Sexual Awakening and Career Opportunism

British music critic and producer Leonard Feather worked with fellow producer John Hammond to desegregate jazz in the United States, as well as to promote women jazz musicians. In his new book, The Jazz Years, he considers how racism, radio stations and record labels affected the popularity of different styles like big band and bebop.

Marty Grosz returns to Fresh Air to perform two songs he learned while starting out in Chicago and New York.

Writer John Krich is working on a book about baseball in Latin America. He is particularly interested in the sport's cultural role in countries dealing with armed conflicts and political upheavals.