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.
Rock critic Ken Tucker comments on the success of white rapper Vanilla Ice's debut, To the Extreme, and The Simpsons Sing the Blues, a compilation performed by the voice actors of the popular animated show.
Pizzarelli's new album, "My Blue Heaven," features his interpretations of some great songs from the swing era. He is the son of noted jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, and often performs in the New York cabaret scene.
Magnuson starred in the movies, "Making Mister Right," and "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon," and on the TV series, "Anything But Love." She's had numerous one woman monologue shows in Manhattan. She joins Fresh Air for an interview, and shares an excerpt of one of her life performances, about groupies following Doors' frontman Jim Morrison.
Film critic Stephen Schiff review the new film, in which the muscled actor plays a cop who goes undercover as a teacher to capture a drug kingpin. Schiff says the movie tries to be all things to all people, but it somehow works.
Writer Frank White's book "The SETI Factor," looks at the ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence. In 1992, NASA will begin a comprehensive scan of the heavens for radio signals from other solar systems. White says, as a result of that search, it's quite likely that within the next 25 years we'll finally know if we're alone in the universe.
