"Analyzing Politics, Media, and the Law"

A high-profile senior analyst for CNN and staff writer for The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin is one of the country’s most esteemed experts on politics, media and the law. With unparalleled journalistic skill, Toobin has provided analysis on some of the most provocative and important events of our time, including the O.J. Simpson trial, the Kenneth Starr investigation and impeachment of President Bill Clinton, and the disputed Florida recount of the 2000 presidential election. One of the closest watchers of the 2006 Martha Stewart trial, his accounts of the case for CNN and The New Yorker were among the most well-balanced and thorough.

Jeffrey Toobin will be substituting for Steve Kroft during this lecture on September 11, 2009.

"60 Minutes with Steve Kroft"

Hard-hitting, in-depth investigations into everything from the Russian mafia to the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service have earned 60 Minutes correspondent, Steve Kroft, numerous awards including eleven Emmy Awards and three George Foster Peabody Awards. His 2000 report, America's Worst Nightmare, on Pakistan's political instability, its nuclear weapons and ties to Islamic militants was called "strikingly prophetic" and won him an Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia University silver baton. His considerable body of work, including stories about pollution dangers in our water supply, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and Saddam Hussein's hidden financial assets, earned Kroft a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 2003.

At the podium Steve Kroft gives a no-holds-barred exploration of his experiences around the globe and the insight he's gained while meeting some of the world's most influential people. Kroft's accounts of his unusual experiences will have a profound impact on his audience as he offers an inside look at how news is reported and the effects it has on today's society.

"The Camera Doesn't Lie:
Social Change Through Documentary Filmmaking"

One of the nation's most prolific independent documentary filmmakers, Rory Kennedy has tackled some of the most pressing social concerns with her extensive body of work. Co-founder and president of Moxie Firecracker Films, Inc., Kennedy has directed and produced more than 20 films that have focused on issues such as poverty, domestic abuse, human rights, drug addiction, AIDS and mental illness. Her work has been featured on HBO, A&E, MTV, Lifetime, The Oxygen Network and PBS and has garnered numerous awards including a 2007 EMMY for Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, which examined the abuses of U.S. soldiers at Iraqi prisons in 2003. Street Fight, which traced the controversial 2002 Newark mayoral race, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary. Other films include: Pandemic: Facing AIDS, The Nazi Officers Wife, Epidemic Africa, and the EMMY nominated American Hollow.

Kennedy's most recent documentary, Thank You Mr. President, profiled White House mainstay and former United Press International Washington Bureau Chief Helen Thomas and her 60-year journalistic career.

In addition to her film career, this youngest child of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy is a human rights advocate and has served on boards for numerous non-profit organizations.

"21^st Century America:
A New Day in Politics, Culture and Business"

Business and financial journalist for Fox News, Stuart Varney, is widely credited with changing the way that television reports on financial and economic news worldwide. An economist educated at the London School of Economics, Varney joined the Fox Business Network as an anchor in 2007. Prior to joining FOX news, he hosted CNBC's The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board with Stuart Varney and was co-host of CNN's Money Line News Hour. He was also a founding member of CNN's award-winning business team.

Articulate and charismatic, Varney uses his in-depth knowledge to deliver up-to-the-minute perspectives on current affairs. He offers frank assessments of the implications of rapidly shifting domestic and global trends for business, institutional investors and individuals. Varney has a unique ability to cut through the jargon, making complex economic issues accessible and interesting. His observations into global politics as they relate to economic trends, opportunities and hazards are insightful and comprehensive.

"The United States and the Geopolitics of the Second Decade"

Speaking on geopolitical and environmental issues, Harm de Blij addresses events that could shake the self-perception of the United States as well as the world's view of U.S. leadership. He takes a serious look at potential developments in the Western Hemisphere that could change our foreign policy priorities and considers the role of Europe in the second decade of this century. Relations with China and Russia, environmental change, radical Islam, and the growing problems of Africa will also greatly affect the United States during this time.

A world-renowned geographer, Harm de Blij, offers a unique and informative take on how geography affects everyone. From our “mother tongue” to our father's faith, from medical risks to natural hazards, where we start our journey has much to do with our destiny, and thus with our chances of overcoming the obstacles in our way. According to polls, international tests and competitions, a geographic illiteracy plagues our country. It affects everything from foreign policy campaigns to international business and public relations with our neighbors.

"A Morning with Amy Tan"

Had Amy Tan followed her mother's expectations, she might be a doctor or concert pianist rather than a best selling fiction writer. Born in the United States to Chinese immigrant parents, Tan is the author of The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter's Daughter, and Saving Fish From Drowning, all winners of various literary awards and all New York Times bestsellers. Tan's lyrically written books focus on the lives of Chinese American women and how they deal with their Chinese generational and cultural differences. She served as co-producer and co-screenwriter for the film adaptation of The Joy Luck Club, a story about the imperfect ways in which mothers and daughters love each other.

Ms. Tan is also the author of a memoir, The Opposite of Fate, two children's books and numerous articles for magazines, including Harper's Bazaar and National Geographic. Her work has been translated into 35 languages, from Spanish, French and Finnish to Chinese, Arabic and Hebrew.

Most recently, Ms. Tan created the libretto for the much-anticipated production of The Bonesetter's Daughter, which premiered in September 2008 with the San Francisco Opera. Her story in The New Yorker, Immortal Heart, has been preformed on stages throughout the US and France; and, her essays and stories, found in hundreds of anthologies and textbooks, are required reading in many high schools and universities.

"Pandering to Fear:
The Media's Crisis Mentality"

An Emmy-Award winning journalist and ABC's 20/20 anchor, John Stossel became known nationwide as a thought-provoking, intelligent correspondent who asks hard questions. He began doing one-hour prime-time specials that examined such important issues as greed, gender differences and spurious lawsuits. For his work on 20/20 and his prime-time specials, he has received dozens of awards, including 19 Emmy Awards, and has been called "the most consistently thought-provoking TV reporter of our time."

Recently, Stossel has produced a series of one-hour specials examining such issues as free speech, bogus lawsuits, false scientific claims, and the inventiveness and prosperity in America.

Stossel is also featured in a weekly segment called Give Me A Break. These short commentaries have taken skeptical looks at a wide range of issues, including cartoon censorship and controversy in baseball.

Stossel has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club. Among his other awards are the George Polk Award for Outstanding Local Reporting and the George Foster Peabody Award.

"The Glass Castle"

Journalist Jeannette Walls has built a career penning articles for New York Magazine, USA Today and Esquire. She appears regularly on The Today Show, CNN, and Prime Time Live; but, it is her own story of a nomadic, poverty ridden childhood that makes Jeanette Walls such a remarkable person.

Ms. Walls' 2005 memoir, The Glass Castle, tells the story of the grueling life she and her three siblings endured with their feckless but uniquely vibrant parents. Her father was a destructive alcoholic, yet brilliant and inspiring. Her mother was a free-spirited artist who did not want the responsibility of rearing children. Usually hungry, cold and dirty, the children, learned to scrounge for food in trash piles and plug up holes in the floors and walls for warmth. Her story is told from a child's viewpoint with compassion and without bitterness for her dysfunctional parents whom she credits with instilling a love of reading.

It is her triumph over her upbringing that makes Jeanette Walls' story unique. Her courage and determination to escape the crushing poverty of her childhood serve as an inspiration to everyone and a testament to the power of education.

"The Culture of Celebrity in the Tabloid Era"

The most high-profile magazine editor in the world, Tina Brown has left her mark on publications from The London Times to The New Yorker. She was just 25 when she was placed at the helm of the 270 year-old British monthly, The Tatler. As editor-in-chief she injected a new style and attitude producing a 300 percent circulation increase. That success led to her being named editor-in-chief at the then floundering Vanity Fair in 1984. Her vision and creativity led to tremendous successes in circulation and profit as well as four National Magazine Awards.

In 1992, she became the first female editor-in-chief of the venerable magazine, The New Yorker. Her editorial gifts improved and modernized the magazine while maintaining respect for the history of the publication. Brown's quest to create and evolve led her to form a partnership with Miramax and Hearst to launch Talk magazine in 1999, which featured celebrity profiles and interviews.

Most recently, Ms. Brown has produced a series of specials for CNBC and hosted a weekly talk show on politics and culture, Topic A With Tina Brown. Her latest book was published in 2007, the very well received The Diana Chronicles.

"Europe Through the Back Door"

Touting the road less traveled, Rick Steves, author of the bestselling guidebook Europe Through the Back Door, counts many seasoned and savvy travelers as his fans. His guidebooks cover all of Europe. His series of phrase books now outsells Berlitz, while his Europe 101: History and Art for Travelers brings meaning to the sightseeing of millions of traveling Americans.

From a modest beginning in 1976, his one-man travel business, Europe Through the Back Door (ETBD), has grown to an empire that includes 30 guidebooks, videos, downloadable audio tours, a radio show, a syndicated newspaper column, a newsletter, a blog and a well-traveled staff of 70 full time employees. He is the host, writer and producer of the popular public television series Rick Steves Europe. His viewers, listeners, and readers not only discover major cities, but also cozy villages away from tourist-trampled routes. Encouraging American travelers to become “temporary locals,” he helps them connect much more intimately and authentically with Europe — and Europeans — for a fraction of what mainstream tourists pay.

Known for his lively and irreverent sense of humor, Steves still has the enthusiasm of a first-timer for the sights, sounds and tastes of Europe more that 25 years after he wrote his first guidebook.

"Chinese Power and What It Means to America"

China has surged into the twenty-first century as a global economic and political power. This increased strength poses new challenges for Chinese-American relations. No one is able to give greater perspective to the complicated and cooperative relationship of these two mighty nations than China expert Dr. David Lampton. His comprehensive views have been honed through over 30 years in the study of Chinese domestic and foreign policy, Chinese leadership, policy-making process, and United States-China relations.

Dr. Lampton is Dean of Faculty, George and Sadie Hyman Professor and Director of China Studies at The Nixon Center. His most recent book The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money and Minds investigates the military, economic and intellectual dimensions of China's growing influence and the implications they pose for the world.

He is the author of numerous other publications and books and has appeared as an expert on Chinese policies on many national news shows such as MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour, The NBC Today Show, The O'Reilly Factor, CNN, NPR and The Fox Evening News.

Dr. Lampton received Ph.D. and undergraduate degrees from Standford University, and honorary doctorate from the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of far Eastern Studies.