Riding With Bill Maher

Written on February 20th, 2003
The former host of “Politically Incorrect” talks about his new book, his new HBO show, war, sacrifice and the value of propaganda.

February 20, 2003  |  On Sept. 17, 2001, six days after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Bill Maher made this now-infamous remark: “We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That’s cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building? Say what you want about it, it’s not cowardly.”

Those words ran afoul of Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. They also aggravated ABC and Disney, which insisted that Maher’s comment and some sponsors’ cancellations had nothing to do with his show’s eventual cancellation.

“Politically Incorrect,” which Maher created in 1993, won four Cable Ace Awards at Comedy Central; after it moved to ABC in ’97, it was nominated for several Emmy Awards. His newest book is “When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden.” His new show, “Real Time With Bill Maher,” will debut on HBO at 11:30pm on Friday, Feb. 21.

Maher recently had the following conversation with Terrence McNally, host of the radio show, Free Forum.

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America According to Hertsgaard

Written on November 19th, 2002
Mark Hertsgaard talks about the distinction between America and Americans, what retired terrorists do, and why Tony Blair is Bush’s poodle and Ronald Reagan is still President.

November 19, 2002  |  Mark Hertsgaard is the author of the highly acclaimed study of the media during the Reagan years, “On Bended Knee” and “Earth Odyssey; Around the World in Search of Our Environmental Future.” On Sept. 11, 2001, Hertsgaard was traveling around the world asking people questions about America. Interviewer Terrence McNally recently spoke with him about his new book, “The Eagle’s Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World.”

Democracy in Deep Decay

Written on September 17th, 2002
William Greider talks about how big money has broken the American political machine and how lawyers and lobbyists undermine the process of lawmaking.

September 17, 2002  |  For 17 years, through his work on the pages of Rolling Stone — from the era of Blondie to Brittany, from Boy George to George W’s “Kenny Boy” Lay — I suspect one writer slipped more political information and consciousness into the minds of young people than anyone else. Before Michael Moore and the Web there was William Greider. Now national affairs correspondent for The Nation, Greider is the author of the national bestsellers “Who Will Tell the People?,” “Secrets of the Temple” and “One World, Ready or Not.”