Health & Medicine

Larry Gross is a professor of communications at the Annenberg School of Communications of the University of Pennsylvania. He studies television violence and the portrayal of women in minorities on t.v. and their effects on viewers. Gross is the co-chair of the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force and a member of the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force. He joins the show to evaluate the media coverage of AIDS and how it has shaped the American public's response to the disease.

Pennsylvania Representative Russell Letterman is part of a group of legislators who have proposed legislation to require couples applying for marriage licenses to take one of the current tests for the virus that causes AIDS. Letterman and his cohort maintain that this should be done despite the fact that current tests (including one approved yesterday) are unreliable and can only confirm exposure to the virus. Letterman joins the show to explain his position. (Interview by Amy Salit)

Heshie Zinman is a "buddy" who helps "PWAs," or Persons with AIDS, many of whom are unemployed and/or without health insurance, and who are often rejected by their families and others in society. Buddies help PWAS by doing everything from housecleaning, filling out medical forms, advocating for the person, to listening to their fears. He joins the show to discuss his work organizing on behalf of PWAs.

Dr. John Turner is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University who treats many AIDS patients. Dr. Robert Sharrar is an epidemiologist monitoring the spread of AIDS in Philadelphia as the Director of the Division of Disease Control at the Philadelphia Department of Health. Roger Stephens is the chair of the education committee of the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force and the Director of Social Work at Graduate Hospital.

Part two of Fresh Air's interview with medical and social experts on this special edition of the show devoted to the AIDS crisis. Dr. John Turner is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University who treats many AIDS patients. Dr. Robert Sharrar is an epidemiologist monitoring the spread of AIDS in Philadelphia as the Director of the Division of Disease Control at the Philadelphia Department of Health.

On this special edition of Fresh Air devoted to the AIDS Crisis, Terry Gross speaks with a 32-year-old New Jersey man who was diagnosed with the disease a year ago. Fresh Air has respected his wish to remain anonymous.

Writer and novelist Edmund White's books include "States of Desire: Travels Through Gay America," "The Joy of Gay Sex," and "A Boy's Own Story." White's work often candidly discusses gay life. White moved from the Midwest to New York where he was active in the Gay Liberation Movement, and now lives in Paris. His latest novel, "Caracole," is about a young, heterosexual male.

Oliver Sacks suffered a severe injury while hiking which eventually led to the loss of feeling in his leg. His recovery and gave him insights into the treatment of his own patients who suffer from memory problems and encephalitis lethargica.

In addition to writing music, Ned Rorem publishes his diaries, in which he muses on the creative process, his views on art, and his personal relationships. His newest collection is called Setting the Tone.

British actor Jonathan Miller gave up a medical career to pursue acting. His career led him to become a television critic, director, and producer. He eventually returned to medicine, and is a practicing neurologist and medical writer.

Writer Germaine Greer is suspicious of both the safety and sexually liberating power of birth control. In her new book, she suggests women look beyond intercourse and seek different social, emotional and physical paths toward sexual pleasure.

Physician and activist Patch Adams started a collective of medical professionals which provides free, community-based healthcare out of a suburban home. A strong critic of the for-profit health care industry, he advocates against unnecessary procedures and more patient-centered care.

Etheridge Knight began writing poetry while serving a sentence for robbery. He talks with Fresh Air producer Danny Miller about how he draws inspiration from his past experiences as a former prisoner and drug addict.

Psychotherapist Myron Sharaf has written a biography on the researcher Wilhelm Reich, who developed the study of orgonomy. Reich worked for greater sexual reforms in pre-World War II Berlin before continuing his research in the United States.

Seymour Shubin is a novelist whose previous work "Anyone's My Name," was a best seller. Shubin is the former managing editor of Official Detective Stories, and has written for medical and psychological journalists. His new novel, "The Captain," is a suspense story that explores the anger and resentment a retired detective living in a nursing home feels towards the nurses, doctors, and the family members who put him there. The novel has been nominated for an Edgar Award.

Dr. Walter Lear is the founder and co-chair of the National Gay Health Coalition, the former state Health Commissioner, for Southeast Pennsylvania and the president and founder of the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health in West Philadelphia. Dr. Nick Ifft is the secretary of Philadelphia Health Professionals for Human Rights (an organization of gay and lesbian physicians and dentists), the coordinator of the Philadelphia A.I.D.S. Task Force, and a general practitioner at South East Health Center in Philadelphia. The doctors join the show to discuss A.I.D.S.

Joyce Johnson became a part of the circle known as the Beat writers: Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac, when she broke away from her middle class Jewish family life and joined the bohemian Greenwich Village crowd. Johnson met Kerouac in 1957 and was in a romantic relationship with him for two years. Her new memoir, "Minor Characters," discusses not only her experiences but also the role of women in the Beat generation. Johnson is also an editor and novelist.

Ann Beuf is a sociologist who studies the social and psychological lives of those with illnesses. She has researched the lives of hospitalized children and the psychology of vitiligo patients. Beuf was formerly the director of Womens' Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and currently teaches at Penn and Cedar Crest College. She will travel to New Zealand next year on a Fullbright Scholarship. Beuf recently traveled to China to study their medical system, she will discuss her findings as well as her research into anorexia patients in this interview.

Julian "Winnie" Winston is best known as as a pedal steel guitarist who builds whose own instruments. He also works as a professor of design at the Philadelphia College of the Arts. In this interview, Winston, whose nickname is "Winnie," discusses another field of interest: homeopathy. Winston first experienced homeopathic medicine as a patient, and began to research it for himself. He has spent a year traveling around the country interviewing homeopathic practitioners.