Society & Culture

Actor Raul Julia. His films include "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Moon Over Parador," "Tango Bar" and the recent "Tequila Sunrise." His latest film, "Romero," is based on the life, and assassination, of the Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Writer Oscar Hijuelos. His new novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, is the story of Cuban immigrant brothers who work by day at grimy, exhausting jobs in a meat-packing house, but by night, in silk suits and lace ties, play the mambo, the vibrant, footloose music of Cuba. Surrounded by musicians wearing vests decorated with sequined palm trees, the Castillo brothers try to secure their own version of the American Dream. Their lives climax when they appear on the "I Love Lucy Show,".

Ronald Takaki. He's the grandson of Japanese immigrants and a professor of Ethnic Studies at Berkeley. His book, Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans, tells the diverse stories of Asian immigrants who have come to the United States during the past century and a half. Takaki relates the personal testimonies of new immigrants and their American-born children.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone, just back from the "Just for Laughs Festival," a stand up comedy festival in Montreal, assesses the current state of standup.

Writer Pico Iyer. His book Video Night in Kathmandu explores the subtle and often humorous Westernization of the Far East. Iyer, who reported for Time Magazine for four years, found the West's influence in mohawk haircuts in Bali, six Filipino girls doing a perfect rendition of a Madonna hit, Japan's baseball mania and a Chinese cafeteria that served dishes like "Yes, Sir, Cheese My Baby," and "Ike and Tuna Tuner." Video Night in Kathmandu has just been published in paperback. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Rock historian Ed Ward looks back at the Woodstock Festival and tries to separate the facts of the 3-day event from the warp of nostalgia twenty years later.

Writer Phillip Hoose. In his new book, Necessities: Racial Barriers in American Sports, Hoose examines the role of blacks in sport, from why there has never been a black Olympic swimmer to the continued use of racial information by the scouting agencies that survey high school basketball players. Hoose began the book after the furor sparked by baseball executive Al Campanis' remark on national TV that blacks lacked `the necessities' to manage a major league baseball or football team. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Screenwriter and producer Lowell Ganz. He co-wrote the script to "Parenthood," the new comedy starring Steve Martin. He also co-wrote the script for "Splash," which introduced Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah. Both films were directed by friend and collaborator Ron Howard. Ganz also was the supervising producer of the popular TV series "Happy Days," starring Henry Winkler as The Fonz.

Writer and critic Patricia McLaughlin looks at the wave of "Batmania" now at full force throughout the country.

The master of funk, George Clinton. He began his musical career as a teenager when he formed The Parliament. But in the early 70s, Clinton put together a second group, "Funkadelic," that became enormously influential on the pop music scene. Their 1970 album, "Osmium," set the tone for Clinton's wickedly eclectic style; songs ranged from metaphysical gospel to country and acid rock. But their big hit came with the album "Mothership Connection." In songs like "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker," "Get Up on the Downstroke" and "Think!

Writer and performer Bobbie Louise Hawkins. In addition to her poetry and prose, Hawkins is an artist, playwright and actress. Her books include One Small Saga, Back to Texas, Frenchy and Cuban Pete, Almost Everything. Her new book, My Own Alphabet, is a collection of stories, essays and memoirs. Hawkins also tours with Terry Garthwaite and Rosalie Sorrels in a performance that combines jazz, story-telling and folk music.

Myra Lewis. In 1958, when she was only 13 years old, Myra married rock star Jerry Lee Lewis, who was also her second cousin. The public controversy over that marriage ruined Lewis' career for over a decade. In 1982, Myra Lewis wrote a memoir of her life with Jerry Lee Lewis, titled Great Balls Of Fire. That book is the basis of the new movie starring Jerry Lee Lewis and Winona Ryder.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new albums from Los Angeles groups. The first is the debut album from Mary's Danish, a band that Ken says combines the roughness of punk with a sense of melody and humor. The other is the latest solo album from Don Henley, a former member of the Eagles.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Parenthood," a comedy starring Steve Martin and Rick Moranis, and directed by Ron Howard. Howard's previous films include two hits and a flop: "Splash," "Cocoon" and ""Willow."

Writer Joe Kane. In 1985, Kane, who had been a freelance writer living in San Francisco, was asked to follow the first attempt to navigate the entire Amazon River, starting in the Andes of Peru and ending in the Atlantic Ocean. Kane was going to follow the group at intervals, publicizing their progress for the American and European press.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan talks about the travails of moving. Maureen is a recent victim, having moved from Philadelphia to Washington.

Author Jose Torres. His new book, Fire and Fear, charts the personal turmoil and the athletic rise of heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. Torres comes to the Tyson story well qualified: he's the former world light heavyweight boxing champion (his lifetime record was 52-3-1), and he trained with the same man who trained Mike Tyson. Since retiring, Torres has served as the New York state boxing commissioner and written a biography of Mohammad Ali titled Sting Like A Bee.

Author and satirist Robert Kaplow. Kaplow is the leader of the satirical group, "The Punsters," which has appeared on "Morning Edition," "All Things Considered," and more recently here on Fresh Air. Kaplow himself portrays Moe Moscowitz, the hyper-kinetic self-promoter and pitchman. Kaplow also writes novels for young adults. His latest novel is titled Alessandra in Love.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new reggae albums, "One Bright Day," by Ziggy Marley (son of the late Bob Marley) and "Cumbolo" by the Jamaican group Culture.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan looks back at Ex-Wife a 1929 novel by Ursula Parrott that has recently been re-printed. Corrigan finds many of the issues of contemporary feminism wrapped up in this story of a flapper who tries an "open" marriage.