Soundings from The New York Review

Adam Hochschild talks to Hugh Eakin about the epidemic of violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ronald Dworkin talks to Hugh Eakin about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings, the growing conservatism of the Roberts Court, and the myth that judges can decide cases simply by fidelity to the law.

Timothy Snyder talks to Sasha Weiss about how we can best understand the Holocaust and the mass killings under Stalin as a particularly Eastern European phenomenon.

Roger Cohen speaks to Hugh Eakin about the protests that followed Iran's June 12 election, the crackdown, and the consequences for the future of the Iranian regime.

Novelist and critic Claire Messud, author most recently of the novel The Emperor's Children, reads her new story "Land Divers," from the Review's Summer Fiction issue.

Michael Tomasky speaks with Hugh Eakin about public perception of the President and his policies, the thinking behind the administration's ceding of authority to Congress, and the sheer pace of Obama's Washington.

David Cole talks to Michael Shae about the history of the legal battle over same-sex marriage, the changing demographics that favor nationwide support, and the legal and political tactics advocates and activists might use to ensure a just future for the institution.

Nicholas Kristof speaks with Sasha Weiss about his experiences reporting in Darfur, the International Criminal Court's indictment of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir on counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and what the Obama administration can do to prevent further escalation of the conflict.

Ahmed Rashid speaks with Hugh Eakin about the continuing conflict between the Pakistani government and the Taliban, the humanitarian crisis in Swat, and the violence that has spread from the border with Afghanistan to within sixty miles of the capital, Islamabad.

Helen Epstein talks with Eve Bowen about lawyer Sunny Schwartz's work in the San Francisco county jail system, and her program's potential for transforming the treatment of prisoners nationwide.