News & Media

Film critic Leonard Maltin has been writing about films since he was 17 years old. The 1983-1984 edition of his guide "T.V. Movies," which gives "capsule" reviews of films airing on television, has just been published. This year's edition has 15,000 movies and also reviews made-for-television movies. Maltin has written several books about film and is the film critic for Entertainment Tonight. Maltin will answer listener calls about movies.

Tony Bennett is one of the foremost interpreters of American popular songs. Bennett will perform with the Count Basie Orchestra at the Valley Forge Music Fair next week. He joins the show to discuss his music, his career, and the music industry of the past and present.

Tom Shales is the film critic for NPR and a television critic and t.v. editor at the Washington Post. His column is syndicated in nearly 150 newspapers, including the Philadelphia Daily News. A collection of Shales' t.v. columns from 1974-1982, "On the Air," has just been published.

Journalist David Halberstam is best known for his work on the Vietnam War for such publications as the New York Times. Unlike many journalists, Halberstam reported from the countryside. Halberstam delivers a talk on television and contemporary politics as a SPEC (Social Planning and Events Committee) Connaissance Speaker at the University of Pennsylvania.

Journalist David Halberstam is best known for his work on the Vietnam War for such publications as the New York Times. Unlike many journalists, Halberstam reported from the countryside. Halberstam delivers a talk on television and contemporary politics as a SPEC (Social Planning and Events Committee) Connaissance Speaker at the University of Pennsylvania.

Stan Mack's cartoon strip "Stan Mack's Real Life Funnies," has run in the Village Voice since 1974. The strip comes with the guarantee "all dialogue reported verbatim," and consists of absurd conversations overheard by Mack. Mack began his career as an art director at The New York Tribune and The New York Times. Mack's new book "In Search of the G Spot" is a collection of "sex spoof jokes."

John Rockwell is the music critic for The New York Times. He believes critics should take (almost) all genres of music equally, and was one the first critics to cover "vernacular music." Rockwell has written the book "All American Music." Rockwell discusses his taste in music (including his beginnings in classical music), journalism, and shares records with Fresh Air.

Novelist Rita Mae Brown's newest novel "Sudden Death" is set in the world of women's professional tennis. Brown herself was a tennis player before becoming a writer. The novel also deals with the issue of lesbian athletes in the sport. Brown joins the show to discuss the novel and the sport.

Malcolm Forbes is the owner, chairman, and editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine, whose slogan is "Forbes: The Capitalist's Tool." The company was founded by Forbes's father, and Forbes joined the staff in 1947, and was promoted after his father's death in 1954. The firm remains a family business--two of Forbes's sons work for the magazine. Forbes is also known for his wealth and extravagant hobbies such as hot-air ballooning (he was the first to travel coast-to-coast in one), motorcycling, and collecting art and toy soldiers.

Seymour Hersh is an investigative journalist known in part for breaking the story of the My Lai Massacre for which he received a 1970 Pulitzer Prize. Hersh also won Polk Awards in 1969, 1973, 1974, and 1981. Hersh is currently the national correspondent for The Atlantic, and his new book is "The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House." The book studies Kissinger's use and abuse of power during his international negotiations and his power plays within the Nixon administration. Hersh joins the show to discuss his book and career.

Journalist Fred Kaplan's new book explores the evolution of the United States' nuclear arms policies through the lens of rivalries between the Air Force and Navy and the increasingly theoretical analyses made by political figures and think tanks.

Journalist Joe McGinniss's latest book investigates the Manson-family-style killing of Jeffrey MacDonald's daughters and pregnant wife. MacDonald was eventually convicted of the murders nine-and-a-half years later.

David Ogilvy is one of the founders of Ogilvy & Mathers, one of the top 4 advertising agencies in the world. He joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to discuss what he believes is and is not an effective way to sell a product.

The baseball radio broadcaster began his career in the 1940s. He was informed in advance of Jackie Robinson's recruitment by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Initially against baseball's desegregation, Barber grew to admire and support Robinson.

The writer and Ms. Magazine founder has a new collection of her work, which collects two decades' worth of essays. She tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about her writing evolved to become more politically-focused.

After relocating to England and publishing a book documenting Chinese life, Eve Arnold returned to her home country to capture different facets of the American experience, including Native Americans, biker gangs, Jerry Falwell, and the Ku Klux Klan,

76ers general manager Pat Williams and sportswriter Bill Lyon have co-authored a book about the Philadelphia basketball team's history and recent success. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.

Humorist and reporter Calvin Trillin is staff writer for the New Yorker and a humor columnist at The Nation. Trillin recently joined the show to discuss his love of rich regional and ethnic food which he chronicled in his book "Third Helpings." His New Yorker Magazine series "U. S. Journal" ended in 1982, but a collection of 16 of his stories about murder have been collected in the book "Killings."

Journalist Fred Kaplan's latest book is "The Wizards of Armageddon," which looks at the politics of nuclear warfare and weapons. He joins the show to discuss Defense policy and the budget and the issue of nuclear war in contemporary politics. (Interview by Dave Davies)

Pete Dexter is a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News and also has a monthly column for Esquire Magazine, "Sports Scene." Dexter's first novel, "God's Pocket," is set in Philadelphia. The novel tells the story of a reporter investigating a murder committed by a construction worker. Dexter joins the show to discuss his novel, work as a journalist, and respond to listener calls.