Popular music critic Ken Tucker delves into the controversy over the rap group Public Enemy. Public Enemy's first album sold over 800,000 copies and their new song "Fight the Power," (featured in the movie "Do the Right Thing") is climbing the charts. The band however, recently fired its so-called "minister of information," Richard Griffen, for making anti-Semitic statements. In the ensuing political storm, Public Enemy has disbanded for an indefinite period of time.
Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone reviews the work of four black women comics who recently shared the bill at New York City's New Professional Theater. They are: P.J. Jones, Kim Coles, Robin Montague, and Beverly Mickens.
Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews a few of the current crop of summer movies - "Great Balls of Fire," "Lethal Weapon II," and "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the latest recording of Yugoslavian pianist Dubravka Tomsic. Tomsic launched her career in America as a teenager, was a student of Arthur Rubinstein, played with the New York Philharmonic, and made her debut at Carnegie Hall before returning to Yugoslavia. Last year she was rediscovered in America on a number of critically acclaimed compact discs. On July 10 she returns to America to open the Newport Festival.
Veteran TV journalist David Brinkley. His book, Washington Goes to War, was a surprise best-seller last year and has just been released in paperback. The book, based on Brinkley's personal experiences and reflections, told the story of Washington in the early 40s, and how both the government and town itself were transformed by the responsibilities thrust on them as a result of the war.
Feminist writer Barbara Wilson (sometimes Barbara Sjoholm). She's a co-founder of the feminist publishing house, Seal Press. She also writes detective novels whose heroine is a lesbian feminist detective. Her latest novel, The Dog Collar Murders, offers a humorous look at the debates between the S&M and anti-porn factions of the feminist community.
Filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker. One of America's foremost documentary producers, Pennebaker has brought his cinéma verité approach to subjects ranging from Castro's Cuba, to Jimmy Carter's energy policy, to Bob Dylan's first tour of Britain. Music has been the source of much of Pennebaker's work. His films have featured the likes of Pablo Cassals, Van Cliburn, jazz singer Dave Lambert, rocker David Bowie, John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Pennebaker, who died Aug. 1, pioneered a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking in documentaries like Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back and The War Room. Originally broadcast in 1989.
Director and actor Paul Bartel. Bartel's acting credits include roles in "Fame" and "L.A. Law," but he's best known for his direction of several black comedies, such as "Eating Raoul," which he also co-wrote and acted in. Bartel's new film, "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills," has just been released. It stars Ed Begley Jr. and Jacqueline Bisset.
The New York Times correspondent's new book is called From Beirut to Jerusalem, about Arab-Israeli conflicts in the Middle East. He joins Fresh Air to discuss how cultivating a network of contacts, coming to terms with the frequent violence he witnessed in Lebanon, and how those experience affected his reporting in Israel.
Many contemporary musicians cite Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young as among the prime innovators of jazz sax saxophone. But historian Loren Schoenberg says we shouldn't overlook the soulful contributions of Herschel Evans, who played with Count Basie's band.
Critic Ken Tucker recommends the home video release of the recent thriller. He says the premise -- a demon-possessed doll terrorizes a family -- is absurd, but the movie features characters with surprising depth. And while Child's Play is violent, it doesn't rely solely on gore to terrify its audience.
The director lives in San Francisco, far from the filmmaking hub of Los Angeles. Takahashi's isolation has allowed him to develop a unique directorial style. He join Fresh Air to discuss how he best takes advantage of the creative freedom given to him when making a commercial or logo.
The feminist scholar looks at how women in dual-career partnerships are often responsible for most of the unpaid domestic work. Hochschild joins Fresh Air to discuss why men don't share this labor equally with their partners, and the toll this inequity takes on working women.
Unlike other film critics, Stephen Schiff isn't so troubled by the ambiguous ending of Spike Lee's third movie. Schiff admires the way Do the Right Thing smartly grapples with race relations, but he's frustrated by how inconsistent the characters are, a directorial flaw that serves the sometimes twisting plot.
Writer Ian Frazier is known primarily as a humor writer for The New Yorker magazine. His new book, Great Plains, is describes a history of the region through Frazier's own trips driving 25,000 miles in a criss-cross of the area, and hours of research in the New York's Public Library.
Fresh Air's rock critic combs the music charts to see which artists are making a splash internationally, but failing to find success in the United States. He features songs by Roxette, Holly Johnson, Neneh Cherry, and Queen.
Callahan was paralyzed in a drunk driving accident. Since then, he's become comic strip artist whose irreverent cartoons focus on the experiences of the disabled. Callahan's new memoir is called Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot.
Language commentator Geoff Nunberg says that Americans who incorporate British English into their speech and writing often use words and expressions incorrectly. For instance, most people don't understand that "shall" and "will" aren't interchangeable.
