colson whitehead is here. his novels include "the intuitionist" and "john henry days" which is a finalist for the pulitzer prize. "washington post" wrote no one writer writes were many imagination about the complexity of race in america than colson whitehead. he takes an autobiographical turn with his new novel "sag harbor." i'm pleased to have him back at this table. welcome. >> howdy. >> rose: tell me what genre this fits in. >> i'm not sure. i think people want to call it a coming of age novel. >> rose: exactly. >> even though i'm not sure if it has all the features of a coming of age novel. nothing incredibly transcendent happens. there's no giant shark in the water they're trying to avoid. they don't find a dead body in the woods and while the song "stand by me" plays and stuff like that. and so there are teenagers and there's a small span of time where they get a little wiser but i'm not sure if it's a coming of age novel. because it draws from some of my personal experience you could call it a little mo

the magazine also talked to charles colson, who after becoming a watergate felon, went on to become acontroversial but influential figure on the religious right. quote, colson now has concerns about politicians using the "c" street group as a replacement for church. it's a mistake, he said. a leading figure ought to belong to a church. when jeff sharlet's book about the family was first released in hard cover in 2008, the reaction from "world" magazine was essentially to call him a conspiracy theorist. the review of mr. sharlet's book in september of last year from "world" editor-in-chief marvin olasky argued that jeff sharlet, quote, reflects a growing paranoia about evangelical influence in american politics. the folks at "world" magazine may be changing their minds about that now because it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you. joining us now is jeff sharlet. he of course is author of the book "the family, the secret fundamentalism at the heart of american power" which is now out in paperback. thanks very much for coming back on the show. nice to see you. >> hi, rachel.

in any event, nixon then called chuck colson in his office. this is on tape. he told him to hurry up and get out to this guy's apartment in milwaukee before the fbi surrounded it and took over and plant mcgovern literature. that was the president of united states. i think that is all you need to know. >> you've come across as a mild- mannered individual. do you ever get really angry? >> i do from time to time. >> what angers you most in politics? >> i am increasingly angered by the acidity -- the passivity of the media. they are always contesting these two sides. a television loves controversy. preferably violent controversy. it brings in the audience. the result is that you can tell the most outrageous lies and it will all be treated as ordinary conversation. this debate over health-care reform or global warming, whatever it is, there are some absolute false statements being made which the media know are false and yet they will cite them as propositions that propositions that has to be answered -- propositions that have to be answered by the other side. someb

it provide -- chuck colson developed prison fellowship. it relies on a volunteer network of more than 20,000 people. non-union, non full-time state employees, no pension -- all the things we are told automatically raises costs. there are 20,000 volunteers who ministered to many of the 2.3 million prisoners in the united states. prison fellowship has an interchange freedom initiative which is very tough. they are mentored and values- based programs. it begins 24 months prior to a release. i have talked to someone about how challenging this is. this is a program where it you do not smoke, if you do not drink, you focus all day, every day, and they are serious about helping people change their behavior and helping people change their future. according to a study in texas, only 8% of those who participated in a program returned to jail within two years, compared to 52% of all american prisoners then returned to jail within three years. i want to give you these two models as an example. these are not just more efficient ways of doing the same o

america works which is a remarkable company and new york, and chuck colson of the fellowship model thatnolan have done such a great job of developing. i believe prison reform and prisoner rehabilitation should be a concern for all americans. today, 66% of all u.s. inmates or rearrested within three years of release and 52% in the back in prison. there are several organizations leading the way how we rehabilitate prisoners and effectively integrate them into society. america works is originally eckert i worked with on welfare reform. they have been found it under governor mario cuomo and they were able to break through at that time in the 80's in which several social workers went into private business and organized a for-profit company which will get paid if hard core unemployed actually changed their behavior enough to go to work and they only got their bonus if they would work for an minimal of six consecutive months. they became lost on gush langley successful which led other groups to hate them because they offered the opportunity -- >> [inaudible] >> because the america works was in