Native American musician and songwriter Keith Secola. The music of Secola and his group, the Wild Band of Indians, is a hybrid of Rock, Folk and Tribal musics. Secola became a cult hero after the release of the contemporary Native anthem, ”Indian Cars.” Keith Secola and the Wild Band of Indians have a new CD called Fingermonkey
World Music critic Milo Miles shares the story of Savoy Records, an independent label that specialized in jazz, R&B, and gospel from the 1940s to the 60s.
Character actor John C. Reilly. He's starred In all three of director/writer Paul Thomas Anderson's films. He played a small-time gambler In "Hard Eight," a porn star In "Boogie Nights," and a police officer In the new "Magnolia." Reilly has also worked with directors Brian DePalma ("Casualties of War") and Terrence Malik ("The Thin Red Line"). Reilly got his start In Chicago at the Goodman School of Drama and worked with the Steppenwolf theatre.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews "Leon Kirchner: Historical Recordings" (Music and Arts)featuring the music of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Leon Kirchner who turns 81 this year.
Staff writer for The New Yorker and legal analyst at ABC News, Jeffrey Toobin. He's been a frequent guest on Fresh Air. He wrote about the O.J. Simpson trial in his bestseller "The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson." His new book is "A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal that Nearly Brought Down a President." (Random House).
Fabric artist and writer Andrea Siegel is the author of the new book, “Open and Clothed: For the Passionate Clothes Lover” (Agapanthus Books). In the book she aims to provide an alternative to what the media conveys about clothes, by talking to people in and out of the fashion industry about their motivations for dressing the way they do, and the roots of how they dress. Siegel’s great grandfather founded the New York department store, “Kleins.”
Poet David Lehman is the editor of “The Best American Poetry” and on the faculty of Bennington College and The New School. His new book of poems chronicles his attempt to write a poem a day. It’s called “The Daily Mirror: a journal in poetry.” (Scribner)
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. In the early 60s, Carter was a top contender for the middleweight boxing crown. Then in 1967, he was convicted of three murders he did not commit. He was in prison for nearly 20 years, but continued to fight for his freedom in state and federal courts. Finally in 1985, he was found innocent and set free. We talk with Carter, and his biographer, James Hirsch, author of "Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter" (Houghton Mifflin Company). A new movie about Carter, called Hurricane, just opened.
Conductor Benjamin Zander, of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been called "a Pied Piper" of classical music and "one of music's evangelists." His passionate performances have earned him quite a following. Through his teaching and his pre-concert discussions, he has tried to spread his love of classical music to a wider public. He has conducted the Boston Philharmonic for over 20 years. His recording of Mahler's Ninth Symphony was just nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance.
Dr. Edward Hallowell talks about his book Connect (Pantheon), about the importance of connectedness and what he sees as the essential need for intimate attachments. Hallowell is a practicing psychiatrist and an instructor at the Harvard Medical School. His other books include Worry(1997), and Answers to Distraction(1995) about attention deficit disorder.
Fresh Air Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording of Puccini’s Il Trittico (ill TRIT-I-co). Schwartz says this group of one-act operas contains some of Puccini’s best music.
Filmmaker Barbara Sonneborn. In her debut documentary Regret to Inform, Sonneborn weaves together the stories of widows from both sides of the American-Vietnam War. Sonneborn is a war widow herself; her husband was killed in Vietnam in 1968. Regret to Inform will air on PBS later this month. IT has already received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Documentary feature, and won the Best Director and Best Cinematography documentary awards at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Singer/Songwriter Marshall Crenshaw. He will talk about and sing songs from his new CD, “No. 447.” Crenshaw has been writing, recording and performing his songs for some 20 years. “No. 447” is his 10 th album. Singer/Songwriter Marshall Crenshaw. He will talk about and sing songs from his new CD, “No. 447.” Crenshaw has been writing, recording and performing his songs for some 20 years. “No. 447” is his 10 th album.
We talk about the state of welfare with journalist Jason DeParle (dee- PARL). De Parle has been covering welfare for the last 10 years. He has been monitoring welfare programs in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where work requirements have been the toughest. He just finished a yearlong series for the New York Times, about the changes in the welfare system. He says that although there are far fewer people on welfare, the lives of the poor haven’t changed much.
