Society & Culture

Award-winning book reviewer Jonathan Yardley has recently published a memoir called Our Kind of People, about his family, his parents' marriage, and WASP culture. He says that, at the age of 47, he was finally able to see his mother and father as people -- not just his parents. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his book, as well as his work as a critic.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone says that recent advertisements, TV shows, and theater betray a cultural shift toward a new traditionalism that debases feminism and expects women to return to conventionally feminine roles.

The prolific and award-winning author is uncomfortable with fame, and has kept a low public profile. Now he opens up in a new collection of autobiographical essays. Updike uses his own body as a jumping-off point for his ruminations.

Rather than simply include more women artists into the canon, Nochlin believes art critics and historians should rethink the way artistic greatness has been constructed in such a way that has prevented women from achieving a particular model of success. Her new book about this topic is called Women, Art, and Power.

Language Commentator GEOFFREY NUNBERG reviews a new video version of Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style," featuring CBS newsman CHARLES OSGOOD.

Robert MacNeil hosts the Newshour program with Jim Lehrer. His latest book is about how his childhood experiences led him to a career in the news, and the importance of language and diction in his professional life.

Film critic David Bianculli says the drama China Beach and a special episode of Nightline deal with the lives of Vietnam veterans in respectful and powerful ways; both are worth watching.

Le Guin has a new collection of essays called "Dancing at the Edge of the World," about her life as a writer of genre fiction, her perspective as a woman sci-fi author who is also a mother, and the various tropes she explore in her classic works, like 1969's gender-themed "Left Hand of Darkness."

Critic Stuart Klawans reviews the new Mike Leigh film, about working class people and their gentrifying London neighborhood. It's the director's first movie since the 1970s; Klawans says it was worth the wait.

The new novelist's book, The Casual Brutality, deals with a man from Trinidad who moves to Canada -- a narrative inspired by Bissoondath's own life. The writer is descended from Indian immigrants, and is the nephew of fellow author V.S. Naipaul.

TV critic David Bianculli calls the new sitcom, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Richard Lewis, has an intriguing premise and promising cast, but it follows a familiar, cookie-cutter formula, and its writing needs work.

Naipaul was born to Indian Hindu parents in Trinidad. His international perspective has informed both his fiction and nonfiction, which are often set in post-colonial countries. His newest book, A Turn in the South, explores the culture of the United States' Southern states.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg reviews a new book by James Crawford which examines the history of bilingual education. Despite the contemporary controversy surrounding the issue, Nunberg and Crawford point out that such curricula was once considered a valuable way of helping immigrant children learn English and assimilate into American culture -- a view once shared by conservatives in the 1970s.

Book critic John Leonard says that leading feminist author Margaret Atwood can be alternately lyrical and severe. Her latest novel, Cat's Eye, is a dark look at a painter's fraught friendships with other women.

Feminist writer Susan Brownmiller wrote a fictionalized account of the Sternberg-Nussbaum child abuse and murder case, case called Waverly Place. She joins Fresh Air to discuss why she avoided writing a true crime book, as well as the sociology of domestic abuse.

Martin Bauml Duberman was personally selected by Robeson's son to write about the legendary African American actor and activist. Duberman says he brought to bear own experiences in the theater and as a gay man while working on the book. He joins Fresh Air to discuss his research, as well Robeson's political activity and the effect government surveillance had on his mental health.

William Whyte says that dense, urban areas foster social interaction and a sense of belonging. His bases his claim on research dating back to the 1960s. His new book, which outlines his findings, is called Cities.

Al Young was a singer and guitar player before he became writer. His books incorporate his jazz and film influences, as well as his experiences growing up outside white, mainstream culture. His new book, about a black actress, is called Seduction by Light.

That student was Fresh Air's critic-at-large Laurie Stone. Stone studied with the feminist writer at Barnard. She was excited by Millet's enthusiasm for art and literature, and was emboldened by Millett's sincere belief in Stone's own potential.

Garrison Keillor retired from the public radio show A Prairie Home Companion in 1987. He says he was overwhelmed by the celebrity, and wanted to focus on writing fiction. Keillor moved with his wife from his native St. Paul to New York City. His recent novel is called Leaving Home; a forthcoming collection of short stories is titled We Are Still Married.