Tucker became a star at 13 years old with the chart-topping song "Delta Dawn." Since then she has had countless other hit songs, grammy nominations, and in 1991 was voted the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year. But her success has not been without it's low points, such as problems with drug and alcohol abuse and controversy over the "mature" lyrics she sang as a teenager.
Chef Nina Simonds iis a regular contributor to "Gourmet" and "Eating Well" magazines. She's studied cooking in Taiwan and in France and is the author of four books on Chinese cuisine and culture. Her latest cookbook is "Asian Noodles: Deliciously Simple Dishes to Twirl, Slurp and Savor" (Hearst Books).
Haywood has written a new memoir, "The Haygoods of Columbus" about his family, and growing up in Columbus, Ohio in the mid 60s and 70s. He lived adjacent to Mount Vernon Avenue, the center of Columbus' Black community. Haygood moved back to Columbus to write the book. Haygood has also written a biography of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and "Two on the River" a lyrical recollection of a two-thousand mile journey down the Mississippi.
The Head of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science, Michael Dertouzos. Fifteen years ago he predicted an "Information Marketplace" like that of the Internet. In his new book, he continues to look ahead to the future of the information age, and how it will affect our lives: "What Will be: How the New World Information Will Change Our Lives."
Writer Michael Ignatieff's article "Unarmed Warriors" appears in the March 24, 1997 issue of The New Yorker. He writes about the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the increased dangers that workers have been exposed to, although they are considered neutral and carry no weapons. In Rwanda in 1994, 36 workers were killed in the war, and in Chechnya last December, six staff members were murdered.
In light of the deaths of rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur, a discussion on the culture of rap and the violence that surrounds it with Chicago police officer Eric Davis. He's a member of the rap group the Slick Boys. Davis and two other officers founded the group in 1991 to provide positive role models for the inner-city kids they encountered on their jobs every day. The group has received national acclaim for their songs about the importance of getting an education and staying off of drugs and out of gangs.
A talk with two individuals at the forefront of medical ethics: Robert Baker, Professor of Philosophy at Union College in Schenectady, New York who contends that medicine is in its biggest crisis in 150 years. (It was in 1847 that the AMA wrote it's code of ethics). And Medical Ethicist Art Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Pack Underhill studies what is called retail anthropology, in which he tracks the habits of shoppers in order to learn the best way to convince them to make a purchase. His retail consulting firm, Envirosell, has helped big-name companies such as McDonald's, Levi Strauss, and Blockbuster to study their customers browsing and buying routines.
In 1995, Divakaruni's short story collection "Arranged Marriage" garnered three awards. Her new novel, "The Mistress of Spices," tells the story of a woman whose knowledge of the healing power of spices takes her on a supernatural adventure. Divakaruni teaches creative writing at Foothill College in California and is president of MAITRI, a support hotline for South Asian women.
Ballard's novels often deal with the changes affected by modern science and technology. His novel "Crash" relates these changes to sexually-deviant behavior. The book has been made into a movie by filmmaker David Cronenberg and won an award at the 1996 Cannes Film Festiival. Ballard also wrote the books "Empire of the Sun" and "Concrete Island," among others.
Commentator Gerald Early tells us why he was unsatisfied with "When We Were Kings" the Oscar-award winning documentary about the classic showdown between Muhammad Ali and George Forman in 1974 in Zaire.
A live on stage conversation between film critic Roger Ebert and film director Martin Scorsese, held at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio in February. They discuss the scope of Scorsese's career.
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Kiss," the new book by Kathryn Harrison. The controversial book tells the story of her incestuous relationship with her father when she was in her 20s.
Cronenberg directed the films "M. Butterfly," "The Fly," "Dead Ringers," and "Naked Lunch," all of which tell a story of sexually deviant behavior. In his new movie "Crash" he continues the theme, combining sex and car wrecks, and explores its place in an age of modern technology.
