Writer and Director of The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard is an expert in international sustainability and environmental health issues. Her new book, based on the film was released in March 2010 to wide acclaim. Annie's program explores how our  obsession with stuff is trashing the planet, our communities, and our health - and offers us a vision for change.

Essayist Richard Rodriguez discusses how America - and every American - is shaped by the continual interaction of cultures, blurring boundaries between "black" and "white," Hispanic and Anglo. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books "Hunger of Memory," "Days of Obligation: An Argument With My Mexican Father" and "Brown: The Last Discovery of America."

An investigative journalist and author of such critically acclaimed and prize-winning books as "Crude: The Story of Oil," "The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years," and "The Body Hunters: Testing New Drugs on the World's Poorest Patients."

Could the food you eat or the floors you walk on be toxic? Praised as "the new Rachel Carson" for her groundbreaking book "Living Downstream," Steingraber raises awareness of how toxins all around us adversely affect our health. She takes a personal and scientific look at the ecological links to cancer and other medical problems, and offers insight into how we can protect our environment and ourselves. Her new documentary Living Downstream, based on her highly-acclaimed book, will be released in January 2010. [Photo Credit: Dede Hatch]

Media critic, American Studies professor, and author of "Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media," Susan Douglas reveals how television and advertising target images of women. Her newest book is "Enlightened Sexism," which chronicles the gap between images of women in the media and the everyday lives of women.

Leading the battle for environmental justice, from dealing with the toxic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to curbing urban sprawl, Dr. Bullard tells the stories of frontline warriors who are fighting environmental and human rights abuses. His research and activism challenges government and industry policies that place people of color and the poor at special risk. He is the author of 15 books, including “Race, Place, and Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina.” which was released in 2009

Richard Rhodes is the author or editor of twenty-three books including "The Making of the Atomic Bomb," which won a Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction. His new book "The Twilight of the Bombs" was released in 2010. His biography of Hedy Lamarr, inventor, will be published in fall 2011.

As Director of the Hayden Planetarium and the host of PBS NOVA Science NOW, Dr. Tyson is one of the most high profile astrophysicists in America. Tyson is always working to pique the scientific curiosity of a new generation of young people. His recent books include "One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos," "Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries," "Origins," and "The Pluto Files."

David Quammen is a nonfiction author, science journalist, and Contributing Writer for National Geographic. His work has also appeared in Harper's, The Atlantic and Outside. His current book project involves the emergence and evolution of scary viruses.

Ted Conover's experiences as a rookie prison guard, companion of undocumented Mexicans, and hopper of freight trains are just some of what makes him a celebrated participatory journalist. Conover is an expert at sharing stories and creating conversational dialogues that are engaging, interesting, and relevant.

Lewis Hyde is a poet, essayist, translator, and cultural critic with a particular interest in the public life of the imagination. A MacArthur fellow, Hyde is called "a true superstar of nonfiction."

A powerful storyteller, Mann's most recent book "1491" explores the history of the Americas before Columbus. A three-time National Magazine Award finalist, he has received awards for his articles and books on everything from emerging technologies to the business of medicine to endangered species. [ Photo Credit Josh D'Aluisio-Guerrieri ]

Author of "The Moral Underground," Dr. Lisa Dodson is widely known for her policy research on low-wage families. Her newest book “The Moral Underground" examines the profound harm of a deeply stratified economy and was recently called gripping by Publisher's Weekly. [Photo Credit: Ellen Shub]

Journalist and author of “In Conflict: Iraq War Veterans Speak Out on Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive,” which was turned into an award-winning play. Latty is also the author of the critically acclaimed “We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans, from World War II to the War in Iraq.”

Lubrano speaks from both personal experience and his work as a journalist about the role of class, culture and education across generations. The author of the books "Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams" and "Sons on Fathers," and a feature writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, he has won more than a dozen journalism awards.

An award winning former Washington Post reporter, Ms. Gaines works to empower girls and young women at risk, drawing from her experiences on the streets and in prison. She is co-founder of Brown Angel Center, providing formerly incarcerated women and their families with the tools to renew their lives. Gaines is author of "Laughing in the Dark" and "Moments of Grace: Meeting the Challenge to Change." She currently is doing commentaries for National Public Radio.

What is the Tea Party and how will the movement change American politics? John M. O'Hara, author of “A New American Tea Party,” chronicles the history and principles of the tea party movement.

As experienced veterans of academia, Dreifus and Hacker ask: What do students and families receive for the approximate quarter of a million dollars which four years at a top-tier American university cost them? Their new book "Higher Education?" has been called "thought-provoking," "timely," and "readable."

Born in Beijing, educated in the West, Jianying Zha brings unique insight into the rapidly changing political and cultural landscape in China.

June Cross follows news coverage and cultural thinking about race, sex, Hollywood, and politics. She is an Associate Professor at Columbia Journalism School, a writer, and an award-winning producer. Her first book, a memoir titled "Secret Daughter," (based on an Emmy-winning documentary) was published by Viking in May 2006. She has worked for PBS's Frontline and The Newshour, as well as for CBS News. Her most recent documentary, The Old Man and the Storm, followed three generations of a New Orleans family as they struggled to return to normal lives. It aired on PBS' FRONTLINE in January 2009.

Best-selling author, TV and radio commentator – his most recent book, "Present at the Creation", will change your view of science as did "Secret Notebook" decipher the science, mystery and mathematics of Descartes

How the firearm issue was hijacked by the Conservative Movement to advance their agenda and how progressives can change America with the same techniques! The inside story from a Washington lobbyist!

Professor and author of sixteen books studying Southern and American history, David Goldfield discusses how the Civil War is America's greatest failure in his new book America Aflame.

How is language acquired? Nim Chimpsky was to be raised in a human family and taught American Sign Language -- this would challenge the idea that only humans use language, and blur or erase the line between human and nonhuman. But the study also created a chimpanzee with a foot in both worlds, neither fully chimp nor fully human, which further created a challenge for all of Nim's caretakers and Nim's own quality of life.

Once marginalized, pornography has now become a central part of our cultural landscape, with its idealized, mass produced images of women, men and sex seeping into our identities, body image, and relationships. In this powerful multi-media presentation, Dr. Gail Dines explores how gender is shaped by a consumer-driven culture, and the ways the public images we consume on a daily basis spill over into our most private worlds. Her new book "PORNLAND: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality" has been called "sharp and savvy."

From fireflies flashing in unison to the rhythmic applause of hundreds of strangers in a movie theater, Steven Strogatz - author of "Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order" and the new book "The Calculus of Friendship" - explains how our supposedly random everyday lives are in fact filled with synchrony and harmony.

Acclaimed Puerto Rican author Esmeralda Santiago is critically praised for her work both as a memoirist (When I Was Puerto Rican, The Turkish Lover) and as a novelist ( America’s Dream, Conquistadora). In both genres, Santiago writes about cultural awakenings and the wider understanding that follows.Her writing has been called “…full of passion and authority”, “…thrilling, and page-turning”.

Blurring the lines between myth and reality, fiction and nonfiction in her award-winning seven books and anthologies, Kingston traces the paths of loss and healing. Her work reflects upon her Chinese heritage while growing up in the United States .