Society & Culture

Janice Neilson, Executive Director of World Association for Children and parents (WACAP), a non-profit organization for parents who are interested in adopting children at risk worldwide. She has worked with Chinese children's institutions since 1991. Neilson says her observations are "at variance" with the conclusions of the Human Rights Watch report. Neilson urges that China not be judged by our standards but by the "standards of the developing world." She says that Chinese authorities are trying to improve the situation. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Novelist/screenwriter Hanif Kureishi. Kureishi has been termed by the British press a "literary terrorist" for his works which encompass racist and sexual themes. He wrote the screenplays for "My Beautiful Laundrette," and "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid." Both were directed by Stephen Frears. His new novel is "The Black Album," (Scribner). Kureishi was born and brought up in south London; his father is Pakistani, his mother English.

First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton. Mrs. Clinton, a longtime children's advocate, talks about her new book, "It Takes a Village; And Other Lessons Children Teach us." [Simon & Shuster]. And she addresses the Whitewater and White House travel office issues, and the challenges of being the First Lady.

Writer Jon Krakauer. Jon Krakauer is a contributing editor for Outside magazine, and the author of "Into the Wild" [Villard Books]. "Into the Wild" tells the story of a young man's rash and tragic journey into the Alaskan wilderness. Christopher Johnson McCandless gave away all his money to charity, abandoned his car and possessions, hiked into the woods and within four months had starved to death.

On April 10, 1995 Kenneth S. Stern, the American Jewish Committee's advisor on hate groups warned authorities that some kind of "incident" is likely to occur on April 19, 1995. The second anniversary of the Waco fire. He was proved right. A bomb destroyed the Federal building in Oklahoma City. The bombing raised the suspicion that the bombing suspect, Timothy McVeigh might have ties to a militia. Stern's has written, "A Force Upon The Plain: The American Militia Movement and the Politics of Hate" which has been published by Simon and Schuster.

Laura Kaplan is the author of the new book, "The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service," (Pantheon Books). In 1969 this underground abortion service began operation in Chicago, four years before Roe v. Wade. The members of "Jane" were lay-persons who learned how to perform abortions themselves. Laura Kaplan was a member of Jane. She was also a founding member of a Chicago-based women's health-care center. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Michael Eric Dyson is considered one of our most important black intellectuals. He's also an ordained Baptist minister who once struggled as an 18-year old father in Detroit. His work has appeared in "The New York Times," "Rolling Stone," "Vibe" and other publications. His new book is "Between God and Gangsta Rap" (Oxford University Press) about contemporary Black culture. Dyson teaches at the University of North Carolina where he is a Professor of Communications Studies.

Journalist and professor Todd Gitlin. His new book is a liberal's criticism of the "culture wars" that have destroyed the notion of common good in our country. It's called "The Twilight of Common Dreams: Why America is Wracked by Culture Wars," (Metropolitan Books). Gitlin is also the author of "The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage." He teaches culture and communications , journalism, and sociology at New York University.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the power of words.

Writer Rebecca Walker. She's a contributing editor to Ms. Magazine, and is cofounder of Third Wave, a national, multicultural organization devoted to encouraging young women's activism. She has edited a new book of writings about feminism today, To Be Real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism. (Anchor Books).

Linguist Geoff Nunberg has some gift suggestions for the language lovers on your gift list.

Novelist and poet Robert Morgan. He's written nine volumes of poetry and four novels. His latest novel is The Truest Pleasure (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill). Morgan's work centers on the place where he grew up, The Blue Ridge Mountains. Morgan also teaches English at Cornell University.

Tammy Schnitzer lives in Billings, Montana. She grew up there, as a Lutheran and married Brian Schnitzer, a Jew, and then converted to Judaism. They are the subject of a new PBS documentary "Not In Our Town," (December 17th, 10:30 p.m. EST) about how the community in 1993 rallied behind Schnitzer and her family when they were targets of hate crimes. The local newspaper printed full page menorahs and they were displayed in nearly 10,000 homes and businesses.

Director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University, Manning Marable. His new book is Beyond Black & White, (Verso). In the book he argues that race is "essentially a social construction, not a permanent fact of biology or genetics." He calls for a politics that goes beyond "racial-identity" where the goal is "a black face in a high place."

Felice Picano talks about losing 74 friends to AIDS. He recently came across a list with 75 people who attended his 40th birthday party in 1984. All but one....who is unaccounted for have died from AIDS.

Broadway singer John Raitt. He's the father of singer Bonnie Raitt. The two have collaborated on a new album of show tunes, "The Broadway Legend," (Angel). Raitt made his Broadway debut as Billy Bigelow in the original production of "Carousel." He also was in the original Broadway cast and film of "The Pajama Game." He's performed in many other musicals including "Oklahoma," and "South Pacific."

Maureen Corrigan reviews Women on Ice: Feminist Essays on the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan Spectacle (published by Routledge).

American folk singer Rosalie Sorrels may not be wildly famous but since the 1960s she's developed a near cult like following. Her admirers describe Sorrels as someone who has lived the life she now sings about. In fact, she was immortalized in a song by Nanci Griffith describing Sorrels as "Salt of the earth.....with a voice like wine." .Her newest CD is "Borderline Heart" by Green Linnet Records Inc. The book "Way Out in Idaho" is a collection of her poems, songs and recipes.

An inside account of the world of high-fashion. Nina Blanchard is founder of Nina Blanchard Agency which is considered one of nation’s most prestigious modeling agencies. Blanchard herself discovered supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. She’s been called The Beauty Broker. She has written a novel based on the fashion world The Look, (Dutton 1995) Blanchard talks about what it takes to be a model, the pressures they’re under and why she herself finally had enough.

Journalist George Lardner, Jr. is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. In 1993 he had to investigate the murder of his own daughter, who was stalked and killed by an ex-boyfriend. Lardner won a Pulitzer Prize for his story which showed how the system had failed to protect his daughter, Kristin. His new book is The Stalking of Kristin: A Father Investigates the Murder of his Daughter. (Atlantic Monthly Press). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)