going to cross live to our guest, dan co valez who teaches international human rights at the university of pittsburgh . he is at the school of law and he's also the author of the plot to scapegoat russia. thanks a lot for joining us on the program. now many western politicians have already expressed condolences over gorbachev's death. what would you say about the loss of this historic individual? well, i would say that it makes sense for the western leaders to st condolences. he was a darling in the west. he did exactly what the west hoped they would do and that was destroy the. ready soviet union, he oversaw the collapse of the soviet union. we know later he said that he had always intended to destroy communism. and he accomplished it. much to the chagrin of the soviet people, there was a referendum held throughout the soviet union earlier in 1991. and i think it was the spring of $991.00, which i think it was like 78 percent of the soviet citizens said they wanted to maintain the soviet union. notwithstanding that gorbachev. and of course, boris yeltsin oversaw the collapse of the soviet union. and

now we did speak with dan co violet crew teachers international human rights at the university of pittsburgh and is the author of the plot to scape goat russia who says perestroika cause dire consequences for the soviet people. you had both russian oligarchs, in addition to western oligarchs who looted the country of resources, who privatized public factories and businesses, took them for their cell, leaving the people, the soviet republics with very little and the economies collapse. and again, 2000000 people died prematurely from economic dislocation from hunger. this was a disaster. this isn't discussed much in the west. but the people, the former soviet union, very painfully aware of what happened on gorbachev you mentioned tried to run for office later. he got half a percentage of the vote. i mean, he is a villain. in the former soviet union, he failed those people. he did the bidding of the west, but he failed his own people. a slew of economic, social and political failures during perestroika lead to an attempted coup will take you back to august 1991 with the senior government and mi

there is john woodruff, who is from the university of pittsburgh and eight middle distance runner whoessentially came out of nowhere to win gold in the 800 meter race. he also went on to become a tuskegee -- he became a pilot for world war ii. that's really important because at the time we have a fire pilot. it's one of the most prestigious jobs you can have. as african americans trying to tie their war service to the fight against racism in the united states, guys like john would trick who want the olympics was a symbol of black american achievement. what also assembled during the war given his ability to occupy this very prestigious and demanding job as an airman. >> unless people look back and think that they're part of a general fight i want to remind you that it's an instance military segregated at the time. the reason why you have a unit like the tuskegee airmen is because african american pilots were not allowed to integrate into other units. how did other athletes like a win and -- how did they perform when they reached the arena in berlin? >> they succeeded beyond measure and

and certainly there is john woodruff who is from the university of pittsburgh and a middle distance runner. who essentially came out of nowhere to win to win gold in the 800 meter race, he would also go on to be a tuskegee airmen. which means he was a fighter pilot for the us military doing world war ii and and that's really important because at the time being a fighter pilot was one of the most prestigious jobs that you could have and as african-american's tried to tie their their war service to to the fight against racism in the united states people like john woodruff who won the olympic field also was a symbol of black black american achievement also was a symbol doing the war giving his his ability to to occupy this very prestigious and and demanding job as a as a tuskegee airmen. and less people look back and think that they were just part of the general fight. i want to remind our viewers also that the united states military was still segregated at the time so part of why you have a unit in fact the reason that you have a unit like the tuskegee airmen is because african-american pilo

he's an adjunct professor at the university of michigan, and the university of pittsburgh where he teachesar reactor safety. welcome to newshour. what are the worries about the physical plant given the ongoing war? >> there is certainly a lot of concern. speaking in non-esoteric nuclear terms, think of the plant as a system that is under stress. any system under sustained stress would eventually fail. the question is really how, when, and where. if you can think of three p's, you can think of the people who work at the plant, the processes, the physical structures. they are a under stress. the people are under duress, working under duress. that creates stress. you can think of the processes. the nuclear plants are very process driven, very procedural. those processes are under stress. the physical structure we have seen with the shelling and that -- that is under stress. specific risks include the vulnerable systems outside the containment structure. you see a big dome. those components and elements that are inside the dome are safe from physical stress, but there are a lot of critical sys

john harbath the retired from university of pittsburgh. i have a question with what's going on now with. right-wing media acting just as hearst in the pattersons did back then. how do you think fdr would advise president biden is to how to respond what we you know, what would he have done or advised him to do that? it's not being done right now. that's a really interesting question. but first of all, i should preface this by saying, you know historians should never predict the future, right? yeah. i'm telling you never wears out. but but we first of all i'd say, you know, there are obvious parallels. yeah with the the right wing we having sympathy for putin's russia, right? would say that roosevelt would unquestionably advise biden in this and other policy areas that he should get out there and fight. i mean, that's what roosevelt did right, you know, he did not. the whole you know, there were these tens of millions of people who are reading newspapers put out by men who just hated him right and believed. he was the devil incarnate, you kn

. >> a little bit about you as you get started, you teach nonfiction writing at the university of pittsburgh. what number book is this for you? >> this is a number four. >> you have an interesting origin story. tell me about it please. >> i spent over a decade in china i stayed on and i were as a journalist and writer. when i got back to the states, i was invited to the state department for the president. i -- they invite one writer said that you do not complain. so i bought my first suit in herald scquare and walk to d.c. i walked into the state department. it looks like a chewing gum factory from outside. when you take the elevator up and step into the diplomatic reception room, it looks like something out of a movie. we are talking about honey colored herringbone wood floors. paul revere silver. and those heavy curtains that always catch on fire in the moving's. -- in the movies. i looked around and yo-yo ma was playing his cello. i felt very out of place. i stepped into a side room to collect my thoughts and catch my breath. i put my franklin whole --hole. click left click in i read his

katie teaches writing at the university of pittsburgh and was raised in a mixed death family. the judge's citation reads a complex and profoundly moving historical saga the invention of miracles is an insightful portrait of the extraordinary life of alexander graham bell as well as retellingg of his decade-long crusade to teach the deaf to speak with their lips and not their hands. relying on the papers into those of his contemporaries as well as diving deeply into the archives of the community booth focuses on the cultural impact of the work without shining away from the more controversial aspect of the mission. bypassing sign language, interpreting death genealogy and the eugenics before distancing himself from its most radical ideas. superbly written and decidedly subjective, the invention of miracles provides a challenging portrait of an imperfect genius. katie couldn't be with us tonight. on theli topic of american political or social concerns this year's judges were rachel snyder the chair, paul and david. roxana wins the first award for the murder suicide in the system f

language power and alexander graham bell's quest to end deafness katie teaches writing at the university of pittsburgh and was raised in a mixed hearing and deaf family. this is her first book. the judges citation reads a complex and profoundly moving historical saga. the invention of miracles is an insightful portrait of the extraordinary life of alexander graham bell as well as a retelling of his decades-long crusade to teach the deaf to speak with their lips and not their hands. relying on bell's own papers and those of his contemporaries as well as diving deeply into the archives. deaf community both focuses on the cultural impact of bell's work with the deaf without shying away from the more controversial aspects of his mission bypassing sign language interpreting deaf genealogy and flirting with the now discredited science of eugenics before distancing himself from its most radical ideas. superbly written. and decidedly subjective the invention of miracles provides a challenging portrait of an imperfect genius. katie could not be with us tonight. finally the two j anthony lucas work in progress

mayor, is now a professor emirita from the -- college in the graduate school of -- at duquesne university in my hometown of pittsburgh, pennsylvania, where she taught for many decades. she did two stints as chair of the history department there after joining duquesne, after receiving her ph.d. at the college of -- . she's also served as the visiting harold k johnson chair of military history at the u.s. army war college out in carlisle, pennsylvania, the carlile merits. and it's currently during this academic year at west point where she's serving as the charles bull ewing visited professor of history. she's also has been commissioned, went through rotc and served in the u.s. army reserves. and so, she sends a long time ago. but you still stand fairly straight. you are recognizable as a military person, still. she's the author of a whole slew of articles about her military and history, historical, i'm sorry, the military political social sort of intersections of history in the era of the american revolution of the colonial era. her first book, belonging to the army, camp followers and community nearing the american r

professor emerita from the mccannulty college in the graduate school of liberia arts at duquesne university in my hometown of pittsburgh, pennsylvania where she taught for many decades she did i think two stints as chair of the history department there after joining duquesne after receiving your phd at the college of william and mary. she also has served as the visiting herald-kay johnson chair of military history at the us army war college out in carlisle, pennsylvania at the carlisle barracks and is currently during this academic year at west point where she's serving as the charles bowl ewing visitor professor of history. she is also has been commissioned went through rotc and served in the us army reserves. and so she stands a long time ago, but you still stand fairly straight you're recognizable as a military person still she is the author of a whole slew of articles about this or military and history historical. i'm sorry the military political social sort of intersections of history in the era of the american revolution and the colonial era her first book belonging to the arm. can't followers and community durin

i live on nantucket island, 14 miles long, i grew up in pittsburgh, a sailor in the maritime capital of the universe and needed to sail. i used to love putting my sunfish on the back of my vw bug and driving all around the country for sailboat races and i was getting itchy after 25 years hold up on nantucket where takes 25 years to drive from one end of the island to the other and i thought i would love to go on a road trip. washington went on a series of tours across the country. my wife melissa had just retired and she could join me and one of my favorite books of all time is john steinbeck's travels with charlie, where he famously gets in his ford truck with his faithful charlie, 10-year-old poodle at his side and they head out in search of the meaning of america and i thought what if we had a new puppy named dora, not a sedate 10 years old, this is a mouthful, no cisco -- nova scotia duck golden retriever, pretty hyperactive. what if the three of us went, did our steinbeck and followed washington across the country. it has been said over and over again we're in the midst of unprecedented politic

the south is somebody who was well respected to the point of his presidential library at mississippi state at the university which is near pittsburgh. near vicksburg. >> he's like the anti-politician and this was really interesting but reveal who grant voted for four president when grant ran for president. >> he's did not vote for himself. he wrote in names and he was not a self promoter at all. in the least. he was this guy that was so self-deprecating and so self-effacing that before he's running for president and by the way it comes from his mom who despised pomp and circumstance and formality to the point where she was seen sweeping her front porch when he was being inauguration. she did not go to the inauguration. she hated all of the pomp and all of that and she actually, crossing books here, he reminds me a lot of the eisenhower's mom who is the exact same way and didn't really care that he was the winning general of world war ii. so maybe there's something in the mom that is just not that into it. lincoln called him up to washington and he brings his son fred and grant does not dress well. he's got a rumpled uniformity is m

the south is somebody who was well respected to the point of his presidential library at mississippi state at the university which is near pittsburgh. near vicksburg. >> he's like the anti-politician and this was really interesting but reveal who grant voted for four president when grant ran for president. >> he's did not vote for himself. he wrote in names and he was not a self promoter at all. in the least. he was this guy that was so self-deprecating and so self-effacing that before he's running for president and by the way it comes from his mom who despised pomp and circumstance and formality to the point where she was seen sweeping her front porch when he was being inauguration. she did not go to the inauguration. she hated all of the pomp and all of that and she actually, crossing books here, he reminds me a lot of the eisenhower's mom who is the exact same way and didn't really care that he was the winning general of world war ii. so maybe there's something in the mom that is just not that into it. lincoln called him up to washington and he brings his son fred and grant does not dress well. he's got a rumpled uniformity is m