Terry talks with New Yorker writer John Seabrook about the downside of electronic mail. Then she gets a response from Stewart Brand, the inventor of The Well, a computer conference system. . . Last January Seabrook wrote an article in the New Yorker magazine about Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates. Seabrook was flooded with electronic mail as a result, and to his surprise he was "flamed" for the first time. In Internet jargon, to be "flamed" is to receive an obscene or derogatory E-mail message. Seabrook said he'd never received anything like it before.

I didn't drop my laptop, or download malware from a sketchy pop-up window or spill Diet Coke on my keyboard. It just stopped working. One minute, my computer was fine; the next it was like, New hard drive, who dis?

Young's newest show is “VR.5,” on the Fox Network. The show follows Sydney Bloom, who accidentally discovers she can enter any landscape or time of her choosing through her computer. Young also produced the TV show "China Beach."

Jerry Berman is Executive Director of the Center for Democracy and Technology. Its mission is to develop public policies that advance democratic values and constitutional civil liberties in new computer and communications technologies. His group has joined a coalition of on line services, telecommunications companies, librarians, and others in filing a federal suit seeking less restrictive means to protect minors on the internet. (The Center for Democracy and Technology is located in Washington, D.C. (202) 637-9800.)

You'll root for 13-year-old Mija at every step of this new Netflix film. And Okja, the huge, genetically modified pig, is among the most touching and realistic computer-generated characters ever made.

Belushi is starring in the upcoming ABC series, "Wild Palms," produced by Oliver Stone. It's a thriller set in the future. Belushi plays a television executive caught up in the computer-generated world of illusion that his network broadcasts. Belushi is the brother of the late John Belushi.

Bill Gates is chief executive and co-founder of Microsoft, the world's largest software company. Microsoft has made Gates rich and famous, and has earned him a reputation as a computer visionary. Gates recently wrote the book The Road Ahead (Viking). Gates explores the new, growing technology and how it will effect people's lives, including the realms of education, politics, and business. Gates says that he does not "necessarily have all the answers, but the book is my way of getting us all to start thinking about the opportunities and challenges ahead."

Freeman's time studying with Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) was crucial to his musical development. A student of both the avant-garde and traditional bop traditions, his compositions draw inspiration from different facets of the African American experience.

Siddharth Kara talks about how cell phones and electronic vehicles are powered by cobalt mined by workers in slave-like conditions in The Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt is an essential component of the rechargeable batteries used in devices and EV's. He has researched modern day slavery and human trafficking for over twenty years.

The ultimate smart-home vision is a home that basically runs itself, from coffee makers to washing machines. But we're not there yet: The real world is a hard place for little computers to operate in.

Douglas Adams' new, metaphysical novel follows detective Dirk Gently's investigation into an explosion at a London airport. His book A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy spawned a radio show, several sequels and a computer game.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says that jazz evolved in hubs throughout the United States -- not just in New Orleans, Chicago, and New York. The new big band Dreamland Syncopators resurrects some lesser known compositions from the 1920s that came from other parts of the country. Whitehead says their album Territory Jazz is a good history lesson.

Maureen Corrigan reviews "Among Schoolchildren," Tracy Kidder's year-long look at an inner city elementary school. Kidder's previous books include "House," and "The Soul of a New Machine," about the creation of the personal computer.

Ethlie Ann Vare and Greg Ptacek, authors of the book Mothers of Invention, a compilation of inventions by women. Some have been rather mundane, like Liquid Paper and drip coffee. But others include radium, the computer language COBOL and the first computer compiler. The authors are better known for their writing about rock and roll. (Interview by Faith Middleton)

Alex Berenson is a financial investigative reporter for the New York Times. In his new book The Number: How the Drive for Quarterly Earnings Corrupted Wall Street and Corporate America, Berenson examines the corporate scandals at Worldcom, Halliburton, Computer Associates, Tyco, and others, looking at practices that were common to all.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's recording of Charles Ives' Holidays Symphony, which draws its inspiration from four different American holidays. Ives incorporates folks songs, traditional music, and the background noise of everyday life into his compositions, often to haunting effect.

Writer Barbara Garson. Her writing includes the anti-war (Vietnam) play MacBird! and the book All the Livelong Day, a study of the blue-collar life of the assembly line. Her latest book, The Electronic Sweatshop, explores white collar automation - the way computers are being used to transform secretaries, executives and professionals into clerks.

Reporter for the Village Voice, Jennifer Gonnerman. In 1994 Planned Parenthood won a judgement against Operation Rescue, which had to sell off its office equipment to satisfy the judgement. A pro-choice activist bought many of those items in a public auction, including six computers. In one of the computers was a journal kept by one of Operation Rescue activists.

Rodney Brooks, the director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). His new book is called Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us. Brooks offers a vision of the future of humans and robots. He is also Fujitsu Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at MIT. Brooks is the chairman and chief technological officer of iRobot Corporation. He was one of the subjects of Errol Morris' 1997 documentary, Fast, Cheap and Out of Control.