Actor Michael Murphy. Murphy's first work was on television when he was still a high school English teacher. He debuted on the TV series "Combat," and later acted on "Ben Casey," "Dr. Kildaire" and "Bonanza." The director for the "Combat" series was Robert Altman, with whom Murphy has had a long association. He later acted in many films by Robert Altman, including "M*A*S*H," "Brewster McCloud," "McCabe and Mrs.
Astronomer and science writer Timothy Ferris. His most recent book, Coming of Age in the Milky Way, is the story of how man discovered his place in the cosmos. The book was a surprise bestseller last year and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Critics hailed the book as a literary and scientific breakthrough that reads both as intellectual history and an adventure story. Ferris' first book, The Red Limit, was similarly praised for creating a new style of science book that combines the force of fact and detail with the grace of fiction writing.
Television producer and screenwriter Allan Burns. He co-created "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Rhoda," "He and She," "Lou Grant" and "The Munsters," a body of work that has earned him 8 Emmys. Burns has a new series this fall on NBC titled "FM." It's about the on-the-job and at home travails of a public radio program director. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)
Reporter and novelist Ron Taylor. For the last 20 years, Taylor has reported on California agriculture, focusing on the life of farm laborers. Taylor was the first reporter to focus on Cesar Chavez, the migrant laborer who spearheaded the movement for a farm workers union with highly publicized work stoppages and boycotts of California produce. Taylor has written three books on the subject of farm labor: Sweatshops in the Sun, The Kid Business, and Chavez and the Farm Workers.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new release of performances of four violin concertos by Fritz Kreisler. Kreisler, an Austrian who died in 1962, was probably the most renown violinist in the world in the period between the two World Wars. The double compact-disc set, which also includes three shorter pieces, is released on the Music and Arts label.
Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews The Real Thing, by Miles Orvell. Corrigan says the book is one of those works that attempts to explain just about everything in terms of one theory. Orwell's theory is that American culture has been driven by the tension between imitation and the desire for authenticity.
Rock historian Ed Ward looks back at the Woodstock Festival and tries to separate the facts of the 3-day event from the warp of nostalgia twenty years later.
Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead profiles the young alto saxophonist Christopher Hollyday. While still in his teens, Hollyday toured with bandleader Maynard Ferguson and headlined at New York's Village Vanguard. Hollyday plays in the style of Charlie Parker, the great bop alto saxophonist.
Writer Phillip Hoose. In his new book, Necessities: Racial Barriers in American Sports, Hoose examines the role of blacks in sport, from why there has never been a black Olympic swimmer to the continued use of racial information by the scouting agencies that survey high school basketball players. Hoose began the book after the furor sparked by baseball executive Al Campanis' remark on national TV that blacks lacked `the necessities' to manage a major league baseball or football team. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)
Marine botanist Sylvia Earle. She's been described as one of the most intrepid divers in the history of underwater exploration. She's swum with humpback whales, explored the kelp forests off the coast of California, and dove into the trenches off the coasts of Hawaii where she once went to depths of 1,250 feet, which at the time was the deepest any human had dove without a connection to the surface.
Television Critic David Bianculli reviews "Nightmare Classics." It's an anthology series on the Showtime cable network that adapts classic gothic and horror tales. The series is produced by actress Shelly Duvall, who won critical praise for her "Faerie Tale Theatre," and "Tall Tales and Legends," two productions for kids.
Poet Mark Halliday returns to Fresh Air to read one of his latest works. Halliday, an English professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has published several books of poetry. The most recent is titled Little Star.
Writer John McPhee. He's a classic example of a "writer's writer," one whose style is endlessly studied and mimicked, and whose effortlessness in moving between subjects as diverse as Alaskan geology, oranges, and birch-bark canoes is the envy of every freelancer. He's worked at The New Yorker magazine since the late 60s and is one of its most popular contributors.
Contributor Ilene Segalove takes us on a tour of The Museum of Jurassic Technology, a Los Angeles museum of "unnatural history." The museum features exhibits of the bizarre and improbable, such as the "Deprong Mori," a South American bat that uses X-ray to fly through solid objects, or the way extreme ultraviolet rays appear to restore the flesh to a skeleton.
Screenwriter and producer Lowell Ganz. He co-wrote the script to "Parenthood," the new comedy starring Steve Martin. He also co-wrote the script for "Splash," which introduced Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah. Both films were directed by friend and collaborator Ron Howard. Ganz also was the supervising producer of the popular TV series "Happy Days," starring Henry Winkler as The Fonz.
Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "sex, lies, and videotape," the first feature film by 26-year-old director and writer Stephen Soderbergh. The film, made on a budget of $1.2 million, won the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Political writers Jack Germond and Jules Witcover. Their new book, Whose Broad Stripes and Bright Stars? is an examination of last year's Presidential election. In particular, the book focuses on the degree to which behind-the-scenes `handlers' determined the election's tone and outcome. The book also explores how the process of picking a president has changed in the 30 years that they have covered national politics. Germond and Witcover write the only nationally syndicated daily column devoted to politics.
