NPR's Talk of the Nation: Changing Face of America

July 26, 2001
St. Louis, Mo.

Listen to Talk of the Nation's live town hall meeting in St. Louis, Mo., from 2pm to 4 pm ET/11am to 1pm PT, using Real, Windows Media, or Apple QuickTime.

Talk of the Nation's host Juan Williams doing a live broadcast

Hour 1:
The Changing Demographics of America

Census 2000 confirmed what many have predicted: more than 6.8 million Americans indicated they were members of more than one race. Latinos will soon outnumber African Americans, while Asian Americans are the fastest growing of the demographic groups. There's another demographic group commanding our attention: the Baby Boomers. As this group inches toward retirement age, they may end up redefining what it means to be old in America. How will these demographic shifts change the country?

The New, New Economy

Our Changing Face of America series started with a look at Austin, Texas, a city that benefited from and was then buffeted by the wild swings of the digital economy. Austin is now reeling from the loss of thousands of technology jobs. Is there such a thing as a new economy? How has the new economy changed us? What will the economy look like down the road? Vist the Talk of the Nation archive from March 29, 2000 to hear that story.

Hour One Guests:

Joel Kotkin
Author The New Geography: How the Digital Revolution is Reshaping the American Landscape; Senior Fellow, Davenport Institute for Public Policy at Pepperdine University; Senior Fellow, Milken Institute (Visit Joel Kotkin's Web site)

William Frey
Demographer and sociologist; research scientist, University of Michigan Population Studies Center; senior fellow, Milken Institute (Visit William Frey's Web site)

Jack Beatty
Senior Editor, The Atlantic Monthly; editor, Colussus: How the Corporation Changed America

Hour 2:
Sense of Community?

Are we as a nation losing our sense of community? In the last part of the 20th century it was believed that Americans were more isolated and less involved in community affairs. What's really happening to the American community as we enter the 21st century? Some say we've become fragmented and uninvolved to the point where national government has become less relevant.

Hour 2 Guests:

Michael Barone
Author, The New Americans: How the Melting Pot Can Work Again; co-author for last 30 years of The Almanac of American Politics (published biannually)

Ruben Naverrette, Jr.
Columnist, Dallas Morning News and The Washington Post Writers Group; author Darker Shade of Crimson: Odyssey of a Harvard Chicano

Wayne Fields
Professor of American literature, American Cultural Studies Department, Washington University

The Changing Face of America is an 18-month-long NPR series that tells the stories of regular, everyday Americans and the issues they face at a time of rapid and dramatic change in the U.S. This special series can be heard on NPR's Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered and Morning Edition.