In this two-part interview, Terry speaks first with Trudy Rubin, a Mideast expert on the editorial board at the "Philadelphia Inquirer." Rubin's just left Baghdad. We speak to her from Amman, Jordan. Next, Terry is joined by David Fromkin. They talk about the colonial interventions in the Middle East around World War I, and how those actions resonate today.
Terry talks with Albert Mokhiber, President of the American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee, about the FBI's recent questioning of prominent members of the Arab American community. She also speaks with Bill Baker, the Assistant Director of FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, who defends the practice, which many find invasive or discriminatory, claiming it's intended to protect Arab Americans from hate crimes.
Actor Harvey Keitel. He plays gangster Mickey Cohen in the new movie "Bugsy." Last year, he played the sympathetic police officer in "Thelma And Louise." He's also known for his roles in the Martin Scorsese films "Mean Streets" and "Taxi Driver."
Science writer Timothy Ferris. In his new book, "The Mind's Sky," Ferris explores the relationship between the universe and how our brains' see the universe. Ferris's earlier books include the best-seller, "Coming Of Age In The Milky Way."
Book critic John Leonard reviews "The Secret Pilgrim" by John LeCarre. It's the final chapter in LeCarre's novels starring master spy George Smiley, which Leonard says it's a Pilgrim's Promise of a book, and LeCarre's best in recent years.
Bell's new novel, "Doctor Sleep," follows a hypnotist and part-time criminologist through three days and nights as he deals with his domestic life and with tracking down a serial killer. Bell is interested in the altered states of mind that come from hypnotism, insomnia, and stress.
Rock and roll historian Ed Ward looks back on the music of 1981 -- a year he says was great for black musicians in particular, including Prince, Rick James, and Grandmaster Flash. British bands like Duran Duran dominated, too.
Soviet journalist Artem Borovik Borovik covered the Soviet war in Afghanistan. His first hand account of that war has given him insight into the difficulties associated with combat in harsh climates -- conditions American soldiers may face during any intervention in the Gulf crisis.
Bernstein has composed the scores for around 80 films, including "The Man With the Golden Arm," "The Magnificent Seven," and "The Ten Commandments. He's done the scores for 2 new films -- "The Field" and "The Grifters." He joins Fresh Air to talk about how he works with directors to write his music.
Lloyd Schwartz previews the next Dance in America presentation, highlighting works by choreographer Peter Martins, which the critic says often excel in irony.
Rashid Khalidi is a professor of modern Middle East history at the University of Chicago. He and Terry talk about the proposal for an international peace conference on the Mideast, which includes calls for further negotiations in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the soundtrack from the movie "Tune in Tomorrow" composed by Wynton Marsalis and recorded by Marsalis and his band. Whitehead says it makes good use of the trumpeter's conservative, backward-looking approach.
The 60's soap opera "Dark Shadows" returns from the dead this weekend. Television critic David Bianculli says the original, like a vampire, bites and sucks. The reboot remains, at best, a guilty pleasure.
Book critic John Leonard reviews the new family memoir by the prolific novelist. He says it features many of the same themes found in Roth's fiction, like an obsession with memory, and one usually absent: love.
The famed astronomer and writer is co-author of the new book, "A Path Where No Man Thought." It's about the theory that even a small nuclear war would lead to a nuclear winter that would devastate the earth.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews some commemorative recordings of the late Swiss composer and conductor Frank Martin, who isn't well known in the U.S. His music was often moody and unsettling, and religious in nature.
Durang is best-known for his controversial play, "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You." A new collection of six of his plays has just come out called "Christopher Durang Explains It All For You." He joins Fresh Air to talk about some of his successes and failures, and his frustrations with New York theater.
Critic Maureen Corrigan comments on the latest women's fashion trend--a reboot of styles she grew up wearing. Corrigan never thought they were exciting, and wonders why they're so popular now.
Columnist Richard Louv is a columnist at the San Diego Union. He spent three years speaking with almost three thousand parents, children, and educators for his new book, "Childhood's Future," which looks at the problems facing families today, many of which stem from the lack of meaningful time together.
