Terry Gross

Performances continue and we hear from Tom Riis who compiled and edited a book containing the complete score of “In Dahomey.” Riss directs the American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado and is the author of “Just Before Jazz.” (ORIGINAL BROADCAST: MAY 18, 2000)

We continue the Monday rebroadcasts of our American Popular song series, with a program about composer Will Marion Cook. He was born in 1869 and was part of the first generation born after slavery. Cook was one of the innovators of ragtime song, and helped introduce ragtime to Broadway. Cook wrote “In Dahomey” the first full-length Broadway musical written and performed by African Americans. It opened on Broadway in 1903. Some of Cook’s songs reflect the racial stereotypes and dialect of the time.

Cartoonist Stan Lee-- the creator of such Marvel comic book superheroes as Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, and The X-Men. He joined Marvel comic books at the age of 16, more than 40 years ago. The movie The X-Men, based on his comics, opens this weekend. (ORIGINAL BROADCAST: 10/17/91)

Director and Screenwriter Anthony Minghella. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the 1996 film The English Patient. The movie also won the Oscar for Best Picture. His film The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cate Blanchett is out on video. The film is based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. (ORIGINAL BROADCAST: 12/22/99)

We talk about the current state of prescription drugs with Doctor Michael Winniford and Doctor Peter Ubel (‘U’-bil). Dr. Winniford is a cardiologist, professor of Medicine at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and director of the University’s Heart Care Center. Dr. Ubel is assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and is also on the faculty of the University’s Center for Bioethics. The two doctors will talk about the high cost of prescription drugs, and the problems associated with that cost.

Wayne Barrett, author of the book, “Rudy!: An Investigative Biography of Rudolph Giuliani” (Basic Books). Rudolph Giuliani, the mayor of New York City, recently dropped out of the highly visible New York Senate race, after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The Mayor is a controversial figure; some think of him as a savior who has cleaned up Manhattan’s streets, while others see him as a turn around artist and brut. Barrett's book traces Guiliani’s life and career—from college student to U.S. attorney, to mayor of New York City and possible senate candidate.

Yugoslavian-born writer Aleksander Hemon. Hemon was born in Sarajevo in 1964. While in his early 20s, he came to the United States as a tourist. On the day he was supposed to return to Sarajevo, his home city came under siege. He was forced to stay in the US. Hemon then began working on his English and now writes in English, even though it is not his first language. His first book is a collection of stories called “The Question of Bruno” (Nan A. Talese/ Doubleday).

With all the hype surrounding new advances in information technology, what is truth and what is fiction? Paul Duguid (DO-good), co-author of “The Social Life of Information,” (Harvard Business School Press) helps us answer that question. Duguid is a Research Associate in Social and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and consultant at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.

Cartoonist Ben Katchor, creator of the weekly comic strip, Julius Knipl (ka-NIP-le), Real Estate Photographer. Through his comic strips, Katchor has been an astute and witty commentator on New York in particular and urban life in general. His new book, “Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: the Beauty Supply District” (Pantheon), is a novel that incorporates some of his single-page strips from the last few years. Katchor has been syndicated in alternative newspapers and magazines since 1988.

We rebroadcast another episode of our American Popular Song Series; this one will profile composer Jerome Kern. He wrote the songs "All the Things You are," "Can't Help Lovin' That Man," "I'm Old-Fashioned," "Ol' Man River," and "The Way You Look Tonight." A number of those songs are from the broadway musical "Showboat" which he wrote. We'll focus on the music he wrote before then, before 1927.