Will is a conservative commentator and regular contributor to "Newsweek" and "The Washington Post." He has just published a collection of his best essays from the past four years, "The Leveling Wind: Politics, the Culture & Other News 1990-1994." He talks with Terry about last week's elections.
Terry speaks with Wilbert Rideau, an inmate serving a life term at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. He reports on various aspects of life, culture and rehabilitation at the penitentiary. This segment will focus on the issue of literacy, education programs and self-education at Angola. These reports from prison have been arranged in cooperation with prison officials, who administer a number of outreach programs to educate the public about prison policies and rehabilitation efforts. Rideau is an eighth grade dropout and taught himself to write while in prison.
We talk with jazz critic Kevin Whitehead about singer Carmen McRae, who died last night at age 74. McRae has been called one of the three greatest female jazz singers, along with Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.
Television critic David Bianculli reviews "Scarlett," CBS's eight-hour mini-series that starts this Sunday. He says it's better than what most other critics are saying.
Reynolds is the star of "Evening Shade," as well as the films as "Deliverance" and "Smokey and the Bandit." He's written his autobiography, titled "My Life." Terry spoke with Reynolds before he cut short his recent book tour.
Reynolds, who died Thursday, appeared in scores of films, including Deliverance and Boogie Nights. He spoke to Terry Gross in 1994 about growing up the son of a sheriff in a small Florida town.
Biographer Peter Manso has written "Brando: The Biography," the result of seven years of research and over 700 interviews. It tells the story of Brando as a man with a hidden troubled life. Mans is also the author of an oral biography of Norman Mailer.
From the film "The Last Seduction," actress Linda Fiorentino and screenwriter Steve Barancik. Barancik's screenplay tells the story of a woman who robs her husband of the proceeds from a drug deal, and then leaves town. Fioirentino stars as "one of the screen's most formidible femme fatales ever" ("Variety"), as she displays her character's "spellbinding talent for getting exactly what she wants" ("The New York Times").
Washington political commentator Elizabeth Drew, author of "On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency." The book examines Clinton's first eighteen months in office. She talks with Terry about last night's election and what it will mean for the White House.
There's a new four-CD boxed set of Ginsberg's work, called "Holy Soul Jelly Roll - Songs and Poems." Terry talks to him about the readings featured on these recordings.
"Wall Street Journal" senior writer Jane Mayer is co-author of "Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas,: She and fellow journalist Jill Abramson, investigated sexual harassment allegations against Thomas made by Anita Hill. They found other women who had had similar experiences with Thomas, but who were never called to testify. They wanted to write an objective account of the process, and they bring their harshest criticism on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Before starting her comedy career, Butler survived an abusive marriage. She is now the star of the sitcom "Grace Under Fire," one of the top rated shows of the season. Her character is a single mother with three kids, and, like Butler, is divorced from an abusive husband.
Wolff has been nominated for the National Book Award for his memoir "In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War." The book is an account of Wolff's tour in Vietnam. Woff is also the author of two short story collections, a novella, and "This Boy's Life," a memoir about his childhood.
Writer Howard Norman has been nominated for the National Book Award for his new novel "The Bird Artist." The book takes place in Newfoundland in 1911, and is about an artist who murders the town's lighthouse keeper. Norman is also the author of a short story collection and "The Northern Lights," a National Book Award Nominee in 1987
