- October 27, 1988 | A World of IdeasNovelist and cultural critic Tom Wolfe shares his thoughts on Wall Street greed, "media ricochet," and the power of neighborhood politics.
- October 26, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe author and sociologist discusses how most inner-city blacks stay poor not because they are black, but because they live in the wasteland of the inner city.
- October 25, 1988 | Updated March 31, 2015 | A World of IdeasThe doctor and child researcher is worried about the way the marketplace is treating families.This part of the conversation focuses on daycare and childcare options.
- October 24, 1988 | Updated March 31, 2015 | A World of IdeasThe doctor and child researcher is worried about the way the marketplace is treating families.
- October 19, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe historian and early refugee from Hungarian communism on the government's encroachment on public and private life.
- October 18, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe anthropologist discusses gender roles in modern society and what happens when men and women socialized for different spheres have to adapt to sharing a workplace.
- October 14, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe political scientist and historian on politics, parties, and leadership.
- October 13, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe economist and sociologist on the “economic miracle” of East Asia, and what it reveals about the state of our democracy and the relationship of character to capitalism.
- October 12, 1988 | Updated March 30, 2015 | A World of IdeasThe writer and professor discusses philosophies of education, what makes some schools good and some teachers memorable, and her mother's extraordinary journey to a career as a child psychoanalyst.
- October 11, 1988 | A World of IdeasIn this 1988 interview, the author discusses how the best writers are a nuisance to society, always preferring the uncomfortable truth to the comfortable lie.