the pulitzer price winning author anne applebaum joins me. i always wait until the last minute.an i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. we've decided to we're all having such a great year in the gulf, put aside our rivalry. 'cause all our states are great. and now is when the gulf gets even better. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful. take a boat ride or just lay in the sun. enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty. and don't forget our amazing seafood. so come to the gulf, you'll have a great time. especially in alabama. you mean mississippi. that's florida. say louisiana or there's no dessert. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. >>> in the last couple of years, a number of countries have moved towards democracy, egypt, libya, others and many historians studied this process of democ rutuization. just as interesting and important is how countries in the not too distant past w

. ♪ >> this week pulitzer prize- winning author anne applebaum discusses her new boat -- book, "iron: the crushing of eastern europe, 1944-1956." >> why do you open with a quote from churchill? >> heat. the expression -- he coined the expression iron curtain. it was such an evocative description of what happened when he gave the speech that i thought it was important to put that the beginning of the book. >> did you ever think of what he called that the iron curtain? >> there is a long story. it is a theatrical term. there was an iron curtain theaters used to use to prevent fires. churchill used it first in private. >> you know why? >> it was a favor for truman. that is where truman was from. >> let's get a slice of that speech. >> an iron curtain has descended across the continent. behind that line, like all the capitals of the ancient states of central and eastern europe -- baltimore, berlin, prague, vienna, budapest, belgrade, bucharest. all of these famous cities and the population around them lying in rubble -- lie under the soviet sphere. >> why did you want to talk about this?

this is anne applebaum. this is her book" iron curtain, 1944 to 1956" also a winner for the pulitzer for gulag. what-underror thoughts about being a finalist? >> surprised. it's not the most popular kind of subject, and i was pleased. >> why do you say it's not the most popular surge. >> eastern europe after the war, it's a black hole, actually in european history, very few people know very much about it. one of the points of writing the book was to put together both work people have done in other langes and also to use archives and interviews to tell a story that hasn't been very well told. how it is communism took over the region, how is it done. >> how quickly after the end of world war ii did the iron curtain, communist take over europe? >> it actually happened quite fast in the sense that when he red army came into the region, they were already prepared. they didn't know how long it was going to take and didn't have a ten-point plan but they began trying to control key institutions from the beginning, i

our guest is anne applebaum.hank you. >> thank you. >> for a dvd copy of this program call 1-877-662-7726. for free transcripts or to give us your comments about this program, visit us at www.q-and- a.org. "q&a" programs are also available as c-span podcasts. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] your >> you worked for him, you would get a mercurial, sometimes generous, sometimes overbearing and sometimes cruel boss. he did not know how to apologize. which, men of his age and class , they are not going to apologize to a young write it secretary and typist. he had a way of turning the tables. his version of an apology would be to say, actually, i am a very kind man and you are doing a very good job today. the issue is never settled. he always had to get the last word in. one night going through whitehall, a german bomb fell. he should not have been out at all. his bodyguard pushed him into a doorway. a couple of his men were slightly wounde

our guest is anne applebaum. thank you. >> thank you. >> for a dvd copy of this program call 1-877-662-7726. for free transcripts or to give us your comments about this program, visit us at www.q-and- a.org. "q&a" programs are also available as c-span podcasts. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] your >> which men of his class, they're not going to apologize and he had away of turning the tables and his version of an apology and a very kind man, the issue was never settled. heelys had to get the last word. -- he always had to get the last word. he should not have been out all. i pushed him into a doorway and a couple of thompson's men -- did not like to be touched. thompson, don't do that. that's dangerous. i'm only doing this -- >> paul read, lion," on c-span q&a . >> followed by a hearing on high-speed rail, remarks from newtown, connecticut. tomorrow on washington journal, talking about potential spending cuts

that's the question an anne applebaum sets to explore in "iron curtain."rn europe. she won a pulitzer prize. for her previous book published nearly a decade ago. she's back. # welcome back, anne. >> thank you. >> when you think about building democracy in the middle east, you think about building civil society and putting in place courts and such. when you looked at this process, which i think of in some ways as a reverse process, after world war ii, what is it that the soviets and local communist parties do to create communism in eastern europe? >> one of the interesting things that i found while doing the research for this book is how similar the patterns were in these really very different countries after the war. when the red army arrived in one of the conquered territories. it always did, three or four things that it always did right away. number one, perhaps the most obvious, was set up the secret police. number two, slightly less obvious, take over the radio station. >> why the radio station? >> because they cared about mass radio. they weren't so i

our guest is anne applebaum. you. >> thank you. >> for a dvd copy of this program call 1-877-662-7726. for free transcripts or to give us your comments about this program, visit us at www.q-and- a.org. "q&a" programs are also available as c-span podcasts. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> if you work for him, you would get a generous, sometimes overbearing, sometimes crude lost. -- kroll boss -- a couple -- a cruel boss. he had a way of turning the tables. his version of an apology would be to say, i am a kind man and you are doing a good job. the issue was never settled. he always had to get the last word. one night, going through, a german bomb fell. he was pushed into a doorway. a couple of men were wounded. virgil did not like to be touched. he said, thompson, do not do that. thompson said, you should not be out here. it is dangerous. >> next sunday, and extended 90- minute "q&a" with paul reid. >> tomorrow on "washington journa

anne applebaum. >> i am proud to be married to and though. c-span: that was seven years ago. >> guest: he was so young. c-span: does he look that young today it is a foreign minister? >> guest: he looks wonderful. c-span: what does it mean that he is now the foreign minister of poland and how does that figure into all of your interest here are? >> guest: it doesn't figure in directly. i have a background of knowledge and sympathy for that region that i wouldn't have otherwise and i think he doesn't influence any direct way. he is not sitting with me in the archives while i'm looking up to see what happened to the film directors in 1947 and he would be too busy to even help me write my book. knowing that region and having lived in it and having this 20 year long connection with it gives me some empathy or some interest in what happened there. c-span: what are the residuals from world war ii and the iron curtain period today in europe? in eastern europe. anything? >> guest: is interesting, one of the things that has happened since 1989 is the r

. >> more with anne applebaum, tonight at 8:00 on a "q&a." >> "washington journal" continues.ost: for the latest in the so- called fiscal cliff negotiations, we are joined by stand from -- stanley collender, and we also have josh gordon. thanks to you as well. stan, you were on last week and we ask you for the percentages. you put the chance of a fiscal cliff getting done at. this week? -- gettguest: i think there is o chance other than new year's day, and even that might be overstating it a little bit. right now i am seeing a 75% chance that they will go over the cliff. host: joshua, what odds would you give? caller: i have no idea. i would say that it could be 50 -- guest: i have no idea. i would say. the thing that americans and the public should worry about is whether they get something done soon. there is a chance that by inauguration day, something will be done. if something is done in the first few weeks of january that is a broad deal, whenever it was done, that will not matter. host: why is there that buffer for you? guest: because the main things that we worry about

. >> more >anne applebaum from her historical narrative, "iron curtain," sunday night on "q &a " on that night at 8:00. >> at 10:00 eastern, efforts to increase homeownership programs hosted by the burping institution. in 30 minutes, the national taxpayer advocate discusses what the fiscal cliff needs for -- means for tax filing season. the doc fix will be explained that at 9:15, i look at how the u.s. population is expected to u.s. population is expected to change over the

these countries no longer have much in common of one another >> more with anne applebaum from the end of world war ii through 1956, from her historical narrative, "iron curtain" tonight at 8:00 on c-span's q&a. >> this morning, stan colander and joshua gordon have the latest on the fiscal cliff negotiations and then the structure of freedom works

anne applebaum

with ann applebaum here on c-span2. tuesday on "washington journal", john fund discusses the mass shooting at an elementary school in connecticut. more about gun control with allyson schwartz. she will also talk about the house legislative agenda and ways to avoid the fiscal cliff. and after that, marcia howard on the impact sequestration could have on the streets. plus your e-mails and phone calls and tweet. >> c-span asked viewers for their reaction on school shooting in vermont undreamt connecticut. >> people kill people. guns do not kill people if the people that use them. >> i understand that the second amendment was put in place. i am quite sure that this country was not thinking about assault weapons and things like that. >> this boy, this man of 20 or so, he did not have a solid father figure in his life, which he should have. there is so many of that going on in the country today. it is disgusting. >> i am a former psychiatric nurse. i saw ronald reagan close all the hospitals in california and the mental insti

[applause] the finalists for the 2012 national book award for nonfiction are anne applebaum, "iron curtainushing of eastern europe, 1845-1856" published by doubleday. and katherine boo, behind the beautiful forevers. [applause] life, death and hope in a mumbai undercity, published by random house. and robert a. caro, the passage of power, the years of lyndon johnson, volume 4, published by alfred a.k november, and domingo martinez, the boy kings of texas, published by alliance press. and finally, the late anthony shadid, house of stone: a memoir of home, family and a lost middle east published by haughton mifflin harcourt. [applause] the winner of the 2012 national book award for nonfiction describes a world that couldn't be any more different from the world that we're enjoying here tonight. and yet it's a world with that our world depends entirely upon. the subject of this book have been patron hissized -- patronized and romanticized and eagerly ignored in previous work. in this book they appear in all of their complexity. the villains and the sometimes villains along with the sometimes h

. >> more with pulitzer prize- winning anne applebaum.m her historical narrative "iron curtain" sun and the clock on c-span's q&a. brian monaghan says government lenders and borrowers have to reset expectations on home ownership. he spoke at a brookings institution and a vent on the future of home ownership. this is just under one hour. >> good morning. i am pleased to introduce our keynote speaker for today. he has been ceo of one of the world's largest financial institutions since 2010. bank of america serves many different audiences with a full range of financial and risk- management products and services. you see them everywhere. the bank one out of every two american households. i have gotten to know brian through my work. best help underserved americans. brian grew up the sixth of nine had a job of as bus boy and dug that made industrial magnets. he later attended brown university which is something we have in common and played rugby well according to some of my rugby-playing friends and met his wife there. he is a lawyer by trade w

. >> more with anne applebaum from our historical narrative sunday night at 8:00 p.m. >> "washingtonrnal" continues. host: we continue on look with social security and the fiscal cliff with cristina martin firvida from aarp and with david john, senior research fellow from the heritage foundation. should social security be part of the fiscal cliff discussion ? guest: yes, it should. that is money that otherwise would have been used for schools, roads, and things along that line. it is not social security's fault but it is part of the process. social security has promised much more in benefits than it can afford to pay from its current taxes. guest: no, it should not. we have a long-term financing gap that should be addressed. that should have its own debate. the fiscal cliff debate is not the time -- we do not see thoughtful debate about retirement. like to see a debate about people sitting for retirement. the fiscal cliff is not the place to have that debate. we're concerned about quick decisions made on a program that is so important. host: what about putting it on the back burner?

. >> more with anne applebaum on poland and to the iron curtain sunday night at 8:00 p.m. on c- span's "q & a." >> "washington journal" continues. host: juana summera is a reporter for politico. will talk about how states are bracing for the fiscal cliff. before we get deep into this discussion, refresh for us what is sequestration, wind doesn't kick in and why does it matter? guest: all of the petition has been on congress and to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. if they are not able to reach a bipartisan accord, people will see spending cuts and tax increases after the first of the year. a lot of those impacting the defense industry. there is a january 2 and january 3 hit in date. they are quite concerned as to how it will impact their bottom line. host: there is no way to separate the general sequestration from how it would affect the defense industry. if this happens, it is a 10% cut across the top. guest: these are across the board cuts. defense is a big chunk of this. this will affect things like headstart, social services. this is not just a defense issue. the defe

. >> more with anne applebaum from her historical narrative sunday night at 8:00 p.m. on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we will continue our look at the so-called fiscal cliff and its impact on taxes on spending. today we focus on the issue of medicare. our guest is mary agnes carey, senior health correspondent for kaiser health news. how is medicare funded? guest: it is funded by payroll taxes. part b is the outpatient services and funded by premiums and general revenue. host: does it pay for itself? guest: the needs are met and the trustees say the program is funded through 2024 with the reduction in the healthcare law to providers. 50 million people rely on this program. it benefits individuals over the age of 65. a lot of people depend on it. host: what is the current budget for medicare? guest: about $550 billion for this year. host: does that include the premiums that seniors pay? guest: what they pay it will go to the payments that will go to the doctors that care for the beneficiary. host: how much is coming out of general revenue? guest: the

. >> more with anne applebaum from "iron curtain." sunday night at 8:00 on "q &a." >> president obama talks about friday's shooting in newtown, connecticut. >> on friday we learned more than two dozen people were killed when a gunman opened fire. most who died were young children with their whole lives ahead of them. every parent has a heart heavy with hurt. among the fallen more also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping their children fulfill their dreams. our hearts are broken today. we grieve for the families of those we lost. we keep in our careers the parents of those who survived. as blessed as they are to have children at home, they know their child's innocence has been torn away it far too early. as a nation we have endured far too many of these tragedies over the past few years. an elementary school, a shopping mall in oregon, a house of worship in wisconsin, a movie theater in colorado, countless streetcorners. any of these neighborhoods could be our own. we have to come together. we will have to take m

. >> more with anne applebaum sunday night at 8:00 p.m. on c- span's "q&a." next, grover norquist was on this morning's "washington journal." this is 40 minutes. host: someone who's been in the news and on the news lately is on your screen now, grover norquist, president of americans for tax reform. mr. norquist, make your case for no tax increases at this point in our economic situation. guest: two years ago president obama extended all of the tax cuts that lapsed in janurary. he did so because he said the economy was weak and raising taxes ordered. the economy is not any stronger now than it was. in addition to the tax increase, he wants to impose by letting some of the bush tax cuts laps, he has already got a trillion dollars in tax increases that starting in january to pay for obamacare. when you think about fiscal cliff, the bush tax cuts have collapsed, sequestration cuts spending, and then there's a trillion dollar tax increase that obama has over the next decade to pay for obamacare. interestingly, he decided to delay those taxes until after he was re

more with anne applebaum on life in soviet east germany, poland, and hungary. the end of world war ii in 1956. from historical narrative, iron curtain, on c-span's "q&a". >> ben bernanke announced monetary actions that the federal reserve will try to take sustained economic recovery, including keeping interest rates low. mr. ben bernanke spoke to leaders after the market meeting. this is one hour and 15 minutes. >> the economy continues to expand at a moderate pace. unfortunately, however, unemployment remains high. about 5 million people, more than 40% of the unemployed have been unemployed for six months or more. and millions more have been able to find only part-time employment or have stopped working entirely. the conditions now prevailing in the job market represent an enormous waste of human and economic potential. the return to broad-based prosperity will require steady improvement in the job market, which requires longer economic growth. meanwhile, apart from temporary fluctuations in large swings in energy prices, inflation has remained tame. 2% object

. >> war with pulitzer prize- winning anne applebaum on life in soviet east germany, poland, and hungry to from the end of world war ii 1956 from her restore local narrative. sunday night at 8:00 on c-span. [video] >> give it to him hard. >> is not safe on that bus. >> i've been on the bus. they are good as gold. >> all of us in this country are starting to see people coming out and talking about their experience of this phenomenon that so many of us have experienced in one way or another and had no words for other than adolescents, other than growing up. people are finally starting to go back and say this is not actually a normal part of growing up, not a normal right of passage. i think there was a moment where there was a possibility for change. the director and eyes decided to start the film out of that feeling that voices were bubbling up to the surface to say this is not something we can accept any more as a normal part of our culture. -- the director and i. >> and the filmmaker has gathered essays and personal stories together in "bully." saturday night, hear more. and like us on

. >> more with an applebaum in germany.soviet eastern m -- anne applebaum. that is a big night at 8:00 on c-span "q&a." >> now, latino leaders discuss issues that may impact of latino generation. panelists include former white house advisor to latin -- latin america, executive director of the latino partnership for conservative principles, and arizona state university professor rodolfo espinoza. this event is two hours. >> good morning. we will go ahead and get started. welcome to the wilson center. this is, as you well know, a place where public policy and a research me to bring together the world of ideas with your world a policy action. very happy to have our director of the latin-american program. and of course, very pleased that this is an event we are co- sponsoring with immigration works that did most of the work for this. the president of emigration works really put the panel together, as well as very proud to co-concert arizona university. i want to acknowledge a senior scholar at the woodrow wilson center. and many other good friends here. good to

. >> more with pulitzer prize winner anne applebaum on life in soviet east germany, poland, and hungary from the end of world war ii through 1956, from her historical narrative, "iron curtain," sunday night at 8:00 on c-span's "q&a." >> what is the most important issue the president should consider for 2013? >> so tell us. >> your chance to win the grand prize of $5,000. >> now we discussion on the safety of the nation's infrastructure with suzanne spaulding whose department is task in managing the risk for an array of infrastructure including financial services and is essential government services and facilities. >> i have the great honor and a pleasure to introduce suzanne spaulding. suzanne was the chair of out committee from 2001 to 2003. she is famous for her introductions. we will pale in comparison. suzanne serves as the deputy undersecretary for the national protection and programs directorate. as deputy undersecretary, she oversees infrastructure protection and risk management and analysis. she will enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure, secure federal facilities. s

. >> more with pulitzer prize journalist anne applebaum, on the end of communism through the end of world war ii 1956 from her historical narrative on the air curtain tonight on c-span's "q&a." >> the white house was very controversial. his sign washington's city and the design for a palace. it was not particularly awe inspiring. in 1821, a diplomat said it was neither large nor awe inspiring, but the sponsor -- the answer said if it were larger or more elegant, perhaps some president would be inclined to become a permanent resident. >> new york times photo credit has gathered some of her favorite photographs of the white house. watch tonight at 7:30 p.m. eastern and pacific on "american history tv." >> i think the challenge for us is we want to be on every device for every person on every hour of the day. we are a mobile society. the challenge is to make sure that we are on ipads, computers, phones, as well as the traditional viewing on a wonderful high-definition television screen. the other challenge we have is the spectrum is a finite resource. there's not enough spectrum in the unive

. >> more with ann applebaum from the end of world war ii. from her narrative "iron curtain" sunday night on c-span's q&a. >> the white house was very controversial as most things in america were. who designed washington city, there was competition. americans were not having a palace. it was not particularly awe inspiring. in fact, a diplomat told the congress it was neither large nor awe inspiring but the answer that the congressman gave was the building served it purpose. if it was larger praps more president would be declined to become its permen innocent resident. -- permanent dez represent. >> the president's home and photographs and history. watch sunday evening on c-span 3's american history tv. >> the mayor of new jersey went before congress today along with the new york's small business director and the long island small business president. this is about an hour and a half. >> we want to discussion the small business administration response to hurricane sandy. the president's recent supplemental request in this space and state and lo

anne applebaum canad from her historical narrative "iron curtain" sunday night at 8:00. >> brian m. -ian moynihan said the government and lenders and borrowers have to reset their expectations on home ownership. he called for fannie mae and freddie mac to return to their primary focus on helping low and moderate home buyers. he spoke at a brookings institution event on the future, a mission. this is just under one hour. >> i'm co-director. let's introduce our keynote speaker. bank of america president and ceo brian moynihan. he has been crowe of one of the largest banking institutions and serves many different audiences. consumers and businesses of all sizes as well as investors with a full range of banking, investment ands a credit and products and services. if you are thinking you see them everywhere, you're correct. they bank one out of every two households. i've got on the know brian in an advisory council. s the a council of community developers and wonky types hike me that offer tips on how it can best help underserved americans. brian grew up the sixth of nine children and in h

. >> more with anne applebaum, and the end of world war ii through 1956. "iron curtain," sunday night at 8:00 on c-span's q&a. former budget director peter orszag says concerns over the fiscal cliff have been overblown and the focus should shift to the debt limit increase. the global vice chairman for citigroup predicted that republicans will ultimately caved in on tax increases. this is 15 minutes. >> four protections. discuss what will the impending fiscal cliff means for tax filing season. and the formula for paying doctors under medicare. later, a look at how the u.s. population is expected to change. our guests are jennifer, a demographer for the senses, and william, a demographer for the brookings -- >> medicare costs will grow less than 3%, which is unbelievably low by historical standards. or that we saw last year. in a continuation of a value- based health-care system. over time, it offers the best opportunity in take-home pay that has arisen over the past decades because of globalization and technological change. the third production is more dire

. >> war with paula surprise winner and applebaum -- paul surprise winner anne applebaum.on and heir if caught. the house of representatives is back in session monday at 2:00 p.m. eastern. members may come up with a compromise to allow a conference committee to finalize the defense programs bill for next year. they passed the defense policy bill next week -- last week. negotiations continue on preventing the fiscal cliff from taking effect january. the senate is back on monday live on our companion network c- span 2. next week judicial nominations in the u.s. senate. next, a look at cybersecurity threats and ways the u.s. can address challenges. we will hear remarks from house intelligence committee chairman mike rogers and former homeland security secretary michael mccaul. from george washington university, this is one hour and 45 minutes. >> our initiative will be chaired by a public servant with a track record of leadership in the field of homeland security, secretary michael chertoff. the need to secure critical infrastructure, national security and permission, and our

. >> more with anne applebaum on life in the soviet east germany, poland and hungary from the end of world war ii through 1956 from her historical narrative "iron curtain," sunday night at eight on c-span's q&a. >> on tuesday the u.s. chamber of commerce hosted an event looking at the fiscal challenges facing the nation on the federal and state level. this panel featured the chiefs of staff and governors of virginia, colorado, oklahoma and wisconsin discussing how the current economy is impacting their states. this is just under one hour. >> thank you very much. thank you everyone for being here this morning. especially those who traveled to be with us. closed doors from the rest of washington and the fiscal cliff debate for a little while and talk about fiscal challenges elsewhere, whether it's good news or bad news, at least he gives us an opportunity to talk about something a little bit different than the news of the day in this final two weeks i think before, hopefully, congress finds an opportunity to either avoid or move or solve some of the fiscal cliff issues and fiscal chall

. >> more with anne applebaum from the end of world war ii through 1956 from "iron curtain" sunday night at 8:00. >> president obama talks about friday's shooting at an elementary school in newtown, connecticut. >> on friday, we learn more than two dozen people were killed when a gunman opened fire at an elementary school. most who died were elementary children with their lives ahead of them. among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives helping children fulfill their dreams. our hearts are broken today. we grieve for the families of those we lost. we keep in our prayers those who survived. they know their child's innocence has been torn away far too early. as a nation, we have endured far too many of these tragedies the past few years. an elementary school in newtown, a shopping mall again from oregon, a movie theater of in colorado, countless streetcorners and places like chicago and philadelphia. any of these neighborhoods could be our own. we have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this from happening. regardless of

. >> this week on "q&a," pulitzer prize-winning author anne prize-winning author anne applebaum discussesew