Terry Gross

Writer Joe Kane. In 1985, Kane, who had been a freelance writer living in San Francisco, was asked to follow the first attempt to navigate the entire Amazon River, starting in the Andes of Peru and ending in the Atlantic Ocean. Kane was going to follow the group at intervals, publicizing their progress for the American and European press.

Poet Mark Halliday reads a poem inspired by a song by the Doo-Wop group The Capris. Halliday, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has read several of his poems on Fresh Air. (Rebroadcast. Originally broadcast on Friday, December 30, 1988.)

Musicologist David Lewiston. Since the early 60s, Lewiston has traveled the world collecting the music of the indigenous cultures. He's recorded the Andean music of Peru, the fiestas of southern Mexico and the marimba music of Guatemala. In addition, he's travelled extensively in the Himalayas and other remote, mountainous areas of the Far East. These recordings have been released as part of the Nonesuch Record Company's Explorer Series. Over the last few years, Lewiston has focused on the music and rituals of the people of Tibet, now living in exile in northern India.

Trumpeter and composer Buck Clayton. Clayton was one of the most prominent members of Count Basie's original band. But when a lip problem hurt his playing, he turned to composing and arranging. Clayton now leads a band that performs his own compositions. (Rebroadcast. Originally broadcast on Wednesday, October 14, 1987.)

Time Magazine correspondent Otto Friedrich. Friedrich talks of his work at Time and Newsweek, from his coverage of the French war in Indochina, to the essays and cover stories he now writes at Time. A collection of his essays, titled The Grave of Alice B. Toklas, has just been published.

Musician Barry Tuckwell. He played French horn with the London Symphony Orchestra for 13 years before leaving in 1966 to begin a solo career. He's the first French horn player to have a career as a soloist, and he recently began conducting as well. (Rebroadcast. Originally broadcast on Wednesday, January 4, 1989.)

Social policy analyst David L. Kirp The author of many books on education in America, David Kirp's latest, Learning by Heart," describes the battles in 7 different communities over whether to allow children infected with AIDS to attend local schools.

Blues musician John Hammond returns in Fresh Air's weekly performance segment with a demonstration of his slide guitar style. He plays songs by Son House and Big Bill Broonzey.

Commentator Stewart Brand reports on his first journey through cyberspace, a type of three-dimensional computer-generated world that humans can `fly through' by simply pointing a finger. Brand traces the evolution of Cyberspace through recent fiction.

Author Jose Torres. His new book, Fire and Fear, charts the personal turmoil and the athletic rise of heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. Torres comes to the Tyson story well qualified: he's the former world light heavyweight boxing champion (his lifetime record was 52-3-1), and he trained with the same man who trained Mike Tyson. Since retiring, Torres has served as the New York state boxing commissioner and written a biography of Mohammad Ali titled Sting Like A Bee.