Computer animator Steven Segal. Segal does his programming on his home computer, unlike most computer animation which is composed on complex processors. His entry in a national computer animation festival is titled "Dance of the Stumblers."
Ken Tucker reviews the home video release of "The Shadow of the Thin Man," the last of the five "Thin Man" movies, a series made in the 30s and 40s and created by Dashiell Hammett that starred William Powell and Myrna Loy as a dashing husband-and-wife detective team.
Bob Geldof, the star of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats and organizer of the Band Aid and Live Aid benefit concerts to aid starvation victims in Africa. His autobiography is titled Is That It?
Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," based on the 1984 novel by Czech writer Milan Kundera. The story is set in Prague in 1968 on the eve of the Russian invasion. The film stars British actor Daniel Day Lewis, who received critical acclaim for his roles in "My Beautiful Laundrette" and "Room With a View."
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the music of British pop stars Rick Astley and his sister Virginia. Rick Astley has the top hit in England - "Never Gonna Give You Up" - and the song is now getting wide airplay on U.S. stations. Virginia Astley has recorded several albums in Europe. Her first American album has just been released.
Rock Critic Ken Tucker. It's another in the continuing series of interviews with Fresh Air's contributors. Ken tells us how a frustrated college poet found himself in crowded clubs listening to punk bands and being paid for it.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a recent recording in which Seiji Ozawa leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in music of Gabriel Faure. The album also features soprano Lorraine Hunt and cellist Jules Eskin.
Actress Joan Chen. She co-stars in the epic film "The Last Emperor" as the Emperor Pu Yi's wife. In her native China, she was one of the country's leading actresses. Since moving to the United States, she has also appeared in the film "Tai-Pan."
Actor Carl Weathers. He stars in the new film "Action Jackson." His first big role was as the fighter Apollo Creed in the four "Rocky" films. Before acting, Weathers played football for the Oakland Raiders.
Lewis H. Lapham, Editor of Harper's Magazine. His new book, Money and Class in America, explores the worship of the dollar - what Lapham calls our "civil religion."
Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Little Willie John, an unrecognized rhythm and blues singer in the 50s who recorded the song "Fever" long before Peggy Lee made it a pop hit.
Television Critic David Bianculli previews "The Man Who Shot John Lennon," the "Frontline" documentary on Mark David Chapman. The program relies on audiotaped psychiatric interviews with Chapman, and on a close analysis of the novel The Catcher in the Rye, which Chapman followed as though it were a script for Lennon's murder.
David Aaron, former deputy director of the National Security Council. His experience as an arms negotiator in the Carter administration provides the background for State Scarlet, his novel about terrorism and nuclear weapons.
The first part of a two-part interview with filmmaker and writer John Waters. His new film - "Hairspray" - follows a long line of wildly eccentric films like "Polyester," "Pink Flamingos," and "Female Trouble." Like those films, the setting for "Hairspray" is Baltimore. The cast includes Divine, Debbie Harry, Pia Zadora and Sonny Bono.
Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "The Current Set," bassist Mark Helias' second album as band leader and writer. Helias is probably best known for his work in the late 70s and early 80s with saxophonists Dewey Redman and Anthony Braxton. "The Current Set" features trumpeter Herb Robertson, trombonist Robin Eubanks and alto saxophonist Tim Berne.
