Bishop Desmond Tutu is an Anglican parish priest in Soweto, South Africa. Tutu is the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, and is one of the most prominent figures in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Tutu is seen as a moderate, and does not endorse violence. He travels extensively to mobilize support for the cause. His passport has been revoked twice.
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.
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.
Historian Paul Fussel has observed nine distinct class categories in the United States. He says that, while belief in social mobility is strong in American culture, few people are able to move out of the class into which they were born.
New York-based artist and musician Laurie Audience's work initially catered mostly to her fellow artists. Now signed to the Warner record label, she is beginning to develop a broader fan base.
Philadelphia restaurant critic Jim Quinn's new book advises readers how to choose the best places to eat based on atmosphere, price, service, and menu options. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.
Monsignor John Patrick Foley of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Temple University professor Leonard Swidler discuss their views on the popularity of the pope, his concern for social justice, and what some see as his conservative positions toward doctrine, hierarchy, and women in the church. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.
Dr. Walter Lear is the founder and co-chair of the National Gay Health Coalition, the former state Health Commissioner, for Southeast Pennsylvania and the president and founder of the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health in West Philadelphia. Dr. Nick Ifft is the secretary of Philadelphia Health Professionals for Human Rights (an organization of gay and lesbian physicians and dentists), the coordinator of the Philadelphia A.I.D.S. Task Force, and a general practitioner at South East Health Center in Philadelphia. The doctors join the show to discuss A.I.D.S.
Jazz singer Phyllis Hyman was in the original Broadway cast of "Sophisticated Ladies," a musical revue of Duke Ellington's work, along with Gregory Hines and Judith Jamison. Hyman is featured on McCoy Tyner's new album is "Looking Out" and is in town to perform. Hyman discusses the show, her career, and writing jingles for television commercials.
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.
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."
William Murray is the son of atheist crusader Madalyn Murray O'Hair, whom the family considered "the most hated woman in America." At the age of 14, Murray was the plaintiff in a Supreme Court case his mother filed to remove prayer from the Baltimore Public Schools. Murray experienced a difficult relationship with Murray O'Hair, who terrorized him as child. As an adult, Murray converted to Christianity and hasn't spoken to his mother since 1977. His new book is "My Life Without God."
Judith Martin, better known as Miss Manners, the name under which she writes her Washington Post advice column. She also reviews theater under her own name for the Post. She's recently written "Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior." Martin joins the show to defend the importance of etiquette, discuss class relations and manners, and answer Fresh Air staff's questions on topics such as splitting the check, catching an unzipped "fly," sexism and other "-isms' in the workplace, and the perils of modern dating and marriage.
Randy Shilts has a new biography about Harvey Milk, the openly-gay mayor of San Francisco who was assassinated at the age of 48. Shilts details Milk's coming out later in life and his adroitness as a unity-building politician.
British-born economist Hazel Henderson sees an economy based on renewable energy and environmentally-sound industry as the best path forward for the United States. She argues that tax cuts and subsidies associated with Reaganomics are hindering such efforts.
Heath Allen was recently commissioned to write new liturgies for the Calvary United Methodist Church in West Philadelphia. His theater piece, Report on a Castaway, features the poetry of Bertolt Brecht.
Liv Ullmann gained fame as an actress in Ingmar Bergman films. Recently, her work has involved traveling around the world and fundraising as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. Bergman has just completed a tour of East Africa. Ullman has also directed a sequence in the film "Acts of Love."
Dave Brubeck's quartet released the groundbreaking record Time Out, which introduced odd-time signature jazz music to a mainstream audience. He was recently commissioned to compose a Catholic mass.
Vernel Bagneris is a playwright, actor, and dancer. He wrote, directed, and acts in the musical "One Mo' Time," now playing in Philadelphia. The musical is set in 1920s' New Orleans and draws heavily on the jazz from that time and place. It centers around a touring group of vaudevillians performing at the segregated Lyric Theater. Bagneris describes it as a "piece on Black theater history." Bagneris and pianist Morten Larsen give an in-studio concert sharing music from the show's time period.
Vernel Bagneris is a playwright, actor, and dancer. He wrote, directed, and acts in the musical "One Mo' Time," now playing in Philadelphia. The musical is set in 1920s' New Orleans and draws heavily on the jazz from that time and place. It centers around a touring group of vaudevillians performing at the segregated Lyric Theater. Bagneris describes it as a "piece on Black theater history." He joins the show to discuss the musical, the black vaudeville circuit, black face, and the benefits of live performance.