Society & Culture

Japanese American actor Mako appears in two new films out now: Tucker and The Wash. He moved to the United States shortly after World War II, and later served in Korea. He considered dodging the draft, but worried ihs actions might affect his parents' immigration status in America.

Historian Joan Jacobs Brumberg links the eating disorder to Victorian standards of femininity and contemporary ideas of health and beauty. Her findings suggest that increased social mobility put women and girls at greater risk for the disease.

Andrew Holleran has writes about the lives of gay men. Now that several years have passed since the height of the AIDS epidemic, he's observed a kind of resignation to mortality and changing sexuality within his community.. Holleran's new collection of essays is called Ground Zero.

Critic David Bianculli says the cable network's new made-for-TV movie is great, thanks to its excellent performances, photography, and ghastly concept. But the lackluster script keeps Gotham from being a classic.

Guest commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews Writing Red, an anthology of women's writing from the 1930s which brings to light the often overlooked experience of working class women during that decade.

Kay Mills, herself a journalist, found several magazine articles about the progress of women in the news business -- but no book-length study. She has since filled that gap with her book A Place in the News.

Irwin Winkler is a film producer whose credits include the Rocky movies, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Right Stuff, and Round Midnight. His newest project, Betrayed, is directed by Costa-Gavras.

Samuel Delany's new memoir is called The Motion of Light in Water. Delany sees himself as part of newer, left-of-center generation of science fiction writers. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his position in the margins as a genre writer and a black gay man, his dyslexia, and his perspective on the AIDS epidemic.

Bill Harley writes music for children. His songs are inspired both by different folk traditions and his experiences as a father. He performs some of his music for Fresh Air guest host Liane Hansen.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone reviews this year's batch of theater festivals in western Massachusetts. She was especially taken by a production of Bertolt Brecht's Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, which recasts Nazis as Chicago gangsters.

Bobbie Ann Mason's new, Spence and Lila, is about a couple who copes with the wife's breast cancer. Her previous novel, In Country, is being made into a film. She joins Fresh Air to talk about her approach to writing and the clowder of farm cats she raised.

Music critic Nelson George considers the changing nature of black music. In the past, Nelson says, African American artists, record store owners, and concert promoters were more community oriented. He thinks the focus now is on corporate-backed, commercial success.

Part II of the Fresh Air interview with Penelope Spheeris. Terry Gross asks the filmmaker about growing up in a carnival, the prophetic power of rock music, and making movies about youth culture. Spheeris's new documentary is The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg wonders about the demand for authentic regional and national accents in motion pictures -- even when its not essential to the plot.

The African American writer is known for his experimental style, but in Such Was the Season, Major uses a straightforward narrative to tell the story about an older black woman in Atlanta and her doctor nephew. Guest critic Stuart Klawans says any bookstore that doesn't carry it needs to "wise up."

Writer Fouad Ajami joins Fresh Air to talk about Beirut, and how it attracted Lebanese who lived in the countryside. The civil war in Lebanon, Ajami says, has led to a collapse of the country's cultural and religious pluralism, which is born out in several internecine conflicts.

TV critic David Bianculli wasn't impressed by the often intrusive coverage of last week's DNC. But watching clips of past conventions on C-SPAN, he was thrilled to see footage of politicians in their prime.

The success of Platoon in theaters has led to the development of several television shows about the Vietnam War. Some viewers might be fatigued by their sheer number; for them, TV critic David Bianculli recommends HBO's Vietnam War Stories.

Critic Ken Tucker's disappointment in a VHS guide to blackjack dashed his dreams of becoming a professional gambler. At least he can recommend some solid home video releases to watch this summer.

The groundbreaking psychoanalyst didn't trust future biographers, even going so far as to destroy some of his personal papers. Nonetheless, historian Peter Gay has found enough material to write his second book on Freud. He joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to talk about Freud's personal life, theories, and views on female sexuality,