Film critic John Powers reviews "Three Kings," starring George Clooney, Ice Cube and Mark Wahlberg. It's written and directed by David O. Russell, whose last hit film was "Flirting With Disaster."
Jose Ramos-Horta ("Joe-zay Ra-MOSH Horta") is an exiled East Timorese resistance leader. In 1996 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Belo from East Timor. Since 1975, when Indonesia invaded and annexed the newly independent East Timor, Ramos-Horta has denounced Indonesia's actions and defended the rights of East Timorese, as an ambassador to the U.N. and a representative for independence groups.
Trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas doesn't like to categorize music. He's currently fronting seven ensembles, of varying compositional, improvisational and instrumental styles, including the Dave Douglas String Group, the Tiny Bell Trio, and the Sextet. He's been a sideman with Don Byron, Myra Melford and Uri Caine. Douglas has many compositions and recordings to his credit. His latest recordings are "Songs for Wandering Souls" (Winter & Winter) by the Tiny Bell Trio, and "Convergence" (Soul Note) by the Dave Douglas String Group.
Historian Christopher Andrew is the author of the new book "The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB" (Basic books). The book is based on the documents smuggled out of the KGB archives by Vasili Mitrokhin, who worked for 30 years in the foreign intelligence archives of the KGB. In 1972 he began making notes and transcripts of the archives which he then smuggled out daily and hid. He defected to Britain in 1992.
The Kansas board of Education decided recently to leave evolution out if its required curriculum. Linguist Geoff Nunberg examines how the language of the controversy has changed over the century.
Journalist and staff writer for The New Yorker Nicholas Lemann is the author of the new book "The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy" (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux). It's a social history of how reformers in the mid 1940s set upon universal testing criteria (the Educational Testing Service, purveyors of the SAT) as a way of creating a new democratic elite, drawn from every section and every background of America. And it's about how that 50 year old system has failed.
From the WNBA'S Houston Comets, Cynthia Cooper. She's twice been voted the league's Most Valuable Player. She's written a new autobiography about her rise from an inner-city childhood in Los Angeles, to becoming a pro-basketball player. Her new book is "She Got Game: My Personal Odyssey" (Warner Books)
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "Remedy" the first full-length CD released in America by the British duo Basement Jaxx, consisting of the two DJs Simon Ratcliffe & Felix Buxton.
Choying Drolma is a Tibetan Buddhist nun who practices a contemplative system of Buddhism called Cho. As part of that system, she also sings religious songs and chants. Their music was recorded by guitarist Steve Tibbetts who then created guitar arrangements around it. The result was the CD "Cho" (newly released on Hannibal Records). Drolma is currently on tour with Tibbetts and her fellow nuns.
Journalist Patrick Tyler is a correspondent for the New York Times, based in Moscow. Previously he was the Beijing Bureau Chief for the paper. He's written a new book about 30 years of U.S./China relations: "A Great Wall: Six Presidents and China: In Investigative History." (A Century Foundation Book)
Monologist, actor and writer Spalding Gray. His newest work is "Morning, Noon, and Night" (Fararr, Straus, and Giroux) about being a father and raising a family. Gray's monologues include, "Monster in a Box" about all the distractions that prevented him from completing his novel, "Impossible Vacation," and "Swimming to Cambodia" about filming a movie in Cambodia. His monologue and book "Gray's Anatomy" was about his eye problems, and his adventures in the mainstream and alternative health care industries.
Executive producer, James Redford, of the new HBO documentary, "The Kindness of Strangers." The film tells the story of four organ transplant patients, and the donors and their families.. It premieres on HBO Sept 23rd. Redford, himself, underwent two liver transplants. He's also the son of actor Robert Redford. And he founded The James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness in Los Angeles (www.jrifilms.org) (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES THRU THE END OF THE SHOW).
An interview with composer Philip Glass by his cousin Ira Glass, the host of "This American Life." The conversation was recorded on-stage in Chicago earlier this month.
TV critic David Bianculli previews the new TV season that starts this week. Bianculli recommends Action, Once and Again, The West Wing, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Angel.
Scientist Jane Goodall. She's devoted her life to studying the lives of chimpanzees in the wild. Her new book is "Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey" (Warner Books) about her beliefs in science and faith. There's also a companion PBS special which airs nationwide on October 27th. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).
