Bill Moyers Journal (Audio) | PBS
153 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 14 years ago - ★★★★★ - 363 ratingsVeteran journalist Bill Moyers returns to PBS with Bill Moyers Journal, a weekly program of interviews and news analysis on a wide range of subjects, including politics, arts and culture, the media, the economy, and issues facing democracy.
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Episodes
Capitol Crimes
May 05, 2010 15:00 - 56 minutes - 24.3 MBWith disgraced lobbyist back in the news and on the big screen in Alex Gibney's new film, CASINO JACK, we re-present Bill Moyers 2006 in-depth exploration of Abramoff and his Washington world. CAPITOL CRIMES investigates the Abramoff lobbying scandal, revealing the web of relationships, secret deals and political manipulation and opening a disturbing window on the dark side of American politics. The fall of Jack Abramoff has exposed a huge web of corruption that still remains vastly unreporte...
Populism, Social Change and Our World
April 30, 2010 15:00 - 1 hour - 24.3 MBIn this special one and half hour edition of Bill Moyers Journal, The Journal travels to Iowa where one group has been helping ordinary citizens fight for change for more than three decades. And, Bill Moyers and populist Jim Hightower to look at the history and legacy of people's movements and discuss how ordinary people can reclaim political power. And, Acclaimed author Barry Lopez joins Bill Moyers to discuss nature, spirit and the human condition. Lopez is an essayist, author and short-sto...
Bank Reform and Net Neutrality
April 23, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBThe Internet has transformed business, politics, and culture – but will a corporate agenda kill freedom of the Web? With radio and television dominated by mega-corporations, more and more Americans have turned to the Internet for news – but a recent court ruling gives Big Telecom more control over broadband. Bill Moyers talks with FCC commissioner Michael Copps to discuss the future of 'net neutrality', the fight for more democratic media and the future of journalism in the digital age. And,...
Achieving Financial Reform
April 16, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBHow did Big Finance grow so powerful that its hijinks nearly brought down the global economy – and what hope is there for real reform with Washington politicians on Wall Street's payroll? Bill Moyers talks with authors Simon Johnson and James Kwak, two of the nation's most respected economic experts and authors of the new book 13 BANKERS: THE WALL STREET TAKEOVER AND THE NEXT FINANCIAL MELTDOWN. Also, a Bill Moyers essay on the true costs of war.
Louise Erdrich
April 09, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBRenowned for her mastery of multiple genres - including thirteen novels, poetry, children's literature, and a memoir of early motherhood - Louise Erdrich discusses how her Native American heritage and unique cultural experience has impacted her life, motherhood, and work. And historian, international relations expert and former US Army Colonel Andrew J. Bacevich returns to the JOURNAL to discuss America's long war in Afghanistan.
Michelle Alexander and Bryan Stevenson
April 02, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBIn the months before his death, Dr. Martin luther King Jr. had expanded his focus on racial justice to include reducing economic inequality. On this week's 42nd anniversary of King's assassination, Bill Moyers sits down with attorneys Bryan Stevenson and Michelle Alexander to discuss how far we've really come as a country, how poor and working class Americans have been falling behind and what America must do to fulfill Dr. King's vision. And a Bill Moyers essay on inequality in America.
Is it Reform Yet?
March 26, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBEighteen months after the economic meltdown, and following successful drives for stimulus and health reform legislation, why has Washington been unable to deliver serious financial reform and rein in Wall Street? Bill Moyers speaks with financial journalist Gretchen Morgenson for a candid look at the obstacles facing substantive reform of the financial system and what Washington's proposed legislation would – and wouldn't – accomplish. Morgenson, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, writes the M...
Dr. Jane Goodall
March 19, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBDr. Jane Goodall. Despite dire warnings for our endangered planet, Jane Goodall says all is not yet lost - we can change course if we act now. And, the Jane Goodall institute's global youth program, Roots and Shoots.
John Sexton
March 12, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBBill Moyers sits down with NYU president and modern renaissance man John Sexton for a wide-ranging conversation about God, baseball, and the importance of thoughtful discourse in society. Previously a champion debate coach and scholar of religion and law, Sexton discusses his unique take on theology, contemporary politics, and the evolving role of universities throughout the world. Born to a struggling Catholic family in Brooklyn, John Sexton still teaches undergraduates in addition to his ...
Health Care Reform
March 05, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBBill Moyers sits down with former insurance executive turned public health advocate Wendell Potter, who argues that all is not lost in the healthcare bill and details what he likes about the legislation. Then, single-payer advocate Marcia Angell on why she thinks the debate over reform needs a fresh look at the economics and delivery of the care promised in the bill. And, Bill Moyers checks in on viewer mail.
The Case for Same-Sex Marriage
February 26, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBOnce adversaries in 2000's Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case, now two of the nation's premier lawyers -- one conservative and one liberal -- have teamed up to make the constitutional case for same-sex marriage.
Buying America's courts?
February 19, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBAs two-thirds of American voters oppose the Supreme Courts decision in Citizens United v. FEC, Bill Moyers Journal takes a hard look at how campaign cash in judicial races may sway America's courts. The Journal revisits the 1999 FRONTlINE special "Justice for Sale" which looked at the growing concern - even among Supreme Court justices themselves - that campaign contributions may be corrupting the judicial process. Then, Bill Moyers sits down with legal analyst and journalist Jeffrey Toobin...
Bill T. Jones
February 12, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBOn lincoln's birthday, Bill Moyers Journal takes a unique look at our nation's 16th President – through the eyes of critically acclaimed, veteran dance artist Bill T. Jones. In a groundbreaking work of choreography called Fondly Do We Hope...Fervently Do We Pray, Jones reimagines a young lincoln in his formative years through dance. Bill Moyers speaks with Jones about his creative process, his insights into lincoln, and how dance can give us fresh perspective on America's most-studied presi...
After Citizen's United
February 05, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBIn the wake of a controversial Supreme Court decision giving corporations and unions more freedom to spend on elections, many federal and state lawmakers are hoping to curb Citizens United V. FEC's effect on elections. Find out how some legislators are fighting to curb Big Money spending even as the Court invalidates laws in 24 states aimed at keeping elections clean. And, libertarian journalist Nick Gillespie and legal scholar lawrence lessig discuss public financing of campaigns and the eff...
The State of the Union and Campaign Finance
January 29, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBAre America's elections now up for sale? The JOURNAl explores what the Supreme Court's decision means for campaign finance reform and the future of our democracy with progressive legal experts Monica Youn and Zephyr Teachout. Monica Youn directs the campaign finance reform/money in politics project at NYU's Brennan Center for law and Justice and Zephyr Teachout teaches law and politics at Fordham University's School of law. Then, America's workers need jobs, and AFl-CIO president Richard Tru...
Obama's First Year
January 22, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBThe JOURNAl assesses Obama's first year as President in the wake of Democrats' defeat in Massachusetts' special election for Senate with Princeton politics and African American studies professor Melissa Harris-lacewell and journalist Eric Alterman. And, faced with the increasing global demand for oil and the threat of climate change, experts say that America needs a new energy policy - but what are our options? Bill Moyers sits down with analysts Jean Johnson and Scott Bittle to discuss how w...
Greg Mortenson and Thomas Frank
January 15, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBAmerica has committed more money and more troops to Afghanistan, but Greg Mortenson, the bestselling author of THREE CUPS OF TEA argues that there's a better path to peace: building schools and nurturing local communities. WAll STREET JOURNAl correspondent and author of THE WRECKING CREW: HOW CONSERVATIVES RUINED GOVERNMENT, ENRICHED THEMSElVES, AND BEGGARED THE NATION takes a look back at the decade that was.
Big Money and Big Politics
January 08, 2010 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBMOTHER JONES journalists David Corn and Kevin Drum offer a hard look at the obstacles to real reform of the financial industry. And, a Bill Moyers essay.
Bill T. Jones
December 25, 2009 15:00At the close of lincoln's bicentennial year, Bill Moyers Journal takes a unique look at the 16th President. Moyers speaks with critically acclaimed choreographer Bill T. Jones about his creative process, his insights into lincoln, and how dance can give us fresh perspective on America's most-studied president.
Robert Kuttner and Matt Taibbi
December 18, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBAmidst fading hopes for real reform on issues ranging from high finance to health care, economist Robert Kuttner and journalist Matt Taibbi join Bill Moyers to discuss Wall Street's power over the federal government. And, The JOURNAl profiles Steve Meacham, a Massachusetts community organizer fighting to keep working people in their homes. Plus, Bill Moyers picks his favorite books from 2009.
Historian Howard Zinn
December 11, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBRenowned historian Howard Zinn has chronicled centuries of people's struggles against oppression. He joins Bill Moyers to discuss the voices of today's people - facing big interests' outsized influence - and his new film THE PEOPlE SPEAK. And, organizers George Goehl and Heather Booth on turning anger into action.
Director Oliver Stone
December 04, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBVeteran Oliver Stone came back from Vietnam a changed man. Now, with four films on the Vietnam War under his belt –Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Heaven & Earth (1993), and Pinkville (2007) – Oliver Stone talks with Bill Moyers about how his experiences of war has affected his life, his work and his vision of the world today. Also on the program, Bill Moyers comments on President Obama's decision to escalate troops in Afghanistan.
Dr. Jane Goodall
November 27, 2009 15:00Dr. Jane Goodall. Despite dire warnings for our endangered planet, Jane Goodall says all is not yet lost - we can change course if we act now. And, the Jane Goodall institute's global youth program, Roots and Shoots.
lBJ's Path to War
November 20, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBAs President Obama prepares to announce how many more troops he will send to Afghanistan, Bill Moyers remembers the presidency of lyndon Johnson and the agonizing decisions that escalated America's involvement in Vietnam. Through Johnson's secret tapes of phone calls and conversations, and his own reminiscences, Moyers recalls the events that plunged us ever deeper into war.
Anna Deavere Smith
November 13, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBWhile politicians and the media war over "the public option" and "bending the cost curve," acclaimed actress-playwright Anna Deavere Smith and her one-woman play "lET ME DOWN EASY" give voice to questions of life and death, sickness and healthcare. And, the JOURNAl visits a new home in New York City for contemplation and celebration of poetry.
Economic recovery in review
October 30, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBThe Dow's up, but why are Main Street Americans still reeling from last year's economic collapse? With Americans still facing rising unemployment, foreclosures, and declining property values, renowned economist James K. Galbraith on whether we've averted another crisis and how to get help for the middle class. James K. Galbraith is the lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations at the lBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. Galbraith has authored...
Judge Richard Goldstone.
October 23, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBBill Moyers talks with Judge Richard Goldstone, who headed up the controversial UN Human Rights Council investigation into the fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. And Bill Moyers remembers Texas judge William Wayne Justice.
Redefining the United States.
October 16, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBBarack Obama was elected on a message of change, promising a new era of diplomacy and international cooperation - but can the President deliver a new vision of America? Reporting from the world's most troubled hotspots, Mark Danner has seen countless deaths over ethnic and political divides, and witnessed firsthand how U.S. attempts to exploit those conflicts have resulted in disastrous unforeseen consequences. Danner speaks with Bill Moyers about Obama's challenges in resetting the mindset...
America's economy reformed?
October 09, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBJust over a year after economic calamity brought promises of reform to Washington, many now say that the recession is nearing an end. But is it business as usual for Wall Street, and have future financial crises been averted? Former International Monetary Fund chief economist Simon Johnson and US Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) join Bill Moyers for a report card on the bailouts, an update on the state of the U.S. economy, and to find out whether efforts of reform have been derailed. And, Bill Moy...
Rory Stewart and Kavita Ramdas
September 25, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBRory Stewart, director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, lays out an alternate strategy for the international community in Afghanistan. And, Kavita Ramdas, president and CEO of Global Fund for Women, the largest grant-making foundation focused exclusively on women's rights issues talks about human rights initiatives around the world. And, lynn Sherr on the century of women.
Sam Tanenhaus; Bill Fletcher and Michael Zweig
September 18, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBDigging deep into the roots and evolution of the American conservative movement, Sam Tanenhaus talks with Bill Moyers about why he believes that conservatism is dead and how it might yet come back to life. Tanenhaus is the editor of both THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW and the Week in Review section of the TIMES. And, with public support for labor unions at its lowest point in 70 years, Bill Moyers talks with experts Bill Fletcher, co-author of SOlIDARITY DIVIDED: THE CRISIS IN ORGANIZED lABOR...
Nancy Youssef and Dr. Jim Yong Kim
September 11, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBThe JOURNAl takes a hard look at the state of affairs in ever-divided Afghanistan with McClatchy DC Pentagon correspondent Nancy Youssef. And, global health specialist and Dartmouth College president Dr. Jim Yong Kim shares his expertise in public health.
Trevor Potter and Floyd Abrams
September 04, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBNext week, the Supreme Court reconvenes early for a special hearing on the constitutionality of campaign finance limits for corporations. To hear the arguments, Bill Moyers sits down with Trevor Potter, president and general counsel of The Campaign legal Center and a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, and Floyd Abrams, a First Amendment attorney. And, a Bill Moyers essay on health care reform.
Critical Condition
August 21, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBBill Moyers Journal presents CRITICAl CONDITION, a film by Roger Weisberg that follows families fighting illness without health coverage. The families discover that being uninsured can cost them their jobs, health, homes, savings, and even their lives.
A Conservative Plan for Healthcare?
August 14, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBConservative journalist David Frum worries that Republicans would only win a failing status quo in their fight to kill health care reform. Bill Moyers sits down with the former special assistant to George W. Bush, who is calling on Republicans to come up with a plan for health care reform and suggests changes that conservatives can favor. David Frum is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the editor of NewMajority.com. Also on the program, the JOURNAl sorts fact from ...
Sara lawrence-lightfoot
August 07, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MB"Change, growth, and new learning" - there's a cultural shift in America, says Sara lawrence-lightfoot. This Friday, Bill Moyers speaks with one of America's leading educators and author of The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk, and Adventure in the 25 Years After 50. Sara lawrence-lightfoot is the first African American woman in the history of Harvard to have an endowed professorship named in her honor. She's been on the faculty for 37 years, and her career as a scholar has won her the prestigiou...
Profits before Patients
July 31, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBWith almost 20 years inside the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter saw for-profit insurers hijack our health care system and put profits before patients. Now, he speaks with Bill Moyers about how those companies are standing in the way of health care reform. And, a Bill Moyers Essay.
Debating Health Care Reform
July 24, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBBill Moyers sits down with Trudy lieberman, director of the health and medical reporting program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, and Marcia Angell, senior lecturer in social medicine at Harvard Medical School and former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. And, what happens when America's airwaves fill with hate? BIll MOYERS JOURNAl revisits a tough look at the hostile industry of "Shock Jock" media with a hard-hitting examination of its effects on our nation's ...
The Evolution of God
July 17, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBIn his new book, THE EVOlUTION OF GOD, bestselling author Robert Wright examines how the idea of God has changed through history. Wright sits down with Bill Moyers to discuss why he thinks the notion of God - real or not - is imperative to a moral society. And, Bill Moyers talks with two environmental activists who are disappointed in Obama's progress on climate change. Plus, a Bill Moyers essay on health care.
Profits before Patients
July 10, 2009 15:00With almost 20 years inside the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter saw for-profit insurers hijack our health care system and put profits before patients. Now, he speaks with Bill Moyers about how those companies are standing in the way of health care reform. And, a Bill Moyers Essay.
Faith and Social Justice
July 03, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBBill Moyers talks to Cornel West, Serene Jones, and Gary Dorrien for a fresh take on what our core ethics and values as a society say about America's politics, policy, and the challenges of balancing capitalism and democracy. And, why are America's food banks suffering shortages? Find out what you can do to help.
W. S. Merwin
June 26, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBOn the heels of winning this year's Pulitzer prize for poetry, W.S. Merwin joins Bill Moyers for a wide-ranging conversation about language, his writing process, the natural world, and the insights gleaned from a much-lauded career of more than 50 years. W.S. Merwin is the author of 21 volumes of poetry and won his second Pulitzer Prize for his most recent collection, THE SHADOW OF SIRIUS. And, what's your vision for the future of the American Dream? Our guests and our viewers speak out.
Women Fight for Peace
June 19, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBInstructed by a dream and organized in prayer, leymah Gbowee and thousands of everyday women in liberia -- both Christians and Muslims alike -- confronted warlords and a corrupt president to successfully fight for peace and dignity in their war-torn nation. "I realized that every problem we encounter on this journey, I'm going to rise above it and lead these women because they trusted me with their lives and their future," says Gbowee. Journal guest host lynn Sherr interviews leymah Gbowee ...
Robert Reich
June 12, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBAs Secretary of labor under President Clinton, Robert Reich successfully implemented a higher minimum wage, the Family and Medical leave act, and fought for sweatshop workers. Now, Reich sits down with Bill Moyers to talk about the influence of lobbyists on policy, the economy, and the ongoing debate over public health care. Currently a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, Robert Reich is the author of several books, most recently, Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Demo...
Politics and the Price of War
June 05, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBFrom a billion dollars sought for embassies in Pakistan and Afghanistan to May's highest casualties for US forces in Iraq since September, the wars abroad are taking their toll on our nation. Bill Moyers sits down with award-winning investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill to examine the human and financial costs of America's wars. Scahill is author of the best-selling book Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. And, from headlines surrounding the health care deba...
Health Care Reform
May 22, 2009 15:00Washington's abuzz about health care, but why isn't a single-payer plan an option on the table? Bill Moyers speaks with advocate Donna Smith about how our broken system is hurting ordinary Americans. Then, policy analysts and physicians Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen and David Himmelstein of Physicians for a National Health Program join Bill Moyers for a frank discussion about the political and logistical feasibility of a single-payer system amidst the troubled economy and a government domi...
Senator Dick Durbin and Sara lawrence-lightfoot
May 08, 2009 15:00 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBAs the banking stress test results come in, the Journal takes a closer look at money's stranglehold on politics. Bill Moyers speaks with Senator Dick Durbin (D-Il) - who declared last week that banks "are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place" - on campaign finance reform, big lobbying, and making Washington work for the people rather than special interests. Bill Moyers speaks with one of America's leading educators and author of THE THIRD CHAPTER: PAS...
US Torture and Consequences?
May 01, 2009 15:00 - 56 minutes - 24.3 MBNew debate has emerged from the release of the Department of Justice's Office of legal Counsel memos approving extreme measures of interrogation under the Bush administration. But, as the President acknowledges "a dark and painful chapter," how should he respond to allegations of torture? Bill Moyers sits down with Bruce Fein, former deputy attorney general under President Ronald Reagan and chairman of the American Freedom Agenda, and Mark Danner, who has been reporting on the U...
Simon Johnson and Michael Perino
April 24, 2009 15:00 - 56 minutes - 24.3 MBThis week, the Senate responded to the growing demand for a new Pecora Hearing, the 1930s investigation into the causes and effects of the Great Depression. ring, the 1930s investigation into the causes and effects of the Great Depression. A 92-4 vote in Senate supported the creation of a bipartisan and independent commission to investigate wrong doing in the lead-up to the economic crisis. For context, Bill Moyers speaks with economist Simon Johnson and Ferdinand Pecora biographer and legal ...
David Simon
April 17, 2009 15:00 - 56 minutes - 24.3 MBFrom crime beat reporter for the BAlTIMORE SUN to award-winning screenwriter of HBO's critically-acclaimed The Wire, David Simon talks with Bill Moyers about inner-city crime and politics, storytelling and the future of journalism today.