Q&A C-SPAN

Author and actor George Takei talks about growing up in internment camps in the U.S. during World War II, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Mr. Takei and his family were four of the 120,000 Japanese Americans to be forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to military-run camps during the war on the orders of President Franklin Roosevelt. Mr. Takei has recently published a children's book about his experiences titled "My Lost Freedom."

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We sat down with two World War II veterans – former U.S. Navy gunnery officer Steve Ellis and former U.S. Army Air Force B-24 navigator Rolf Slen – to talk about their experiences during the war. Mr. Ellis, age 99, and Mr. Slen, age 100, both served in the Pacific Theater. Of the 16.4 million Americans who served in uniform in World War II, 119,550 were still alive as of 2023.
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This Memorial Day weekend, retired U.S. Senate Historian Betty Koed shares stories from her book "Scenes: People, Places and Events That Shaped the United States Senate." It's a collection of brief chronicles of Senate history that she presented to Senators during their Tuesday caucus lunches between 2009 and 2023. Some of the stories told include the influence and power of Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, the story of the first female senator, and when Mark Twain worked as a Senate staffer.
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Author and president emeritus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Freeman Hrabowski talks about the role of college presidents, the handling of campus protests over the war in Gaza, and political involvement in higher education. His new book "The Resilient University" looks at how UMBC dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd by police in the summer of 2020. Freeman Hrabowski served as president of UMBC from 1992-2022.
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Ilyon Woo, our guest this week, was recently awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for her book "Master Slave Husband Wife." The book recounts the harrowing journey of self-emancipation made by married slaves William and Ellen Craft in 1848. Disguised as a wealthy disabled white man with his servant, the Crafts left Georgia, avoiding slave traders, law enforcement, and even friends to gain their freedom. This program originally aired in February 2023.
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Former congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) talks about Americans who have struggled with mental illness and the stigma and silence that he says still surrounds it. He shares the stories of the people profiled in his book, "Profiles in Mental Health Courage," including himself and members of his own family.
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