The Roundtable

It all started with some businessmen bankrolling Richard Nixon to become a "salesman against socialization." But in this precursor to current campaign finance scandals, Nixon had some explaining to do to keep his place on Eisenhower’s Republican ticket, so he took to the airwaves.

In making his speech, Nixon left behind lines about a "Republican cloth coat" and a black and white cocker spaniel named "Checkers." The speech saved and bolstered Nixon’s political career and set the tone for the 1952 campaign.

Aides on both sides of the presidential campaign are said to be relishing this fall’s vice presidential debate. In today’s Congressional Corner, Union College political science professor Brad Hays tells WAMC’s Alan Chartock that Congressman Paul Ryan’s policies have become a target for the Obama campaign.

We welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, Edward Humes and talk about his latest book, Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair With Trash.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. This morning, we talk with one of the activists who worked so hard to seek the repeal. In early 2006, Alexander Nicholson, the founder of the largest organization for gay and lesbian servicemembers—Servicemembers United—along with fellow former military members who had also been discharged under DADT, toured the United States, speaking about the destructive policy at American Legion posts, on radio talk shows, and at press conferences across the South and both coasts.

Hailed as “the best thrill writer of the moment” (New York Times) and “the poster boy for American crime fiction” (Los Angeles Times), with more than 40 million copies of his novels in print worldwide featuring his now iconic creation—ex Army cop and all-around tough guy Jack Reacher—Lee Child is doing pretty good.

The UAlbany School of Criminal Justice is sponsoring "Justice & Multiculturalism in the 21st Century," a year-long project that will examine issues of justice and diversity through collaborations among scholars, students, and the community. The school's aim is to create opportunities for engagement with diverse populations across the University and throughout the Capital Region. Included in the project will be lectures, a film series, and panel discussions, culminating with a national symposium in the spring. Dr.

On Sunday, September 30th - Helsinki Hudson and Showstoppers New York continue their Helsinki on Broadway cabaret series with “An Evening with Victoria Clark: Stories and Songs from a Real-Life Fairy Tale”.

In 1784, Thomas Jefferson struck a deal with one of his slaves, 19-year-old James Hemings. The founding Father was traveling to Paris and wanted to bring James along “for a particular purpose” – to master the art of French cooking.

In exchange for James’s cooperation, Jefferson would grant his freedom. Thus began one of the strangest partnerships in U.S. history. As James apprenticed under master French chefs, Jefferson studied the cultivation of French crops (especially grapes for winemaking) so they might be replicated in American agriculture.

"Crazytown" - Aimee Mann

The Wild Duck Chase: Inside the Strange and Wonderful World of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest takes readers into the peculiar world of competitive duck painting as it played out during the 2010 Federal Duck Stamp Contest-the only juried art competition run by the U.S. government.