Journalist and Associate Professor at Hampshire College Michael Klare. He directs the Five-College Program in Peace and World Security Studies. He talks to Terry about Bush's recent call for cutting back of our nuclear arsenal in eastern Europe. Klare says, though, it isn't a sign of disarmament, it's the beginning of a re-armament to fight the wars of the post cold-war era. His 1990 article, "Who's Arming Who?" warned of the growing global violence deriving from the arms trade.
Television critic David Bianculli reviews two new historical shows, one on PBS and the other on ABC. One is a documentary series, "Columbus and the Age of Discovery," and the other a docudrama about the Gulf War, "Heroes of Persian Gulf."
The U.S. Senate begins debate today on confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court; and Senator Biden has called for hearings examining the confirmation process. Duke University Law Professor Walter Dellinger gives his critique of the confirmation process.
Journalist Molly Ivins from Austin, Texas. She calls herself a "dripping fangs liberal," and believes that by being objective journalists take all the color out of human affairs. She says, "politics ought to be covered the way sports is, as a celebration of heroes and villians." She's taken on Ron and Nancy Reagan, George Bush, and the "bubbas" in the Texas Legislature.
Musician and conductor JoAnn Falletta. Falletta is conductor of the Bay Area Women's Philharmonic in San Francisco, which is dedicated to finding and playing music by women that was previously undiscovered or unrecorded. Falletta has a PhdD from Juilliard.
Journalist Sam Dillon. Dillon was part of the Miami Herald's team of reporters that won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the Iran Contra scandal. His new book, "Comandos: The CIA and Nicaragua's Contra Rebels," looks at the history of the contras during their ten year struggle with the Sandinistas. ( published by Henry Holt).
Film critic Pauline Kael talk to us from her house in Massachusetts. Kael spent years reviewing movies for The New Yorker. Her final collection of New Yorker reviews has just been published. It's called "Movie Love: Complete Reviews 1988-1991. (It's published by William Abrahams).
Writer and critic Doris Grumbach. In her new memoir, "Coming Into The End Zone," Grumbach chronicles the 70th year of her life, faces the specter of her impending death, as well of the deaths of several of her friends due to AIDS. (It's published by Norton).
Comedian Nora Dunn. Dunn was a cast member of Saturday Night Live for 6 years, and portrayed such roles as the vapid talk show host Pat Stevens, the lounge singing Sweeney Sisters, and French sex kitten Babette. She was also at the center of controversy when she refused to appear on SNL when Andrew Dice Clay was the guest host. Dunn has written a new book, in the personas of her characters, called "Nobody's Rib." (It's published by Harper Perennial).
Cartoonist and novelist Jeff Danziger. Danziger is the political cartoonist for the Christian Science Monitor, and his cartoons are featured in more than one hundred newspapers around the country. Danziger's just written his first novel. It's called "Rising Like The Tucson," and it's a dark comedy about the Vietnam War. (It's published by Doubleday).
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the new album from drummer Aldo Romano. It's called "To Be Ornette To Be," and it's a musical tribute to free jazz composer Ornette Coleman. (It's on the French Owl label).
Private eye Hal Lipset. Lipset's the subject of Patricia Holt's new book, "The Bug In The Martini Olive." That title refers to Lipset's ability to plant secret listening devices just about anywhere. He also photographed adulterous couples and worked for everyone from the Senate Watergate Committee to cult leader Jim Jones. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)
June Reinisch the Director of the Kinsey Institute, and the principle author of "The Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex." In it, she debunks many myths Americans have about sex, and she discusses what she calls the "sexual illiteracy" of many Americans. (It's published by St. Martin's Press).
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz is also an accomplished poet. The U.S. Information Agency recently sent Lloyd to Brazil for a lecture tour. He tells us he found a country with a huge love of poetry.
Writer Ward Just. Just's new novel, "The Translator," is a thriller set in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Just has written nearly a dozen other novels, including "Jack Gance" and "The American Ambassador." Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Just was a journalist, covering the Vietnam War for Newsweek. ("The translator" is published by Houghton Mifflin). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)