Executive Director of the Christian Coalition, Ralph Reed. The Christian Coalition is a national organization dedicated to mobilizing the religious right, for political and legislative objectives. The coalition was founded by evangelist Pat Robertson. It's "Contract with the American Family" includes calls for: school prayer; eliminating federal funding for abortions; limits on late-term abortions; restrictions on pornography on the Internet, and eliminating federal funding for the NEA and public broadcasting.
Actor/Director Ron Howard. As a child actor he appeared in "The Music Man" and the long running television series "The Andy Griffith Show." He also starred in the TV series "Happy Days" and was known for his roles in "American Graffiti." Howard later made a name for himself as a director of several movies including "Splash," "Cocoon," "Parenthood," and "Backdraft." His new film "Apollo 13" which stars Tom Hanks is now in theaters. Terry recently talked with Howard about "Apollo 13,".
Poet and writer Michael Ryan. His first book of poems won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award and was nominated for a National Book Award in 1974. Ryan's book Good Hunger won the Lenore Marshall/Nation Award for the most outstanding book of poems published in 1989. His new book Secret Life (Pantheon) is his autobiography in which he shares his experiences of childhood molestation and sexual addiction. (Contains brief excerpt of 12/12/1989 interview).
Writer May Sarton. She died of breast cancer on Sunday, July 16, 1995. For many readers, Sarton was a heroic figure for her decision to expose her lesbianism in the early 60s, long before society was tolerant of the gay life, and also for her decision to lead a life of solitude. The author of over 35 novels, books of poetry and essays, Sarton was probably best known for her journals, Recovering, and At Seventy. (REBROADCAST FROM 7/7/89).
Stephen Engelberg of the New York Times. He is a former Eastern Europe correspondent and is presently an investigative reporter in the Washington bureau. Engelberg will reconstruct the story of the turning point in the Bosnian war: how the U.N. and Nato decided to bomb Serb headquarters last May, and then stop after the Serbs took peace keepers hostage.
Professor Raphael Ezekiel. A former psychology professor at the University of Michigan, Ezekiel has spent the last ten years investigating the leaders and members of the Klans and Neo-Nazi groups. His new book The Racist Mind: Portraits of American Neo-Nazis and Klansmen (Viking) looks into these groups and provides a foundation for understanding the personal and social roots of white racism. Ezekiel is presently based at the Harvard School of Public Health where he is studying youth violence prevention.
Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg on how the word "French" has been associated with sexual activities and references... such as "French kiss", "pardon my French" and an 18th Century term for condoms: "French Letters.
Dr. Andrew Weil. He is one of the world's leading authorities on health, healing and medicine. His latest book Spontaneous Healing (Knopf) explores how to discover and enhance our body's natural ability to maintain and heal itself. Dr. Weil is currently Associate Director of the Division of Social Perspectives in Medicine. He also has a private practice, based at the Center for Integrative Medicine at Tucson, where he treats patients from around the world.
Chairman of the Board of the Carnegie Corporation and former Chairman of PBS Newton Minow. As President Kennedy's chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Minow astonished the public in 1961 when he referred to television broadcasting as a "vast wasteland". His new book, Abandoned in the Wasteland, (Hill and Wang), which he co-wrote with Craig L. May, examines the nation's television system (both past and present) and looks into the negative effects it poses on our children.
Award-winning Israeli journalist Danny Rubinstein. He has a new book called The Mystery of Arafat (Steerforth Press) which looks into the image of the P-L-O leader, Yasser Arafat. Rubinstein is a columnist for the Hebrew daily Ha'aretz and has been writing on Palestinian issues since 1967. He is also the author of the book The People of Nowhere. Rubinstein presently lives in Jerusalem where he teaches in the department of Middle East History at Ben-Gurion University.
World Music Critic Milo Miles offers a tribute to the persistence and range of soul singer Solomon Burke. Miles reviews Burke's new CD "Live at the House of Blues."
Writer Tim McLaurin. He has a new novel called Cured by Fire (Putnam). McLaurin is also the author of two other novels The Acorn Plan, and Woodrow's Trumpet. He has been a Marine, a Peace Corps volunteer, and a snake handler. He currently teaches writing at North Carolina State University.
Correspondent for the New York Times, Roger Cohen. He will talk with Terry about the five weeks he recently spent in Sarajevo where he covered the war.
Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Last House: Reflections, Dreams, and Observations, 1943 - 1991, (Pantheon) the third in a trilogy of books of unpublished essays, letters and journals by M.F.K. Fisher, published after her death.
Former New York Daily News reporter and author Lorenzo Carcaterra. His first book, A Safe Place: The True Story of a Father, a Son, a Murder, was about growing up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, the son of a violent, abusive man who none-the-less loved his son. Carcaterra learned as a teenager that his father had murdered his first wife. Carcaterra's newest book Sleepers, (Ballantine Books) is also about growing up in Hell's Kitchen and the bond of friendship between him and three friends.
