Film director Stanley Donen (DAH-nen) talks about directing Fred Astaire in "Funny Face," and "Royal Wedding." Last year, Donen received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures. His other films include: "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) "It's Always Fair Weather" (1955) "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954) and "Charade" (1963)
Pianist Peter Mintun talks about how Fred Astaire's movies impacted his career. Mintun is considered one of today’s leading interpreters of popular songs composed between the two world wars which he calls classic melodies that transcend time.
Jazz pianist/composer Dave Brubeck. He turns 80 next year and has been recording for 50 years. There are several new collections of his work: "The Dave Brubeck Collection" (Columbia/Legacy) which reissues five of his classic out-of-print LPs, and "Dave Brubeck: Time Signature: A Career Retrospective"
The host of NPR's Talk of the Nation, Ray Suarez. He's the author of the new book, "The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration, 1966-1999" (The Free Press)
Immunologist at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto, Josef Penninger. He recently led a study on the link between bacterial infection and heart disease. The study focused on the chlamydia bacteria which 95% of people are exposed to during their lives. The study suggests that heart disease can be prevented by treatment of antibiotics. The study was reported in the journal Science in February.
Dr. Kilmer McCully takes another look at the cholesterol theory of heart disease in his new book, "The Heart Revolution: The B Vitamin Breakthrough that Lowers Homocysteine, Cuts Your Risk of Heart Disease, and Protects Your Health" (HarperCollins). McCully writes that the real culprit in heart disease is the amino acid homocysteine which is found in the blood. Too much of it can lead to damaged arteries, leaving them susceptible to cholesterol and fat deposits. McCully writes that vitamin B deficiency leads to too much homocysteine.
Dr. Dean Ornish discusses the link between emotional health and prevention and treatment of heart disease. His new book is "Love & Survival: 8 Pathways to Intimacy and Health." (HarperPerennial). Ornish is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and founder of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine.
Writer Andre Dubus III. He is the son of the celebrated writer Andre Dubus, who died earlier this year. He's the author of the new novel, "House of Sand And Fog" (W.W. Norton). Dubus is the author of two previous books, and he teaches writing at Tufts University and Emerson College.
Nobel-prize winning biologist, Dr. David Baltimore talks about where we are in the search for an HIV vaccine. He also talks about recent studies and what they've told us about the disease. Baltimore heads the National Institutes of health advisory committee for AIDS Vaccine.
To complete our celebration of the centennial of Duke Ellington's birth (April 29th, 1899) a talk with music critic Gary Giddins. He won the National Book Critics Circle award for criticism for his new book "Visions of Jazz: The First Century." (Oxford Press). Giddins has written for The Village Voice for 25 years.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording of Pierre Boulez conducting Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire. (on Deutsche Grammophon).
Comedienne Joy Behar. She can be seen regularly on the ABC women's talk show, "The View." She also appears as a neurotic patient on "Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist for Comedy Central." She has a new book, "Joy Shtick: or What is the Existential Vacuum and Does it Come with Attachments?" (Hyperion)
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Charles Simic. He is part Serbian, and was born in Belgrade. He emigrated to the U.S. as a teenager over 40 years ago. His new collection of poems is "Jackstraws" (Harcourt Brace). SIMIC also edited and translated an anthology of Serbian poetry, "The Horse Has Six Legs" (Graywolf Press, 1992)
Mark Linkous of the rock band Sparklehorse. He writes, sings, and plays nearly all the music. They debuted in 1995 with the album, "Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot." Their latest release is "Good Morning Spider" (Capitol).
Poet and novelist Michael Ondaatje (on-DAH-chay). He won Britain's highest literary prize, the Booker Prize, for his novel set in post World War II, "The English Patient," which was made into a film. Ondaatje was born in Cylon (now Sri Lanka), emigrated to England, and now lives in Canada. He has a new book of poetry, "Handwriting" (Knopf)
