We remember journalist Elizabeth Neuffer of The Boston Globe. She died last week in Iraq from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. She was reporting on the country's efforts to rid itself of the influence of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. Neuffer was the Globe's Foreign Affairs/U.N. Correspondent. She reported on the fall of the Soviet Union, as well as ethnic strife in Bosnia, Kosovo and Rwanda. She has also reported on the war on terrorism from Afghanistan.
Chayes is a former NPR reporter, is now field director of Afghans for Civil Society. It's a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded to promote a democratic alternative and to assist in the development of a civil society. ACS involves the community in reconstruction efforts, from physical reconstruction of a bombed-out village, to organizing a women's income generating project, to launching an independent radio station. The new independent documentary Life After War chronicles the group's efforts. While at NPR, Chayes reported from Paris, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new DVD which features five Cole Porter musicals made between 1940 and 1957. Included are: Broadway Melody of 1940, Kiss Me Kate, High Society, Silk Stockings and Les Girls.
TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new nature documentary miniseries by Sir David Attenborough. Life of Mammals is in ten parts and begins tonight on the Discovery Channel.
Writer Sarah Waters is the author of three novels which she calls "lesbo-Victorian romps." The lesbian-themed books are: Tipping the Velvet (about "a sort of Moll Flanders in drag"); Affinity (a historical book set in a Victorian women's prison); and Fingersmith (a gothic melodrama). Fingersmith was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Tipping the Velvet was made into a BBC miniseries and it will be shown on BBC America, beginning Friday, May 23.
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new releases from two new bands: Up The Bracket by the British band The Libertines and Love and Distortion by the San Francisco band The Stratford 4.
Actor John Malkovich is making his directorial debut with the new film The Dancer Upstairs. Malkovich has been nominated twice for an Academy Award for his work in the films In the Line of Fire and Places in the Heart. His other films include Heart of Darkness, Being John Malkovich, Shadow of the Vampire, Woody Allen's Shadows and Fog and Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. Malkovich is also a founding member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Author of The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group (Wiley). The Carlyle Group is one of the most powerful and well-connected private equity firms in the world. Its investments — most notably — in timely defense and aerospace industries has made it highly profitable. The group's roster includes or has included former President George Bush, Sr., (advisor), former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci (former chairman), Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal (investor) and former Secretary of State, James Baker III (managing director and senior counselor).
Christian missionaries — mainline and evangelical — want to go to Iraq to provide humanitarian aid. But their presence would be troubling for many Muslims who are suspicious that aid is just a cover for another motive — converting Muslims to Christianity. We talk with two individuals with opposing views on the subject: Albert Mohler is a minister and president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He's considered a leader among American evangelicals. Southern Baptists are pledging to go into Iraq to provide humanitarian aid.
We remember former Episcopal Bishop of New York, Paul Moore. He died Thursday at the age of 83. Moore was known for his activism and concern for human rights. He was part of the civil rights movement and protested against the Vietnam War. As Bishop, he brought the church into dialogue with the poor and oppressed in New York. And he transformed the Cathedral of St. John the Divine into a thriving place for the community. In 1997 he published his memoir, Presences: A Bishop's Life in the City. This interview first aired December 15, 1997.
Rostrup is the international president of the medical relief organization Doctors Without Borders. He was the organization's medical coordinator in Baghdad. Rostrup just returned from five weeks in Baghdad. He was there before and during the war.
He's part of the free-jazz movement in New York City (along with saxophonist David S. Ware, bassist William Parker and violinist Mat Maneri). One of his influences has been avante-garde pianist Cecil Taylor. Shipp's style has been described as "a distinctive combination of Mr. Taylor's percussive attack and Chopin's languid rubatos." He's been recording since the early 1990s, and has over 20 albums to his credit as leader and sideman. Since 1999, Shipp has been artistic director the Thirsty Ear Records' Blue Series.
Founder and owner of the Chicago-based jazz and blues label Delmark, Bob Koester. The label celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Artists Junior Wells, Little Walter, Big Joe Williams, Coleman Hawkings, Muhal Richard Abrams and Sun Ra & The Arkestra have all recorded on the label. Delmark has issued a 50th-anniversary collection.
He's a longtime correspondent on health and science policy for The New York Times. In his new book, Protecting America's Health: the FDA, Business, and One Hundred Years of Regulation, he chronicles the history of the Food and Drug Administration from its start during the administration of Teddy Roosevelt. Hilts also broke the now-famous story of the Brown and Williamson tobacco industry papers, and is the author of Smoke Screen: The Truth Behind the Tobacco Industry Cover-Up.
Ravitch is the author of the new book, The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn. In her book she chronicles the efforts of school boards and bias and sensitivity committees to edit and shape the textbooks that end up in classrooms. Some examples of this include: omitting the mention of Jews in an Isaac Bashevis Singer story about prewar Poland, changing the expression "My God!" to "You don't mean it," and recommending that children not be shown as disobedient or in conflict with adults.
