Fashion historian Valerie Steele. Her new book outlines changes in the fashion world through the past half century, noting how the economy, global climate, and sexual politics affected designers' creations as well as the styles we wore. The book is called "Fifty Years of Fashion: New Look to Now" (Yale University). Steele is Chief Curator at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
World music critic Milo Miles on the Portuguese group Madredeus and 17-year old singer Teresa Salgueiro who is a newer member of the group. (The complete Madredeus catalog is on the Metro Blue label)
Actress Cybill Shepherd. Her TV sitcom, "Cybill," continues in its fourth season on CBS. She also has a CD : Talk Memphis to Me. Shepherd is known for her roles in the films The Last Picture Show,Taxi Driver, and Married To It, as well as her starring role opposite Bruce Willis in the TV series Moonlighting.
Actress and Comedian Alexandra Wentworth. She's the author of The WASP Cookbook (Warner), a collection of purposefully bland recipes (with nicknames such as Kiki’s Cupcakes and Nummies) and plenty of standard drinks. Wentworth has acted on Seinfeld,In Living Color,Jerry Maguire, and Trial and Error.
Actress, screenwriter and director Kasi Lemmons. Her directorial debut is "Eve's Bayou." It stars Samuel L. Jackson and is now in theaters. The family drama takes place in a small Louisiana town in 1962, and is narrated by the younger daughter Eve, who must process family politics and her father's extramarital affairs at the age of ten. Lemmons has acted in the movies "The Silence of the Lambs," "Hard Target," "Candyman," and "Vampire's Kiss." (Interview by Kasi Lemmons)
Author and financial columnist Jane Bryant Quinn. She's revised and updated her 1991 guide to saving money and investing wisely, "Making the Most of Your Money" (Simon and Shuster). The book addresses personal finance issues, retirement funds, saving for college, and the stock market. Jane Bryant Quinn is a column writer for Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, and the New York Daily News. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)
New York Times correspondent Chris Hedges. He reports from Serbia on the tense conditions that remain despite absence of war in the former Yugoslavia, and the nationalist ideology present in the three factions, one that has led to hate crimes against ethnic minorities and gypsies. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)
Historian John Hope Franklin and John Whittington Franklin, son and grandson of Buck Colbert Franklin. The two have co-edited his autobiography, "My Life and an Era" (Louisiana State University Press). Buck Colbert Franklin grew up on the frontier when Oklahoma was a new state, tri-racial in composition. He then went on to start a law practice in Tulsa. His son, John Hope Franklin, wrote "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans," and serves as the chairman of the Advisory Board on the President's Initiative on Race.
TV critic David Bianculli previews tonight's episode of "Law & Order" which teams up the lawyers with the detectives on "Homicide." The story will be wrapped up on "Homicide" Friday night.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reminds us of a pianist that most of us have probably never heard of: George Copeland, who died at the age of 71 in 1971. Lloyd says none of Copeland's recordings are currently in print.
Cinematographer David Breashears. The first American to climb Mount Everest twice, he attempted last year to film from Mount Everest's summit on an IMAX camera. But Breashears had to put down his camera to help with the rescue mission of a group of climbers who were part of another expedition at the time, and who were caught on the mountain in a May blizzard. (Chronicled by John Krakauer in his book, "Into Thin Air.") Breashears' film of his own expedition is titled "Everest," and will be released in February. He has won four Emmy awards for his filmmaking.
Film critic David Thomson and filmmaker and director James Toback. They interview each other for a revival of round table discussion at "Spoken Word at the Algonquin" in New York city's famous Algonquin Hotel, and discuss the state of moviemaking and movie criticism today. Thomson's latest book is "Beneath Mulholland: Thoughts on Hollywood and its Ghosts" (Knopf). Toback directed the movies "Fingers," "Exposed," and "The Pick up Artist."
Record producer and former guitarist for the band Chic, Nile Rodgers. In the late 1970s Chic was one of the most successful disco groups. Hits included "Dance, Dance, Dance," "Le Freak," and "Everybody Dance." As a record producer, Rodgers has worked with Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, INXS, and Madonna. (Rebroadcast of 8/20/1996)
TV critic David Bianculli previews the upcoming television docudrama Into Thin Air. The movie is based on the 1996 tragedy on Mt Everest in which eight climbers died.
Writer David Shipler. A Country of Strangers: Blacks and Whites in America (Knopf) is his newest book. It looks closely at the ever present race question in the United States through interviews of folks across the country and analysis of stereotypes he found. Shipler is the author of Russia and won a Pulitzer Prize for Arab and Jew: Wounded Sprits in a Promised Land.
