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HBO's 'Real Time' sees Salam, Too Big to Fail's Sorkin, Clarke and Shearer

By April MacIntyre May 11, 2011, 21:17 GMT

Bill Maher and guest - Los Angeles, CA, USA © Keadrick D. Washington / PR Photos

HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher will have a lively show for sure this Friday night, as Reihan Salam, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Richard Clarke and Harry Shearer  will be on to discuss all the topics that Maher lasers in on from the week.

The show continues its ninth season Friday, May 13 (10:00-11:00 p.m. live ET/tape-delayed PT), exclusively on HBO, with an instant replay at 11:00 p.m. following the live presentation.  Allowing Maher to offer his unique perspective on contemporary issues, the show includes an opening monologue, roundtable discussions with panelists, and interviews with in-studio and satellite guests.

Reihan Salam is the author of National Review Online’s The Agenda, a daily web log centered on domestic policy. Salam writes frequently for the National Review and Foreign Policy, and websites including Forbes.com, The Daily Beast, and Slate. He is the editor of the website The American Scene.

Salam recently penned a column where he took former Senator Alan Simpson to task for comments regarding the potential Social Security restructuring.

Salam wrote:

"I’d say that these facts are pretty darn important to understand why it makes sense to put Social Security on a more sustainable footing, whether by revamping it as a true safety net program, like Superannuation in Australia, embracing a middle-way approach like Jed Graham’s Old-Age Risk-Sharing that balances benefit adjustments designed to encourage a longer working life while raising taxes, keeping the program as it is and raising taxes considerably, or increasing the size of Social Security benefits and raising taxes even more, by paring back the tax subsidy for private retirement savings and by increasing Social Security payroll taxes."

Andrew Ross Sorkin, chief mergers and acquisitions reporter for The New York Times, is about to debut "Too Big to Fail" film on HBO, based on his book.  Sorkin painstakingly unravels the Gordian Knot that is known as TARP. He is also allegedly under some fire for his book from fellow writers at the paper.

Richard Clarke, a former counter-terrorism czar under U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, told German news magazine Der Spiegel there were a series of attempts on bin Laden, but not done with serious purpose.

He said, "They were given the authority to capture and kill him, but they didn't really try very hard. It wasn't a priority," he said. "In fact, they really didn't want to do it at the working level. They frankly were more concerned about the safety of their personnel."

A favorite of subscribers since his first special on the network in 1989, Maher has starred in nine solo specials on HBO, including the hour-long presentations “Bill Maher…But I’m Not Wrong,” “The Decider” and “I’m Swiss” (both nominated for an Emmy® in the Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special category), “Victory Begins at Home,” “Be More Cynical,” “The Golden Goose Special” and “Stuff That Struck Me Funny,” and two half-hour stand-up specials, plus the HBO specials “30 Seconds Over Washington” and “Comic Relief VI™.”

Maher was the creator and host of “Politically Incorrect,” which was produced by HBO Downtown Productions and debuted on Comedy Central in 1993.  The series moved to ABC in 1997 and ran through 2002.

Other HBO playdates: May 15 (noon, 2:55 a.m.), 16 (8:00 p.m.) and 18 (11:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: May 13 (2:25 a.m.), 14 (9:00 a.m., midnight), 15 (7:00 p.m.) and 17 (10:00 p.m.)