The Gay Community in a Time of Crisis
Playwrights William M. Hoffman and Larry Kramer are gay men whose recent work has grappled with the effect of AIDS on their communities. They share their frustrations with the inaction both amongst government agencies and gay people themselves to meaningfully address the epidemic.
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Other segments from the episode on June 12, 1987
Rescuing Folk Music from Obscurity
Folk singer Michael Cooney returns to Fresh Air to perform two songs originally written in the 1920s
Reimagining Gertrude Stein
Jill Godmilow's American Playhouse film explores the relationship between the avant-garde writer and her partner Alice Toklas. While much of the plot is invented, Godmilow was careful to stay true to the women's lives.
What "Talk Radio" Says About our Time
Critic-at-large Laurie Stone finds the new play by Eric Bogosian, about a bigoted and acerbic Cleveland shock jock, both funny and pretentious. She says its attempt to broadly critique modern culture falls flat.
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Playwright and AIDS Activist Larry Kramer
Kramer is considered the "voice of articulate rage," railing against the government for its indifference to AIDS. His plays include, "The Normal Heart," and the new "The Destiny of Me."Kramer founded the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) and the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC). Terry will talk with him about being a writer, an activist, and a person with HIV.