Terry Gross

Ronee Blakely is an actress, singer, and pianist. She is best known for her role in the Robert Altman film "Nashville." In the film, her character, a country music star is assassinated. Many have referenced the scene of her death in discussing the murder of John Lennon. Blakely has also worked with Bob Dylan with the Rolling Thunder Review and on the film "Renaldo and Clara." She describes her personal style as "new wave country." She joins the show to discuss her career.

Helen Caldicott is a pediatrician and the president of Physicians for Social Responsibility. The Australian is a leading figure in the fight against nuclear war and the nuclear arms race. She views nuclear arms as a health issue, and has left her job as a pediatrician to devote her time to advocating for nuclear disarmament. She has recently formed the Women's Party for Survival and is planning a march on Mother's Day.

Bobby Seale was one of the co-founders of the Black Panther Party, who was part of the "Chicago Eight," where he was eventually severed from the group's trial. Seale currently works in Washington D.C. where he has started an advocacy group, Advocates Scene, and also offers a self-help program. Seale discusses his past work and how he sees the future of African Americans.

Anthony Jackson is a lawyer who wrote the chapter on the criminal justice system for the Urban League's report "State of Black Philadelphia." For three years, Jackson was the Director of the Police Project at the Public Interest Law Center. He joins the show to discuss race relations and justice in Philadelphia and the entire country.

Critic John Szwed reviews a new collection of old Lennie Tristano recordings, "Lennie Tristano, Requiem." Lennie Tristano is a jazz pianist. (PARTIAL AUDIO)

Historian Philip Foner joins the show again to discuss Black history in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Foner is the foremost historian on the labor movement in the U. S. He is the author of over eighty works, including a four volume history of the American labor movement, "Organized Labor and the Black Worker," and "Women and the American Labor Movement," the second volume of which was recently published. He is currently a visiting professor at Rutgers University.

Author and screenwriter Terry Southern joins the show to discuss writing "Dr. Strangelove," "Easy Rider," and "Barbarella."

Poet Dan Hoffman joins the show to discuss his poem "Brotherly Love," a long poem about William Penn and his vision for the United States. The poem focuses on Penn's treaty with the Native Americans in the area that would become Pennsylvania. Hoffman is the former Poet Laureate of the U. S. and currently works at the University of Pennsylvania.

Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller is a philosopher, architect, and inventor. His newest work "Critical Path" will be published in April. The book traces what Fuller calls "the greatest crisis in the history of the human race," not scarcity of resources, but human selfishness. He joins the show to discuss his work and philosophy.

Activist and Pennsylvania State Senator Milton Street delivers a talk about the inner city, gentrification, Philadelphia politics and its racial aspects, and his experiences as an activist.