Society & Culture

Monette died of complications from the AIDS virus on Friday, at age 49. His 1988 book "Borrowed Time: An Aids Memoir," was the first memoir to be published about AIDS, and won a National Book Award. In it, Monette told the story of his "beloved" friend and lover's two year struggle with AIDS. The book was called "a gallant, courageous love story." In 1992, he wrote a memoir about his own life before he came out of the closet at the age of 25, "Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story." (Rebroadcast)

Sexologist Leonore Tiefer has written a new book called "Sex Is Not a Natural Act: and Other Essays." She looks at our society's anxieties towards and ignorance about sex. She also questions what is "normal" sex. Tiefer received a Ph.D. in physiological psychology, and later specialized in clinical psychology to become a sex researcher, sex therapist and an Associate Professor at the Montefoire Medical Center in New York City. Tiefer has also been a sex columnist for the New York Daily News.

Golden in the author of the new memoir, "Saving Our Sons." She writes about bringing up her son in Washington D.C., where homicide is the leading cause of death for Black males between 18 and 24. In the preface, she says, "I stopped work on a novel in order to write this book. The unremitting press of young lives at risk, the numbing stubbornness of annual, real-life death tolls, rendered fiction suddenly unintriguing, vaguely obscene."

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Boys on the Side," a new movie about the friendship among outlaw women in the vein of "Thelma and Louise."

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Wedding," by Dorothy West, one of the last surviving members of the Harlem Renaissance.

Commentator Gerald Early reflects on the black middle class, which he says doesn't enjoy the same benefits of its white counterpart.

Johnson was a member of The Johnson Family, which sang gospel and country music for two decades. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was a fan; the group was invited to sing at his memorial service. Johnson went solo in the late-1950s, and was a regular on Don McNeill's "Breakfast Club" and Jack Paar's TV show. After making a dozen records, she left show business to raise a family and earn a degree in drama at Dartmouth. She has since returned to her singing career, with a cabaret act at The Oak Room. Her new album is called "A Family Affair."

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Slacker" director Richard Linklater's new movie, "Before Sunrise."

Chong is the author of "The Concubine's Children." It's a history of her family, beginning with her grandmother, May-Ying, a concubine brought to Canada by Chong's wealthy grandfather. May-Ying had two daughters in China, and Chong's mother in Canada -- three sisters who hadn't met until Chong persuaded her mother to take the trip to China when she was writing this book. "Publisher's Weekly" says "this superbly told saga of family loyalties and disaffections reads...like a novel."

It's been almost six years since the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death sentence against the author. Since then, Rushdie has lived in hiding, continuing to write and making a few semi-public appearances. His book, "Haroun and the Sea of Stories," published in 1990, was a fairy tale written for his son. His new book is collection of stories about the line that divides East and West, called "East, West."

Journalists Michelle Slatalla and Joshual Quittner both work for Newsday. They've collaborated on a new book, called "Masters of Deception." It's about two rival gangs of teenage computer hackers in New York City, Masters of Deception and the Legion of Doom. The gangs, broke into phone company computers, downloaded confidential credit histories, and broke into private and corporate computer files. The rivalry was friendly until a computer remark by one hacker set off a "gang war."

Journalist Leslie Savan writes about television advertising. Her new book, "The Sponsored Life," reveals "how commercial values infiltrate our beliefs and desires, how we become more and more sponsored."

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel "A Feather on the Breath of God," about a second-generation immigrant born to Chinese and German parents.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Higher Learning," the new film from director John Singleton. It's about identity and culture clashes on a college campus, and stars Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube and Omar Epps.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg says that the word is akin to the New York City borough -- little known and misunderstood by many. He has this commentary.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Paperboy," a new novel about from Pete Dexter. She says its sole flaw is the lack of complex women characters.

Redgrave appeared in over 50 films, including "Morgan!", "Blow Up", "Julia" and "Howards End". Her stage work has included Shakespeare, Chekhov, Noel Coward and Tennessee Williams. She comes from a celebrated theater family, and her daughters are both actresses. Redgrave is also well known for her political activism, including support for Nuclear Disarmament and Palestinian causes. Her memoirs have just been published by Random House.

Professor of English and Director of African and Afro-American Studies at Washington University, Gerald Early. He reflects on the meaning of Motown music to whites and blacks.

Terry discusses the recent murder of abortion doctors with Dr. Susan Wicklund, who provides abortion services; National Director of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue Reverend, Flip Benham; and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, Pat Mahoney.

Humorist and NPR commentator David Sedaris charms us with "Santaland Diaries." The piece comes from Sedaris' book "Barrel Fever," and first ran on NPR's Morning Edition a few days before Christmas 1992. Even though Sedaris has achieved national fame and movie contracts for his humor writing, he still cleans apartments during the day, because, he says, he can only write at night.