On this special edition of Fresh Air devoted to the AIDS Crisis, Terry Gross speaks with a 32-year-old New Jersey man who was diagnosed with the disease a year ago. Fresh Air has respected his wish to remain anonymous.
Dennis Brutus is an exiled South African poet. Brutus was active in the anti-apartheid movement in the country which led to his imprisonment and eventual exile. Brutus moved to the United Stated in 1970, and gained permanent residence status in 1983 after a struggle in which the U. S. attempted to deport him. Brutus joins the show to give his impressions of the South African government's proposed reforms and the current violent ant-apartheid protests in the country, as well as read several of his poems.
Jay Kernis is a radio producer who began at "Morning Edition" as a senior producer before rising to the position of executive producer. Kernis, along with Scott Simon, is a co-creator of the new NPR radio show "Weekend Edition." Kernis joins the show to discuss his career and his new show.
Jay Kernis is a radio producer who began at "Morning Edition" as a senior producer before rising to the position of executive producer. Kernis, along with Scott Simon, is a co-creator of the new NPR radio show "Weekend Edition." Kernis joins the show to discuss his career and his new show. (PARTIAL INTERVIEW)
Athol Fugard is a white South African playwright, director, and actor. His work as a playwright is acclaimed for exploring the social and psychological consequences of apartheid. Fugard formed an integrated theater company in the 1960s in defiance of South African norms. Many of his plays have been produced in the United States.
Scott Simon is a longtime NPR journalist who is known as being sensitive, versatile, and excellent at writing prose. Simon has worked for "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered." Simon and Jay Kernis are the co-creators of the new NPR radio program "Weekend Edition." Simon will serve as the shows host. Simon joins the show to discuss his career and the new show.
Taj Mahal is a musician known for his blues songs. Later in his career, he would incorporate African, Caribbean, and Latin influences into his music. His records appeal to blues, rock, and folk audiences, and a compilation of his work, "The Best of Taj Mahal," has recently been published. Mahal is in Philadelphia to perform at the Tower Theater.
Nicholas Pileggi is a journalist and contributing editor to New York Magazine who specializes in stories about organized crime. His latest book, "Wise Guy: Life in a Mafia Family," is a biography based on his interviews with former mobster Henry Hill. The book offers as insider view of organized crime.
Victoria Brownworth is a Philadelphia-based journalist who has recently published a series of articles about juvenile prostitution. She believes that many of the children reported missing and presumed kidnapped are actually involved in juvenile prostitution after running away from abuse or being thrown out of their homes. Brownworth's articles on the subject have been published in City Paper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.
Yo-Yo Ma is a cellist who is one of the most prominent classical musicians today. Born in Paris and raised in New York, Ma's first teacher was his father. Ma graduated from high school at 15 and studied at Juliard for a year before attending Harvard. Ma joins the show to discuss his life and career.
Nelson George is a music writer who is the author of the best-selling "The Michael Jackson Story," and the black music editor for Billboard magazine. His latest book, "Where Did Our Love Go?," is a history of the black-owned company Motown Records. Motown employed a stable of writers, producers, singers, and studio musicians who created what became known as "the Motown sound." This soul sound appealed to both black and white audiences. George argues that that the company's move from Detroit to Los Angeles caused it to lose its sound.
Pauline Kael is one of the country's most preeminent film critics. She came to the profession in her mid 40s after working in radio and owning a movie theater. She has written for New York Magazine since 1968, and her reviews have been collected in published in book since 1965. Her latest book is "State of the Art."
Dr. George Gerbner is the Dean of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Gerber and his colleagues Larry Gross, Michael Morgan, Nancy Signorielli, and sometimes Stewart Hoover have published many studies of television and its impact on society. The studies have been widely published and influential. Gerber believes that television distorts reality, and Americans, who watch a large amount of t.v. programming, are having their views on reality distorted by the medium.
Chuck Barris is the creator and producer of over a dozen television game shows, including "The Gong Show," "The Newlywed Game," and "The Dating Game." He gained his reputation as the "manic" host of "The Gong Show."
Trumpeter Gregory Davis is a member of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The band was founded to play at funerals and other events in New Orleans. The group mixes traditional New Orleans jazz with funk and bebop. (Interview By Danny Miller)
Gay icon and writer Quentin Crisp. Crisp is known for his autobiography "The Naked Civil Servant." The memoir recounts the social price Crisp paid for being an out and effeminate gay man. Crisp counters his critics with politeness, which is the subject of his new book "Manners from Heaven."
Bishop Desmond Tutu is one of the leading figures of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Tutu delivers a talk at the University of Pennsylvania.
Photographer John Phillips has documented events such as the Nazi invasion of Austria, European high society, and the Jews and Arabs in Palestine before and after the establishment of Israel as an overseas correspondent for Life magazine. Phillips was born in Algeria, grew up in France, and moved to London as a young man. Phillips has collected over 500 of his photographs and written text to create his own "photo-biography," "It Happened in Our Lifetime." (INTERVIEW BY DANNY MILLER)
