Indonesia student protests sparked an anti-government firestorm. In this country, campus demonstrators rioted for -- the right to drink. What's happened to political activism in the United States? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, fining a fertile field for politics off campus, at the grass-roots. Also, an activist's daughter rebels, in the Sixties, in the South.

Sociologist Paul Lichterman tells Steve Paulson about "personalized politics" and compares two environmental groups to illustrate their different types of activism and the different sense of community their members feel. Lichterman's book is "The Search for Political Community: American Activists Reinventing Commitment."

Liam Mahoney works with Peace Brigades International and is the co-author of "Unarmed Bodyguards." He tells Judith Strasser about the practice of providing unarmed "accompaniers" to simply be with individuals whose might be the targets of human rights abuses. Peace Brigades International may be reached at: 2642 College Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704; Telephone - (510) 540 0749; E-Mail- pbiusa@igc.apc.org. Also, novelist Virginia Brodine talks with Jim Fleming about her book, "Seed of the Fire," which concerns the struggles of an Irish immigrant family to build a sense of community in the New World. They've come to Ohio in the early 19th century to work on a canal, bringing their history of social and political activism with them.

Ellen Bache is the author of "Safe Passages," which became a movie starring Susan Sarandon and Sam Shepard. She tells Judith Strasser about her new book, "The Activist's Daughter." It concerns a young woman who decides to outrage her civil rights activist mother by enrolling in a Southern college with a rigid social code.

Distribution dates:

• week of 05/31/98 - hour 1