Society & Culture

Doctor Al Mooney, a specialist in Addictive Medicine and his mother Dot Mooney. Doctor Mooney is the author of The Recovery Book, a guide to drug and alcohol recovery, and runs the Willingway Hospital, a drug and alcohol rehabiltation center in Statesboro Georgia. Doctor Mooney knows about addiction first hand. His late father, who was also a doctor, became addicted to drugs and alcohol -- and so did his mother. When the parents kicked their habits, they turned their house into a rehabilitation center for other addicts.

Alger Hiss & his son Tony Hiss. This is the infamous Alger Hiss who was convicted and jailed in 1950 for perjury after denying, under oath, that he had been a Soviet spy. This past October, with the opening of Soviet archives, there was found to be no evidence that Hiss had ever been an agent of the Kremlin. Hiss is 88 years old now, and has maintained his innocence all along. His son, Tony Hiss is a staff writer at "The New Yorker," and he wrote about his father's ordeal and exoneration in the November 16 issue of the magazine.

Counselor Alvin Cater founded the Al Carter Foundation at Cabrini Green, a housing project in Chicago of 6000 people. The foundation is a hands-on intervention program that reaches youth by going into the streets, and makes referrals to the 13 human service agencies within Cabini Green. He tells Terry about the recent truce brokered among gangs at the project, and the effect recent gun violence has had on the community.

Wainwright is best known for his 1973 hit "Dead Skunk ." Considered by many to be a satirical and caustic folksinger, his latest album, History, is a highly personal album. He sings frankly about marriage, parenthood, and child abuse.

Gardenia passed away today. We re-broadcast excerpts from our interview with him three years ago.

Kramer is considered the "voice of articulate rage," railing against the government for its indifference to AIDS. His plays include, "The Normal Heart," and the new "The Destiny of Me."Kramer founded the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) and the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC). Terry will talk with him about being a writer, an activist, and a person with HIV.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews "X," the opera by composer Anthony Davis, about the life and times of Malcom X. It's just came out on CD. The opera is Wagnerian in scale and style, but it also has allusions to the music of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and John Coltrane, and others.

Early is director of Afro-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. He'll talk with Terry about why he used to like Malcolm X, and why he no longer does. His article. "Their Malcolm, My Problem," appears in December's issue of Harper's Magazine.

Composer Anthony Davis's opera "X" based on the life of Malcolm X, and has just come out on CD. It premiered in 1986. Terry talks with David about what Malcolm X meant to him and why he decided to compose an opera on his life. Davis has received international recognition for his compositions as well as his performances as a solo pianist and the leader of the ensemble Episteme.

Dove is a Pulitzer Prize winning poet; her collections include, ''Grace Notes," "Thomas and Buela," and "Museum," among others. Her first novel, "Through the Ivory Gate," is about a woman who returns to her hometown, only to unleash a flood of memories.

Preston is quickly emerging as a voice for gay writing; his work is being archived in many universities for new gay and lesbian studies departments. He has edited many anthologies including "Hometowns" and "Safe Sex." He is a former editor of "The Advocate," and occasionally writes for "Harper's" and "Interview." Preston also writes and defends gay pornography. He recently finished editing "A member of the Family: Gay Men Write About Their Families."

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews Spike Lee's new movie, starring Denzel Washington. Schiff praises the film for how it gives each phase in X's life equal weight.

Caine has made over 70 films, from Alfie to Sleuth to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to Hannah and Her Sisters. He has a new autobiography called "What's It All About?," and will be appearing in the upcoming Muppet's Christmas movie.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new film version of Bram Stoker's novel. Schiff says the director's vision of the story dominates over the author's. The movie, he claims, is lacking in almost every respect -- except for a unique insight on love.

Kalin wrote, directed and co-produced the new movie,"Swoon." It explores the lives of "thrill killers" Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. They were Jewish and homosexual; the film looks at how anti-semitism and homophobia figured into their 1920s trial. "Swoon" is Kalin's first feature film. He worked for three years as a producer for AIDSFILMS and is a founding member of the AIDS activist collective Gran Fury.

When Ursula Seinige started her surgical residency, not much about breast cancer was known. In the early 80s, more treatments were developed, like the modified radical mastectomy. Two and a half years ago, Seinige was diagnosed with breast cancer. She joins Fresh Air to discuss her own treatment, as well as her role in a support group she founded for survivors of the disease.

Reiser was a stand-up comedian for years and was in the sit-com "My Two Dads." He's the creator and co-star of a new show, "Mad About You," a Seinfeldesque comedy on NBC, about a married couple. Helen Hunt plays Reiser's wife.

Film critic John Powers reviews the new movie about interracial friendships and relationships. He says the film's message is remarkably different from Spike Lee's recent "Jungle Fever," which explores similar themes.

Maupin served in Vietnam and worked for Jesse Helms in his pre-Senate days. When he moved to San Fransisco, he came out of the closet. He was a journalist for several years before writing his "Tales of the City" series, which blended gay and straight storylines. His latest novel, "Maybe the Moon," expounds on Hollywood's hypocrisy, as seen through the eyes of a little person actress. His partner Terry Anderson joins him for the interview.

Young has been accused of not truly reflecting the black experience in his writing because he is not militant. Instead. Young employs humor as means of protest. He often bases his characters on parodies of white stereotypes of black people. He is most noted for his poetry and novels, but has also written musical memoirs and screenplays. His new book is "Heaven: Collected Poems 1956-1990."