Terry Gross

We talk about the controversial efforts to bring peace to Sierra Leone. As part of the agreement to end the civil war, members of the rebel forces were invited to participate at high levels of government…these were the same people who committed atrocities such as hacking off the limbs of children. First, we’ll speak with anthropologist Joseph Opala(oh-PA-la) Opala is an American who lived in Sierra Leone for 23 years. This past May, the Sierra Leone army staged a coup and Opala thought he would be safe in the hotel where the Nigerian General was staying.

Actress Tracey Ullman. She plays Frenchy, a manicurist married to an ex-con dishwasher in Woody Allen’s new comedy “Small Time Crooks.” She also worked with Allen on two of his previous films “Bullets Over Broadway,” and “Everyone Says I love You.” Ullman is the star of her own shows, HBO’s “Tracey Takes On,” and “The Tracey Ullman Show.”

Authors Adam Cohen and Elizabeth Taylor are the authors of American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley, His Battle for Chicago and the Nation” (Little, Brown & Co). In the book, the authors look at Daley’s legacy, how he transformed Chicago into a modern metropolis, but also turned it into the nation’s most segregated city.

Musician Pete Townshend turns 55 on May 19th. In the 1960's he made waves as the lead guitarist in the British rock group The Who. He was world famous for smashing guitars during concerts. After The Who split up, Townshend released a number of solo projects, and "Tommy," the rock opera he wrote for The Who in 1969, opened on Broadway. This summer The Who is back on tour. (REBROADCAST from 11/23/93).

In this program we hear selections of his music performed by singers Vernel Bagneris and Terry Burrell, and pianist Dick Hyman. We also hear from Marva Carter who is writing a biography of Cook. She is the director of Graduate Studies at the School of Music at Georgia State University.

Conductor Maurice Peress. He specializes in reconstructing historic American concerts. He’s worked with Ellington and Bernstein, and is the author of the forthcoming book, “Living With American Music: Dvorak to Duke Ellington.”

Performances continue and we hear from Tom Riis who compiled and edited a book containing the complete score of “In Dahomey.” Riis directs the American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado and is the author of “Just Before Jazz.”

Forensic entomologist M. Lee Goff is the author of the new book “A Fly for the Prosecution: How Insect Evidence Helps Solve Crimes” (Harvard University Press). Goff examines the insect life that inhabits a decomposing corpse, to understand when a person died and other circumstances of death. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES THRU THE END OF THE SHOW).

Our guest pianist tomorrow will be Dick Hyman. One of our guest singers will be Vernel Bagneris who has explored this period in his own musical revues. To give you a preview, we asked him to sing a sing that he's performed on stage, which was originated by Bert Williams. It's called "Somebody Lied."

Writer Michael Ondaatje. His new novel is “Anil’s Ghost” (Knopf), set in Sri Lanka, where Ondaatje was born. The story is about a forensic anthropologist who is working in Sri Lanka during the ethnic wars of the late 1980s and early 90s. This is his first novel since “The English Patient,” which won the Booker Prize. Ondaatje is also a poet. His books of poetry include “The Cinnamon Peeler” and “Handwriting.” He lives in Canada.