The Rolling Stone 40th Anniversary Issue

Cornel West

In his interview with Robert S. Boynton, the Princeton Religion professor discusses the most profound challenges we face as a nation over the next twenty years, being inspired by Anton Chekhov and John Coltrane, and why he doesn't believe in optimism and pessimism. In this audio excerpt, West talks about how this era will be remembered forty years from now.

Jon Stewart

The Daily Show host's conversation with Jeff Sharlet covered Ralph Nader, why TV news is so bad and what's on his iPod. In this audio excerpt, Stewart talks about whether or not he is optimistic about the future, and how this decade will be remembered fifty years from now.

Bill Maher

In his interview with Mark Binelli, the host of HBO's Realtime gives his 2008 presidential-nominees predictions, talks about whether he's optimistic about the future and predicts where the war on terror will be in fifteen years. In this audio clip, Maher ruminates on what he predicted the future would be like when he was a kid.