African-American sociologist Terry Williams. He's the coauthor of Growing Up Poor, a highly-praised analysis of the effects of poverty that persists through several generations. His new book, The Cocaine Kids, is the story of a teenage drug ring. Since 1982 he has spent much of his time hanging out with teenage cocaine dealers in cocaine bars, after-hours clubs, discos, restaurants, crack houses, on street corners and at family gatherings and parties. What emerges is a portrait of the urban cocaine business. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)
Rock critic Ken Tucker continues his look at current rap releases. This week he explores the music of The Beastie Boys, Queen Latifah and the 2 Live Crew.
Ronald Takaki. He's the grandson of Japanese immigrants and a professor of Ethnic Studies at Berkeley. His book, Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans, tells the diverse stories of Asian immigrants who have come to the United States during the past century and a half. Takaki relates the personal testimonies of new immigrants and their American-born children.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a recording of what he considers two of Mozart's most beautiful works of chamber music for string quartet and winds. The recording features the British Gabrieli String Quartet.
Literary agent Richard Curtis. He's represented many bestselling authors, and has written some award-winning fiction of his own. He was the first president of the Independent Literary Agents Association, and he writes "Agent's Corner," a column for Locus magazine. His new book is called Beyond the Bestseller: A Literary Agent Takes You Inside the Book Business. It's an insider's guide to the literary world that includes discussion of literary agencies, advances, fees, royalties, expenses, and other advice for authors. (Interview with Sedge Thomson)
Writer and naturalist David Rains Wallace. His new book, Bulow Hammock: Mind in a Forest, chronicles his lifelong intrigue with the wild beauty of Bulow Hammock, a subtropical woodland near Daytona, Florida. Wallace is also the author of The Klamath Knot, The Turquoise Dragon, The Wilder Shore, and Idle Weeds. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)
Critic-at-large Laurie Stone, just back from the "Just for Laughs Festival," a stand up comedy festival in Montreal, assesses the current state of standup.
Writer Pico Iyer. His book Video Night in Kathmandu explores the subtle and often humorous Westernization of the Far East. Iyer, who reported for Time Magazine for four years, found the West's influence in mohawk haircuts in Bali, six Filipino girls doing a perfect rendition of a Madonna hit, Japan's baseball mania and a Chinese cafeteria that served dishes like "Yes, Sir, Cheese My Baby," and "Ike and Tuna Tuner." Video Night in Kathmandu has just been published in paperback. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)
Songwriter Fred Koller. He's one of Nashville's top songwriters. His songs have been recorded by Loretta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Edmunds and Hank Williams Jr. He has also collaborated with John Prine, John Hiatt and Pat Alger. But in his book How to Pitch and Promote Your Song, Koller guides the novice songwriter through the music business, with tips on how best to present your songs. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)
Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Bob Dylan as songwriter, focusing on Dylan's rocky transition from a folk singer into a rock and roller. The key, Ed says, was getting other people to do pop covers of Dylan's folk hits.
Shelley Winters. With two Oscars and well over 100 films to her credit, Winters is a star in the classic Hollywood mode. But she is almost as well known for her off-screen adventures and irrepressible life style that made her a staple in the gossip columns.
Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Bayou Magic," a new album by clarinetist Alvin Batiste. Since the 50s, Batiste has been a key figure in the modern jazz movement in New Orleans. Under the auspices of the State Department, he has toured the world extensively, and is also a teacher at Southern University in Baton Rouge, where his students have included Branford Marsalis and Donald Harrison.
Architect and writer Christopher Alexander. His philosophy of "every man an architect" holds that ordinary people are the best designers of their own homes and workplaces, and that intuition in design should be trusted ahead of reason. He has worked this position out in books like A Pattern Language and The Timeless Way of Building, books that have made him a leading figure in a continuing schism in the architectural community against the `glass box' syndrome of modern architecture. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)
Television critic David Bianculli reviews "Primetime Live," ABC's enormously hyped live, hour-long, primetime news program featuring Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer.
Grammy Award-winning blues singer John Hammond performs two songs by blues musician Robert Johnson in Fresh Air's weekly performance segment. Hammond has performed for nearly twenty years, and in that time his style has evolved from straight-forward, rural blues to a harder-edged, urban style.
Bill Joy. He's a founder and Vice President of Research and Development for Sun Microsystems, one of the most innovative and successful computer companies. He imagines the computer of 14 years from now, a machine he calls the "2001 computer." It will be a phenomenally fast machine (128,000 times the speed of current computers), with a memory capacity the equivalent of 300,000 books, all fitting into the size of a sugar cube. (Interview with Sedge Thomson)
Outdoorswoman and veteran river guide Kathleen Meyer. Her new book How to Shit in the Woods, examines in a non-Victorian way the hows and wheres of personal hygiene in the great outdoors. Behind the book's humorous tone and anecdotes is a serious issue - human waste, if not properly disposed, pollutes rivers and streams. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)
Pianist and singer Hadda Brooks. In the days following World War II, Brooks was a key figure in the West Coast jazz and blues scene. Her singing led to roles in movies and to a stint hosting a television show; she was the first black woman to earn that distinction. When her style of jazz and boogie woogie piano went into decline in the 50s, Brooks lived and performed overseas. She resumed her career in America in 1987, and was an immediate hit. She's currently appearing at Michael's Pub in New York City with singer Thelma Carpenter. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)
