This week "Seinfeld" wraps up its nine-year run with it's final episode. We feature a new interview and several archive interviews:Actress Julia Louis Dreyfus. She plays Elaine in "Seinfeld." Elaine is otherwise known as the "Queen of Confrontation" for her ability to take on everyone from cab drivers to soap chefs. Before starring in "Seinfeld" Dreyfus was also a cast member of "Saturday Night Live."
Journalist Bruce Feiler. His new book is a history of country music: "Dreaming out Loud: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes, and the Changing Face of Nashville (Avon Books). Feiler writes regularly about American music for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other publications. He's also a frequent contributor to "All Things Considered."
Novelist Scott Spencer. His new book "The Rich Man's Table" (Knopf) is the story of a boy who discovers he is the illegitimate son of a legendary folk singer, a character said to be based on Bob Dylan. Spencer's previous novels include "Men in Black," and "Endless Love."
TV critic David Bianculli reviews the season finale of "Homicide: Life on the Street." It's the last episode for regular Andre Braugher who plays Detective Pemberton.
Rock Critic Ken Tucker reviews Bonnie Raitt's latest album "Fundamental." Raitt has new record producers working with her. Instead of Don Was, Raitt is using Mitchell Froom and Chad Blake on "Fundamental." They are best known for their work with Suzanne Vega, Los Lobos and Richard Thompson.
Former Colorado Congresswoman Pat Schroeder. She was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 24 years. She's the first woman to hold the office that long. During that time she championed causes important to women: pay equity, the Equal Rights Amendment, breast cancer research, and family leave. She also landed a coveted spot on the House Armed Services Committee. She also coined the term "Teflon president" to describe Ronald Reagan. She's written a new memoir, "24 Years of House Work. . .and the Place is Still a Mess" (Andrews McMeel)
Director James Toback. He wrote and directed his new film, "Two Girls and a Guy" about a love triangle, and an unfaithful boyfriend. It stars Robert Downey Jr. Toback's other films include "Love and Money," "Exposed," "The Pick-Up Artist," and "The Big Bang." He wrote the screenplays for "Bugsy" and "The Gambler."
Novelist Robert Stone. His new novel "Damascus Gate" is about the Middle East. Unlike most writers who write about the region, Stone is not Jewish; he's a lapsed Catholic. One reviewer writes of the book that it is "so comprehending of Israel's convoluted workings and its bifurcated culture--where the Biblical fervor of Jerusalem coexists with the disco fever of Tel Aviv--that he makes other writers on the subject seem like the breeziness of literary tourists." Stone is also the author of "Outerbridge Reach" and "Dog Soldiers."
Epidemilogist Susan Oliveria is an expert on the link between nutrition and cancer. She is one of the authors of the new book, "The Strang Cookbook for Cancer Prevention: A Complete Nutrition and Lifestyle Plan to Dramatically Lower Your Cancer Risk" (Dutton). The book includes recipes from gourmet chefs. Oliveria teaches at the Strang Cancer Prevention Center, Cornell University Medical College, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm is a leading expert on food-borne illnesses, like E-coli and toxoplasmosis. Some illnesses are less serious resulting in diarrhea, and stomach and abdominal pain. Food-borne illness is on the rise, partly because of the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables in this country, and their importation from developing countries. Osterholm is State Epidemiologist and Chief, Acute Disease Epdemiology Section, of the Minnesota Department of Health.
Peter Biskind is author of the new book "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex Drugs and Rock n Roll Generation Saved Hollywood." (Simon and Schuster) Biskind says after the success of the film "Easy Riders" Hollywood opened its doors to a wave of rebellious film makers that invigorated cinema in the 1970s with such films as "Chinatown," "Shampoo," "Nashville," "Taxi Driver," "The Godfather," and "Jaws." He also authored two previous books: "Seeing is Believing," and "The Godfather Companion.&qu
Independent film producers James Schamus and Ted Hope. They founded Good Machine the New York City production company which made "The Brothers McMullen," "The Wedding Banquet," "Eat Drink Man Woman," "Safe," "Pushing Hands," "She's The One," and "Ice Storm." In addition to serving as Co-President of Good Machine, James Schamus is Assoc Professor of film theory at Columbia University.
"The Far Side®️" cartoonist Gary Larson has written and illustrated the new book "There's A Hair In My Dirt! A Worm's Story" (HarperCollins). It's the story of a family of earthworms and a fair maiden in the forest. “The Far Side” was in daily syndication from 1980 to 1995 and appeared in more than 1,900 newspapers worldwide. Larson has published more than 20 books featuring his cartoons. His first animated film, “Gary Larson’s Tales From The Far Side,” aired in the U.S. as a 1994 Halloween special.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews "Kurt Weill: from Berlin to Broadway, Vol. 2" (Pearl label) and other recordings of "Lady in the Dark" and "Berlin to Broadway" (on the Sony Masterworks Heritage label) as well as Lotte Lenya's "Berlin Theatre Songs" (also on Sony).
