Fresh Air

Although many Americans heard Barack Obama's inauguration speech, they probably weren't listening for plyptotons and catachresis — but Geoff Nunberg was.

Natasha Trethewey won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for poetry for her book Native Guard. Her parents had an interracial marriage while it was still illegal in Mississippi, and Tretheway's poetry often draws on her childhood as a biracial child in the south.

Eric Foner, author of Our Lincoln, talks about the era following the Civil War in which former slaves were promised equal rights and citizenship. Foner is DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University.

Street artist Shepard Fairey created the iconic red, white and blue Obama illustration that became the unofficial poster of the campaign. Although his campaign poster never became official, Fairey has been commissioned to design the official poster for the inauguration.

David Kirkpatrick, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times, profiled McCain in a series of articles. He shares his thoughts on the McCain campaign and on the future of the Republican Party.

David Kirkpatrick, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times, profiled McCain in a series of articles. He shares his thoughts on the McCain campaign and on the future of the Republican Party.

Beginning with the Democratic primary, president-elect Barack Obama's campaign did not waver in its focus on "change." Journalist Ryan Lizza argues that the constancy and simplicity of Obama's message allowed the candidate to turn his vulnerabilities into assets — and outmaneuver both Hillary Clinton and John McCain.