Religion & Spirituality

Hankus Netsky is the founder and leader of the Klezmer Conservatory Band. Klezmer mixes traditional Yiddish and Israeli music with American influences. Netsky joins the show to discuss the history of the genre and to share 78-records of klezmer music from the 1920s.

Stewart Hoover is a research scholar at the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania who specializes in the impact of communications technology on culture. In recent years, many have deemed religious television programming controversial. Many mainline church leaders fear the effect such programming will have on local churches. Hoover, along with George Gerbner, Larry Gross, Michael Morgan, and Nancy Signorielli, has just conducted a study on religious television programming.

Actor Joel Grey talks about the legacy of his father, comedic actor and clarinetist Mickey Katz. Grey's Jewish heritage helped him add complexity to his performance in the Broadway and film versions of Cabaret, in which he played the Master of Ceremonies.

Fred Rogers began his popular children's program before becoming a father himself. During his lunch breaks, he attended seminary school and became an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Though faith is central to his personal life, he aims to make his show accessible and welcoming for children of all backgrounds.

Andrew Greely is a priest, sociologist and writer. He has written a book with his sister, theologian Mary G. Durkin, about how Vatican II dispensed with traditions which they believed were essential to Catholic identity. In order to stay vital, they believe the Church should adopt more positive attitudes toward sexuality and the role of women.

Theologian Harvey Cox's new book explores the growth of religion, particularly amongst politically active or disenfranchised communities. He explores how this trend manifests itself in both fundamentalist circles on the right and practitioners of liberation theology on the left.

Fred Rogers began his popular children's program before becoming a father himself. During his lunch breaks, he attended seminary school and became an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. Though faith is central to his personal life, he aims to make his show accessible and welcoming to children of all backgrounds.

Mary Gordon writes literary fiction that manages to top best-seller lists. Religion plays a large part in her novels, and Gordon grew up Catholic and even considered becoming a nun. Today she has big differences with the church, but still considers herself a Catholic, if only in her mind. Her latest novel "Men and Angels," involves a babysitter driven by religion-tinged insanity.

John Cage is an avant-garde musician known for his "chance compositions," which use "found" sounds. His music mixes Eastern philosophy with Western high-technology and eschews principles of harmony and melody. Cage is still a radical at 73.

George Segal is known for his realistic, life-sized sculptures made by wrapping his models in plaster-soaked bandages. His commission for outdoor art have often be controversial. He joins the show to discuss his life and career.

Robert J. Lifton is a psychiatrist and author who is a board member of the group Physicians for Social Responsibility. His works include "Indefensible Weapons: The Political and Psychological Case Against Nuclearism" and "Home from the War: Vietnam Veterans: Neither Victims Nor Executioners." His latest book, "The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and The Psychology of Genocide," investigates the capacity for human cruelty and is based on interviews with former Nazi doctors and their surviving victims.

Jerry Falwell is a Baptist minister who is the founder and head of Moral Majority, Incorporated, which recently created an umbrella organization, The Liberty Federation, to support an expanded political and social agenda. The group describes itself as "pro-life, pro-family, pro-moral, and pro-strong national defense." Falwell is also the founder of Thomas Rhode Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the founder and chancellor of Lynchburg Christian Academy, Liberty University, Liberty Baptist Seminary, and Liberty Home Bible Institute.

Philadelphian and frequent guest Chaim Potok returns to the show. Potok is a writer known for his novels, including his first, "The Chosen," a best-seller. His latest novel, "Davita's Harp," has just been released in paperback. His fiction often looks at the interplay between religious and secular life, and Potok grew up in Hasidic community, and is a rabbi. Potok has also written non-fiction and was part of a committee of scholars that created a new translation of the Hebrew Bibile which was published in 1982 in three volumes.

Reverend William Sloane Coffin is known for his activism in the Civil Rights and peace movements. Coffin served as the chaplain for Yale University for 18 years where he was active in leading anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. Coffin left Yale in 1976, and is currently the Senior Minister at New York 's progessive Riverside Church. Coffin's latest book is "Living the Truth in a World of Illusions."

"The Power and the Spirit," is a documentary produced by Anne Bohlen and Celeste Wesson that examines the ban on the ordainment of women in the Catholic Church. The documentary features women who would like to become priests and women who favor more traditional roles and support the ban, as well as a bishop.

Evangelical minister Jerry Falwell has cultivated a network of political, educational, and media ventures to promote his conservative beliefs in culture and politics. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about how he came to be a Christian, and how he hopes to guide others to the faith.

Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton researches the psychological effects of wartime atrocities on both survivors and those who committed crimes against humanity.

Early in his adult life, the writer believed that the narrow worldview of his Hasidic upbringing was at odds with his ambition to become a writer. Potok, however, is still very much tied to the Jewish tradition, which he explores in his novels.

The Nobel Prize-winning writer's formative experiences were informed by war in Eastern Europe, an itinerant childhood, and American novels and films. He has lived in the United States since 1960.

Political cartoonist Doug Marlette draws inspiration from a lifetime in the South, including its fervent religious culture -- which he satirizes in his new book, There's No Business Like Soul Business.