Newspaper columnist and the etiquette expert, Judith Martin, otherwise known as Miss Manners. Her new book is "Miss Manners' Basic Training: Communication" (Crown News) about the social issues of phone answering machines, e-mail, and cyberspace.
Rock historian Ed Ward tells us about surf music. The genre's had a resurgence, in part because of it's use in Quentin Tarantino's film "Pulp Fiction."
Fortune Magazine's senior editor Joe Nocera and Ron Chernow. They can both be seen in the new Frontline documentary "Betting on the Market." The documentary is based in part on Nocera's 1994 book, "A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class." It traces America's obsession with Wall Street, and looks at the consequences. Nocera serves as correspondent in the film. Chernow is the author of "The House of Morgan," which received a National Book Award in 1990.
British writer Jonathan Raban. His new book "Bad Land: An American Romance" is based on memoirs, diaries, photographs and letters of immigrants who in the early 1900s traveled to Montana to homestead. Raban himself is something of an immigrant; he settled in Seattle in 1990.
Pacific Northwest Bureau Chief for the New York Times Timothy Egan. His two-part series on urban sprawl in the western United States recently appeared in the Times. Egan writes that cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, and Salt Lake are growing rapidly, with growth going mostly unchecked. In Phoenix, he writes that land is being consumed at the rate of "an acre an hour." But in Portland, Oregon city officials over 20 years ago set up guidelines to control rampant growth.
Branagh stars in the new film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." There's a companion book to the new film "Hamlet" which includes the screenplay, introduction, and film diary. Branagh's other films include adaptations of Shakespeare's "Henry the Fifth," with himself in the title role, Othello, playing Iago, "Dead Again," a psychological thriller starring Branagh and Emma Thompson, and "Much Ado About Nothing," also starring himself.
Lane died yesterday at the age of 84. His wife says he suffered a stroke. He's written the scores for several Broadway shows, including "Finian's Rainbow" and "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever." Lane collaborated with Michael Feinstein on the album, "Michael Feinstein Sings the Burton Lane Songbook", which features many of Lane's classic songs, such as "Old Devil Moon" and "How About You." This interview originally aired 11/5/90.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reporter recently traveled across the Himalayan Mountains with a group of Buddhist monks and nuns who were fleeing from persecution by the Communist Chinese government in Tibet. Some of them had been imprisoned and tortured by the Chinese. If caught, they would be sent back to prison and tortured. During their 14-day trek they experienced frost-bite, snow blindness, oxygen-thin air, pain, and hunger.
A segment from the NPR show "This American Life". It's about a family broken apart by the son's homosexuality. The program, titled "Sissies" originally aired on T.A.L. 12/13/96. "This American Life" is produced at WBEZ in Chicago.
An in-studio concert and interview with singer/songwriter, guitarist Richard Thompson. He first became known for his work with "Fairport Convention." He's since gone solo and is known for his dark songs which blend elements of British folk ballads and the blues.
Rock Critic Ken Tucker reviews one of his favorite albums of the year, "Odelay" by Beck. Tucker says it took him repeated listens to truly appreciate the artist's craft.
Theologian and author Rev. Peter J. Gomes. He has written the new book "The Good Book: Reading The Bible with Mind and Heart." Gomes is black and gay, and brings a unique and sometimes controversial interpretation to the Bible. He has been a minister at Harvard University's Memorial Church since 1974. Time Magazine called him "one of the seven best preachers in America."
Forman talks about his life, filmmaking career and his latest project, directing "The People vs. Larry Flynt." Among his film credits: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next," "Hair," and "Ragtime." Forman won an Academy Award for Best Director for the film "Amadeus." Forman was born in Caslav, Czechoslovakia and became an American citizen in 1975. He lives in New York.
Astronomer and Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sagan died today at the age of 62. A spokesman for the Cancer Research Center says Sagan died from pneumonia after suffering from bone marrow disease for two years.
