While vacationing in France, linguist Geoff Nunberg visited a museum exhibit showcasing an early edition of the Grand Larousse dictionary. He considers the cultural significance of this text, and what it says about how the French view language.
On the anniversary of soprano Maria Callas' death, classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz will review two new video cassettes of televised performances Callas gave in Hamburg, Germany in 1959 and 1962.
Stewart Brand, founder of The Whole Earth Catalog and The Whole Earth Software Review. He's written a book on the Media Lab, MIT's state-of-the-art computer lab.
Ralph Bakshi, who did the animation work for the cult hits "Fritz The Cat," and "Heavy Traffic." He's turned his attention away from animation to concentrate on oil painting.
Book Critic John Leonard will review The Sergeant's Cat, a new mystery novel by Janwillem Van De Wetering, a former police officer in the Amsterdam police force.
Neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks, whose book of case studies, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, has been made into a music theater production. Sacks is also the author of Awakenings, a work about victims of sleeping sickness, to whom he administered the experimental drug L-dopa.
Rock historian Ed Ward looks at Smokey Robinson's early recordings, when he was the lead singer of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and one of Motown's top acts.
Father Niall O'Brien. He has worked for over 20 years as a missionary priest in the Philippines. He was imprisoned by the Marcos regime because he helped the poor to start self-reliant Christian communities. He continues his work in the Philippines under the Aquino government.
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."
Canadian writer and naturalist Farley Mowat. Mowat has written widely on nature and wildlife and championed the cause of harp seals, whales, wolves, Eskimos. His books include A Whale for the Killing, The Boat Who Wouldn't Float and Never Cry Wolf. His latest book, Woman in the Mists, is the story of Dian Fossey, the American woman who studied and lived with the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, Africa. Fossey was murdered at her remote base camp in 1985. (This is the first part of a two-part interview with Mowat.) (Contains portion of Dian Fossey interview; May 12, 1982).
Canadian writer and naturalist Farley Mowat. Mowat has written widely on wildlife and the natural habitat, championing the cause of the harp seals, whales, wolves, Eskimos. His books include A Whale for the Killing, The Boat Who Wouldn't Float and Never Cry Wolf. (This is the second part of a two-part interview.)
Writer Tom Wolfe, known for his "New Journalism" in the 60s and 70s. His books from that period included The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, Radical Chic and Mau Mauing the Flak Catchers and The Right Stuff. His new book, his first novel, is titled The Bonfire of the Vanities.
Ken Tucker reviews the new home video release titled "A Young Children's Concert with Raffi." Raffi is a singer of children's songs that adults find catchy as well.