8am Helen Thomas
Commonly referred to as "The First Lady of the Press," former White House Bureau Chief Helen Thomas is a trailblazer, breaking through barriers for women reporters while covering every President since John F. Kennedy.

For 57 years, Helen also served as White House correspondent for United Press International. She recently left this post and joined Hearst Newspapers as a syndicated columnist.

Born in Winchester, Kentucky, Helen Thomas was raised in Detroit, Michigan where she attended public schools and later graduated from Wayne State University. Upon leaving college, Helen served as a copy girl on the old, now defunct Washington Daily News. In 1943, Ms. Thomas joined United Press International and the Washington Press Corps.

For 12 years, Helen wrote radio news for UPI, her work day beginning at 5:30 a.m. Eventually she covered the news of the Federal government, including the FBI and Capitol Hill.

Thomas has the distinction of having traveled around the world several times with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, during the course of which she covered every Economic Summit. The World Almanac has cited her as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in America.

Helen Thomas has written four books, including Thanks for the Memories Mr. President: Wit and Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House, Front Row at the White House: My Life and Times, and her most recent, Watchdogs of Democracy (2006).

8:30am Senator Joe Biden
First elected to the United States Senate in 1972 at the age of twenty-nine, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is recognized as one of the nation’s most powerful and influential voices on foreign relations, terrorism, drug policy, and crime prevention.

This week on Open Views, I speak with a group involved with bringing transparency and visibility into American politics.

The Sunlight Foundation was founded in January 2006 with the goal of using the revolutionary power of the Internet and new information technology to enable citizens to learn more about what Congress and their elected representatives are doing, and thus help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and accountability by government, and foster public trust in the vital institutions of democracy.

Bill Ellisison is Senior Fellow at the Sunlight foundation, and a veteran investigative reporter. Greg Elin is the chief data architect at Sunlight Labs, the technology wing of the Sunlight Foundation.

Join me at 7pm Tuesday and 7am Thursday for a conversation about transparent politics and the Sunlight Foundation's work.

This interview is now available for download or stream at our Audio link (on the left menu). 

On Friday April 13th, an interview with Congressman Ron Paul of Texas (R) will be aired on Planet Erstwild at 4pm. Paul, who is running for president, will be interviewed by guest host Clyde Cleveland, who himself ran for governor of Iowa as the Libertarian Party candidate in 2002. Reason Magazine interviewed Paul about his presidential bid earlier this year. Asked what issues he would emphasize, Paul responded:

"Everything I’ve talked about for twenty years! I think the biggest thing for Republican primary voters is that most Republicans are turned off right now. They’ve had a beating and are reassessing their values. They have to decide what they believe in. The Republican Party has become about big government conservatism, and Republicans need to hear the message they used to hear: that conservatives are supposed to be for small government."

Join host James Moore for a wide-ranging show today that will feature co-host Stuart Tanner joining in from England.

There will be a brief interview with former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, whose wife Valerie Plame appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform this past week. She was scheduled to appear at the IMU Ballroom In Iowa CIty at 7:30pm on Monday March 26th but has been advised against it on legal grounds. Her husband will replace her as speaker for the event. He held a press junket yesterday. James and a number of other newspeople asked questions.

At 3pm, Tanner and Moore will interview Ms. Kirsten Gagnaire who is Vice Chair of Social Enterprise Alliance and Principal, Social Enterprise Group. She has a broad background in developing and assessing social enterprise business models in all sectors. 

BBC Filmmaker Stuart Tanner will discuss global events with Planet Erstwild's James Moore today.

Tanner and Moore will interview Giovanni Ciarlo of the Global Ecovillage Network who is presently at the network's ecovillage in Mexico--Ecoaldea Huehuecoyotl.

This topic was introduced to KRUU listeners on Planet Erstwild by Tanner and Moore on February 16, 2006. The archive is available for streaming or downloading on the website.

This will be Tanner's last in-studio appearance for some time as he will be returning to England on Tuesday. Stuart will continue to offer his insights and commentary from overseas each week and promises to keep us informed as his next documentary film project unfolds.