LISTEN online HERE

GORE VIDALdied yesterday -- he was a great writer, but also a political activist.  In 2000 I interviewed him about his face-off with the LAPD outside the Democratic National Convention.  We replay part of that interview here.

Also: Is poverty caused by bad choices made by women?  If poor women had better values,  would everything be better?  KATHA POLLITT comments – she’s a columnist for The Nation.

Plus: LA prosecutors have been concealing evidence from defendants in criminal cases, evidence about misconduct by jail guards—that’s what the ACLU of Southern California says in a new lawsuit. MARK ROSENBAUM of the ACLU will explain – he says  "In Los Angeles County, we have a system of injustice for all criminal defendants.”

And: What happens if Republican vote suppression tactics succeed in November, and Mitt Romney is elected because Democrats who are poor, young or minorities were prevented from voting?  What do we do then?  HAROLD MEYERSON has been thinking about that – he writes for The Washington Post op-ed page and The American Prospect.