Activist Michael Harrington has been a leader of the American left for the last thirty years. In the 1950s, he was the associate editor of The Catholic Worker, a socialist, Catholic newspaper. In the 1960s, he worked with the Civil Rights movement, including joining Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Advisory Committee. He was also active in the labor movement and worked against the war in Vietnam. Harrington chaired the Socialist Party from 1968-1972, and has been the National Chair of the Democratic National Socialists of America since 1973.
Medical journalist Jeanne Lenzer warns that implanted medical devices are approved with far less scrutiny and testing than drugs. As a result, she says, some have caused harm and even death.
Julia Sweeney is currently performing a one-woman show called "Letting Go of God" at the off-off-Broadway theater in Manhattan. A Saturday Night Live cast alum, Sweeney also wrote and performed the 1996 Broadway show "God Said, Ha!" Her films include Pulp Fiction, Clockstoppers and It's Pat, based on her gender-confused character on SNL.
Dean Burnett says the human brain is like a computer that files information in a way that defies logic. According to Burnett, brains can alter memory, cause motion sickness and affect intelligence.
The ACLU recently announced its Arts Censors of the Year, a list that includes acting NEA chair Anne-Imelda Radice, Rev. Donald Wildmon, Oliver North, feminist Catherine MacKinnon, and the Duval County, Florida Public School District. We talk with Marjorie Heins, the director of the ACLU's Arts Censorship Project, about what earned the aforementioned this dubious distinction.
In 1968, jazz pianist Bill Evans led a trio with Jack DeJohnette and Eddie Gomez. They spent five weeks in Europe; a newly unearthed concert recording catches them live in a Dutch radio studio.
Roach's album was recently named to the National Recording Registry, a roster of works deemed culturally, historically or aesthetically significant; We Insist! scores in all three categories.
Journalist Jack Holland. He is a columnist for the Irish Echo, an American weekly for Irish-Americans. Holland was born in Northern Ireland. He was raised Catholic, and has Protestant blood in him as well. He will be talking about the events leading up to the peace settlement in Northern Ireland, and the new National Assembly that was elected last week in Belfast. He'll also talk about growing up in Ireland. The Irish Echo is available on the World Wide Web at www.irishecho.com.
The actress will forever be known to millions as Elaine Benes, the character she played for nine seasons on Seinfeld. But she was also an early cast member of SNL, won an Emmy for The New Adventures of Old Christine and now stars in a new HBO comedy series called Veep.
Political and social comic, Jimmy Tingle. He was featured on the album of political humor "Strange Bedfellows." He's also appeared on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," "HBO's One Night Stand," and in Showtime's documentary "But Seriously" about American social satirists. Tingle has a new one-man show, "Jimmy Tingle's Uncommon Sense," which had an off-Broadway run last year. It's just been held over through November 4th at the Hasty Pudding Theatre in Cambridge.
Retired Navy Capt. Peter Huchthausen wrote the book K19: The Widowmaker: The Secret Story of the Soviet Nuclear Submarine. This true story of a barely averted catastrophe aboard a nuclear-powered submarine has been adapted into a film of the same name starring Harrison Ford. Huchthausen served as technical director on the film. On July 4, 1961, the sub was taking part in a military exercise in the North Atlantic. A pipeline in a reactor's cooling system ruptured. In a race against time, the crew worked to improvise a repair. Until now, the story has been kept secret.
Cake has five albums to their credit. The band includes trumpeter Vincent DiFiore, bassist Gabriel Nelson, and guitarist Xan McCurdy. The popular alt-rock group combines caustic lyrics with pulsing guitar music and is influenced by many different styles: rock, funk, synth-pop, mariachi and cuban. Sometimes they shoot for a cheap, lo-fi sound, says McCrea. Their new CD is Pressure Chief.
Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku descries some of the inventions he thinks will appear in the coming century -- including Internet-ready contact lenses, space elevators and driverless cars -- in his book Physics of the Future.
Her new movie, which she wrote and directed, is The Ballad of Jack and Rose, starring Miller's husband, Daniel Day-Lewis, along with Camilla Belle and Catherine Keener. It's about an aging hippie father and his daughter who are living on an abandoned commune but come face-to-face with the contemporary world. Miller is the daughter of the legendary playwright Arthur Miller.
Film critic Leonard Maltin has been writing about films since he was 17 years old. The 1983-1984 edition of his guide "T.V. Movies," which gives "capsule" reviews of films airing on television, has just been published. This year's edition has 15,000 movies and also reviews made-for-television movies. Maltin has written several books about film and is the film critic for Entertainment Tonight. Maltin will answer listener calls about movies.
Judge Alex Kozinski is on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Since the 1970's he has had to make decisions on cases involving the death penalty. But, although an advocate of this controversial form of punishment, he finds it difficult to enforce. In a recent New Yorker article ("Tinkering with Death", 10 Feb 1997), he recalls his experience the first time he wrote an opinion for such a case. Kozinski also writes for the Wall Street Journal's Op-ed page and other publications.
Book critic John Leonard reviews the new book by ex-nuns Barbara Ferraro and Patricia Hussey, co-written with Jane O'Reilly. Ferraro and Hussey defied the Catholic Church's policies on abortion, birth control, and the ordination of women. Their convictions eventually led them to give up their vows.
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new albums: "Wild Weekend" by NRBQ and "The People's Republic of Rock n Roll" by Peter Stampfel and the Bottle Caps. Ken says while they may not have much in common, both are critically-acclaimed cult groups releasing albums after a long silence.
Writer and executive producer of Sex and the City, Michael Patrick King. The show was just nominated for five Emmys including Outstanding Comedy Series, and Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series. He has also written for the television series, Murphy Brown and acted as a consultant for the hit series, Will and Grace.
Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new Christmas movie Scrooged, which is a modern take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Schiff says that, while the casting of Bill Murray was inspired, the film is caught between schmaltz and humbug, and ends up being nothing at all.
