approved, calling it a total betrayal of everything free market conservatives had been trying to do since the Great Depression.

Q&A with Bob Ney

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Representative Bob Ney (R-OH) talked about his memoir, [Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill]. He discussed his eleven years in Congress and being sent to serve for 30 months at the Federal Corrections Facility in Morgantown, West Virginia. He was in prison for 12 months and was released to a 12-step alcohol rehabilitation program in Columbus, Ohio for five additional months. He detailed entering prison and the experience of going from a "lawmaker to a law breaker." He related coming to Washington, D.C., with the best of intentions, but was instead sidetracked by the enticement of money and an addiction to alcohol. He suggested that little had changed on Capitol Hill with respect to lobbying members of Congress and the lure of money in politics.

Q&A with Rajiv Chandrasekaran

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Rajiv Chandrasekaran talked about his [Washington Post] article, "Too Big to Bail," an examination of the embattled F-35 jet fighter program. He highlights the program's unique ability to avoid budget cuts despite increases in production costs and delayed project completion. He points out that the program will not receive spending reductions from the budget sequester process. He defines what opponents of the F-35 call "political engineering" which he describes as a process employed by defense contractors to spread production throughout as many states as possible. He says this is one of many reasons defense contractor Lockheed Martin gets continued funding for their advanced fighter jet for the Navy, Air Force and Marines.

Newsmakers with Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA)

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA), the new chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), discussed congressional debate over spending and taxes and other topics, including energy policy and the RSC's opposition to a carbon tax. The Republican Study Committee is a group of 167 House Republicans organized for the purpose of advancing a conservative social and economic agenda in Congress.

Q & A with U.S. Senate Youth

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

High school students from the United States Senate Youth Program talked about their participation in a week-long government and leadership education program in Washington, D.C. One hundred four students were selected from 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity. While in Washington, delegates met and asked questions of President Barack Obama, Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Secretary of State John Kerry, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, to name a few. Students spoke about meeting those government officials, and shared some of the insights they gained from their presentations. Topics included the lack of bipartisanship in Washington, challenges facing the younger generation and the rigorous selection process for choosing delegates in the program.

Q & A with Tom Korologos

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Tom Korologos talked about his recent [Washington Post] opinion piece about White House nomination battles titled "A History of Nomination Train Wrecks." He also spoke about about his service in the Reagan administration as director of congressional relations and his volunteer service assisting in various Senate confirmations in both the Reagan and Bush administrations. He pointed to the failed confirmation of Judge Robert Bork in 1987 as the most difficult proceeding he was involved with, and pointed out several key mistakes the nominee made. He also reviewed the nomination hearing for William Rehnquist to be associate justice.

Q&A with Medea Benjamin

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

This is a event and includes the following programs:

Q & A with Medea Benjamin
Q & A with Medea Benjamin for Wed 4-3-13

Q&A with Dr. Francis Collins

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Dr. Francis Collins talked about the administration of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which comprises 27 institutes and centers. He discussed the importance of the Genome Project to medical research and how it has helped doctors personalize medical treatment. He detailed the role he and the NIH played in treating author and journalist Christopher Hitchens' terminal cancer. He explained how he first met Mr. Hitchens and their opposite views on the existence of God, revealing his own personal transformation from atheism to Christianity. He said he sees no contradiction between his belief in science and his faith in God. He reflected on his early life and being home schooled in rural Virginia, and his love of learning.

Q&A with Fred Barnes

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Fred Barnes discussed the significance of the [Weekly Standard] in the political community, including its role in discovering Sarah Palin in 2007. He reflected on his conservative upbringing in Arlington, Virginia, noting the changes he experienced in his life after he became a born-again Christian. He recalled his early days on television, including his participation as a panelist in the first 1984 presidential debate and how it led him to a position on "The McLaughlin Group." He talked about his time with [New Republic] Magazine and why he felt the need to provide a conservative alternative. He praised syndicated columnist Robert Novak and described Mr. Novak's memoir, [The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington] as the best book ever written about politics.

Q&A with Jody Williams

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Jody Williams talked about her newly released autobiography, [My Name Is Jody Williams: A Vermont Girl's Winding Path to the Nobel Peace Prize]. She shared details of her Nobel Peace Prize-winning work on the campaign to ban the use of landmines and her career as an advocate for world peace, and the struggles she faced in adjusting to her new life after receiving the award. She described her political ideology as left of liberal and spoke candidly about her departure from the Catholic Church and her relationships with fellow laureates Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. She wrote about meeting her husband, and fellow human rights activist, Stephen Goose, and the struggles they faced together. She describes her motivation for advocacy as righteous indignation and says that she is full of anger at injustice. She talks about the eleven years she spent working on various projects related to the wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Q&A with Bill Steigerwald

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Journalist and author Bill Steigerwald talks about his book, [Dogging Steinbeck: Discovering America and Exposing the Truth About "Travels with Charley"], in which the author challenges the authenticity of Nobel Prize recipient and author John Steinbeck's 1962 book, [Travels With Charley]. Mr. Steigerwald retraced Steinbeck's cross country journey 50 years later. He wrote about it at the time in a blog for the [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette], and kept a video log of many of the highlights of the trip. Mr. Steigerwald contends that Steinbeck took so many liberties with the truth in the original book that it should not be classified as non-fiction. Mr. Steigerwald also said that many of the encounters Steinbeck describes were simply made up by the author. Mr. Steigerwald discussed his motivations for writing the book, and described many of the hurdles he overcame on the journey to self publication of the book.

Q&A with Keith Richburg

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Keith Richburg talked about China and other countries he has lived in as a reporter for the past 35 years. He recounted details of the exclusive story he reported about blind Chinese activist Chen Guangchen, and his attempts to leave the country. He explained the co-dependency of the U.S.-China relationship and gave his personal assessment of the future of China. Richburg also shared details of the jailing of Communist Party Chief Bo Xilai, which he stated exposed a lot of "corruption and shenanigans" at high levels of the Chinese Communist Party. He talked about his time in Africa, where he gathered information for his first book, [Out Of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa]. He also explained the difficulty of entering North Korea as a journalist and provides insight through video he was able to take, into a society which few journalists are allowed to enter.

Q & A with Amity Shlaes

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

This is a event and includes the following programs:

Q & A with Amity Shlaes
Q & A with Amity Shlaes

Q&A with Mark Shields

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Mark Shields, syndicated columnist and political analyst for PBS, talked about his early days in politics and shared stories of his role as a legislative assistant to Senator William Proxmire (D-WI) and his work on the presidential campaigns of Senator Robert Kennedy (D-NY) in 1968 and Senator Edmund Muskie (D-ME) in 1972. He talked about the impact the assassination of Robert Kennedy had on his life and his eventual transition into journalism as a columnist for the [Washington Post]. He reflected on the use of humor in his writing and suggested that 2012 was the worst presidential campaign he covered because candidates Obama and Romney both appeared "not to like politics" very much. He says that John McCain's 2000 presidential primary campaign was his favorite because of the candidate's openness and willingness to speak with voters. Mr. Shields also reacted to video clips of from 1983, 1992, and 2012.

Q&A with Cathy Lanier

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Cathy Lanier, the chief of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, talked about the department's growth in the twenty-three years she has been a police officer. She talked about the homicide rate in Washington, D.C., dropping to its lowest in fifty-one years, the reasons for this decline, and the future growth of the D.C. metro area. Chief Lanier recounted stories of growing up in the area and dropping out of school at age 15. She joined the police force as a single mother with a ninth grade education. She talked about her career, completing her education with two master's degrees, and becoming the youngest chief in the history of the department. Other topics included, counter-terrorism, gun control, community policing, some of the criticisms of her administration over the years, and relations with the press. Chief Lanier reacted to videos including former Mayor Berry, a commencement address she delivered, an incident recorded on social media, and a press report.

Q&A with Sheila Bair

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Sheila Bair talked about her book, [Bull By The Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street from Wall Street and Wall Street from Itself]. She talked about her nomination by President Bush and approval by the Senate in 2006 to be chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In 2009 she was asked to fill out her five-year term by the incoming Obama administration. She described the onset of the country's worst financial crisis since the depression, and laid out the efforts she and others undertook to repair the economy. She spoke about her relationships with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulsen and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and talked about the basic philosophical differences she had with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. She described the behind the scenes role the government played in bailing out several banks and financial institutions. Ms. Bair was highly critical of the bailouts as well as the lax regulation that led to the economic crash. She reacted to video clips.

Q&A with Jason Brennan

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Jason Brennan talked about his book, [Libertarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know]. He suggested that his goal for the book was to make libertarianism seem reasonable to people who were not inclined to know much about it. He described the book as a primer in the political philosophy described as libertarianism. In his book, Professor Brennan reviews well-know libertarians such as Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman, as well as Adam Smith and John Locke. He broadly defines three categories of libertarian thinkers as classical liberals, hard libertarians, and neo-classical liberals. He names examples of each category and talks about their views on many different economic and social issues. Professor Brennan reacted to video clips of Nick Gillespie, David Boaz, and Milton Friedman. He explained that the book was the latest in a series of "What Everyone Needs to Know" books published by Oxford University Press. In addition, he talked about his life and how he became interested libertarianism.

Q&A with Timothy Naftali

info@c-spanarchives.org (National Cable Satellite Corporation) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

This is a event and includes the following programs:

Q&A with Timothy Naftali, Part 1
Q&A with Timothy Naftali, Part 2

Q&A with Kevin Phillips, "1775: A Good Year for Revolution"