Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Hairspray," the latest film by director and writer John Waters. "Hairspray," a satire of the teen dance shows of the early 60s, follows a long line of wildly eccentric films like "Polyester," "Pink Flamingos," and "Female Trouble." The cast includes Divine, Debbie Harry, Pia Zadora and Sonny Bono.
Redford says filming All Is Lost was a "pure cinematic experience -- the way films used to be." He talks with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about how it's been "sort of weird" being known for his good looks, and about how he nearly wasn't cast in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Sullivan is the author of the critically acclaimed books, The Meadowlands and A Whale Hunt. His new book is Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants. One reviewer writes, "in prose worthy of Joseph Mitchell, a... skittering, scurrying, terrific natural history." Sullivan is a contributing editor to Vogue and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker.
Theologian Harvey Cox. His new book is "Fire From Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-first Century." It is estimated that by the year 2010, there will be more Pentecostals than all other non-Catholic Christians put together. Cox traces the growth of the religion from its origins in a converted stable in Los Angeles in 1906 to its present membership of 410 million worldwide.
Esther Rolle played a maid in the television show Maude, a role which she hoped would subvert the racist tradition of mammy characters typically given to African American actresses. Rolle now works mostly in theater, and is featured in a production of Carson McCullers' The Member of the Wedding.
Novelist and screenwriter William Goldman. His 1973 novel, The Princess Bride, was just made into a movie by director Rob Reiner. The movie is based on a screenplay Goldman wrote shortly after completing the novel. Goldman also wrote the screenplays for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "All The President's Men."
Captain John Marley, instructor for international human rights training in Rwanda and Cambodia, and Marine Captain Peter Sennett, who first visited Rwanda in 1995 and now trains prosecutors and criminal investigators working for social justice. Both are working with prosecutors handling genocide cases in Rwanda.
Norma McCorvey. She was the plaintiff in Roe vs. Wade. In the lawsuit she was called Jane Roe to shield her privacy. In her new book "I Am Roe" (Harper Collins), she tells her story. She was poor, alone and pregnant. Her case became a landmark Supreme Court decision--it gave women the right to choose abortion. But McCorvey ended up giving birth to the child because the Supreme Court decision came too late.
Native American musician and songwriter Keith Secola. The music of Secola and his group, the Wild Band of Indians, is a hybrid of Rock, Folk and Tribal musics. Secola became a cult hero after the release of the contemporary Native anthem, ”Indian Cars.” Keith Secola and the Wild Band of Indians have a new CD called Fingermonkey
Burmese writer Pascal Khoo Thwe has written his autobiography From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey. (HarperCollins). Thwe grew up part of a tiny remote tribe in Burma which practiced a combination of ancient animist and Buddhist customs mixed with Catholicism. He was the first member of his community to study English at University. When a brutal military dictatorship took over Burma, Thwe became a guerrilla fighter in the movement for democracy.
Film critic Stephen Schiff bemoans Hollywood's current preoccupation with courtroom dramas -- most, he says, aren't very good. The new Jodi Foster movie The Accused, loosely based on a high-profile gang rape trial, leans too heavily on the lurid details of the case, and not enough on developing an interesting narrative.
The investigation of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has taken many twists and turns. As investigators gauge the extent of Abramoff's influence with lawmakers of both parties, an associate of Abramoff's has pled guilty to conspiracy. Reporter Philip Shenon has been covering the case for The New York Times.
As host of the NPR news quiz Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me, Peter Sagal spends a lot of time reading the newspaper.
Lately, though, he's also spent many an hour going to strip joints, a swingers club, a porn-movie set and casinos — among other dens of what some call iniquity.
All research, of course, for his new project, The Book of Vice. He wanted to get a perspective on the indulgences of others, and report back to the rest of us.
Through his first band, La Perfecta, labeled "the band with the crazy roaring elephants," Palmieri was credited with originating Latin jazz's trombone sound in New York during the sixties. In 1994, Palmieri's lobbying culminated in the announcement of a new Grammy Award category for Afro-Caribbean Jazz.
Civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz is known as a defender of free speech and an advocate for the right to a passionate defense. Dershowitz has defended many controversial figures and is currently involved in the Claus von Bulow and Jack Henry Abbott cases. He has been a professor at Harvard Law School since the age of twenty-eight. His new book is "The Best Defense."
Kieran plays, Roman Roy, one of three self-involved adult siblings vying to take over Waystar Royco, the family-run media conglomerate, after their elderly father retires or dies. Roman, the youngest brother, is known for his slimy sense of humor and casual zingers.
Frank Friel was the co-director and chief investigator of the Philadelphia Police/FBI Organized Crime Task Force, which dismantled the Nicodemo Scarfo-led mafia in the 1980s. The gang's violent acts terrorized the Philadelphia area; they also infiltrated Atlantic City's casinos. Friel has a new book about that time, called Breaking the Mob.
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "Rock of Life," by Rick Springfield and "Til My Heart Stops," by Lisa Hartman, two TV stars trying to make the rock charts. Springfield plays a doctor on the daytime soap "General Hospital;" Hartman is a cast member of the evening soap "Knot's Landing."
Virginia Sole-Smith produces the newsletter and podcast Burnt Toast, where she explores fatphobia, diet culture, parenting and health. In her new book, Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture, she argues that efforts to fight childhood obesity have caused kids to absorb an onslaught of body-shaming messages.
