Comedienne Carol Leifer. She's been a longstanding regular as a stand up on Late Night With David Letterman, and a writer for Saturday Night Live. This year, she writes for comedy pal (and former boyfriend) Jerry Seinfeld -- some say the character of Elaine is based on Leifer. Last year she produced "Gaudy, Bawdy & Blue", a fictional recreation of the great "Blue" comediennes of the sixties: Belle Barth, Pearl Williams, and Rusty Warren (who's XXX-rated "Knockers Up" album sold six million copies in 1960).
Moroccan sociologist and Koranic scholar, Fatima Mernissi. Her new book explores how the sacred texts of Islam are used both by feminists and defenders of democracy as well as the violent fundamentalists which oppose them: "Islam & Democracy" (Addison-Wesley). An earlier book, "The Veil and the Male Elite" (Addison-Wesley) was a feminist interpretation of Women's rights in Islam. Her new book, due out in the summer of 1994 is "Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood".
Former Deputy Assistant for Domestic Policy in the Bush Administration, Charles Kolb. He's written a new memoir about what went wrong with the Bush administration, how they dropped the ball on "gains" made by the Reagan administration. It's called, "White House Daze: The Unmaking of Domestic Policy in the Bush Years." (The Free Press).
Science fiction writer Octavia Butler. Because she is black and female, she's considered an atypical science fiction writer. She's won the Hugo and Nebula Awards, science fiction's two most prestigious awards. Butler often describes her work as "speculative fiction" rather than science fiction. She says, "Science fiction, extrasensory perception, and black people are judged by the worst elements they produce." Her main characters are usually black women, and the fictional world they inhabit are racially diverse. Butler has written nine novels.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new CD-box set, just right for the jazz-lover in your circle of family or friends "Ornette Coleman: Beauty is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings," (on Rhino).
Film director Walter Hill. His newest film, which he produced and directed is "Geronimo: An American Legend." He's best known for action-oriented films which include, "Hard Times," "The Long Riders," "48 HRS," "Streets of Fire," and others.
James Fallows is the Washington editor of "The Atlantic Monthly." He has a new book, "Looking at the Sun," (Pantheon) to be published in February about the Asian economy. He's written a three part series of articles drawn from the book in the Atlantic (the last one appears in the Jan 94 issue).
Terry talks with a young man who has been through the program at the Camden County Youth Center, a juvenile detention center in Camden, New Jersey: Derrek Penny.
Terry talks with two young men who've been through the program at the Camden County Youth Center, a juvenile detention center in Camden, New Jersey: Eddie Budah and Derrek Penny. Budah will read some of his poetry that has appeared in the Center's newsletter, "What's Happening."
Mary Previte. She's the administrator of the Camden County Youth Center. Over the 19 years she's been at the CCYC, Previte has witnessed the increase of violence in our society, and the effects on among America's young. Previte says that most of the kids she sees live in terror, knowing violence as the only way to express their emotions. Fourteen years ago Previte started a student newspaper called "What's Happening", establishing a dialogue between herself, the kids, and the community.
Pharmacologist Dr. Avram Goldstein. He set up some of the first methadone clinics to treat heroin addiction in California, and has a new book "Addiction: From Biology to Drug Policy" (Freeman). Goldstein argues that addictions are diseases, and must be considered a public health problem. A study released last month may back him up: 500,000 American deaths a year are attributed to cigarette, alcohol and drug use.
Irish author Roddy Doyle, winner of the 1993 Booker Prize for his novel "Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha" (Viking). Doyle taught school in Dublin for fourteen years; during that time he wrote and self-published his first novel, "The Commitments" about a band of musicians who bring soul music to Dublin. (It was made into a popular film here).
Writer Gloria Wade-Gayles. Growing up in Memphis in the 1940's Wade-Gayles experienced Jim Crow discrimination first hand. In her new book of autobiographical essays, "Pushed Back To Strength: A Black Woman's Journey Home" (Beacon), she reflects on her childhood, the civil-rights movements, abortion in the African-American community, and the death of her mother. Wade-Gayles is a professor of English and women's studies at Spelman College. She also wrote "No Crystal Stair: Visions of Race and Sex in Black Women's Fiction" (Pilgrim Press).
Violence prevention expert Deborah Prothrow-Stith. She's encouraged America to look at violence as a public health emergency. Stith says that instead of stitching up bullet wounds and returning people to the streets, we should teach violence prevention. Stith, assistant dean at Harvard School of Public Health, received the World Health Day Award in 1993. Stith co-wrote a book on violence called "Deadly Consequences" (Harper Collins) and a health textbook, "Health Skills for Wellness".
Pop artist David Hockney. He's worked in many mediums-- from painting and drawing to working with fax and copy machines. Hockney made waves in the art world with his take on photography--compiling hundreds of polaroid snap-shots in a photocollage. In 1979 Hockney started to lose his hearing. Now, near deaf, his art reflects his insights on his loss of hearing. Hockney's new book, "That's The Way I See It" (Chronicle Books), is his second volume of reflections.
