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Four-Man Comedy Troupe The Firesign Theatre.

The four-man comedy troupe The Firesign Theatre. The Firesigns created satire out of the political and civil upsets of the late 1960's, drawing big underground radio and college campus audiences. Now, more than ten years since the last tour, The Firesign Theatre is making a comeback. Known for their eclectic comedy routines, they're celebrating their 25th anniversary with a reunion tour. The Firesigns (Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman, Phil Austin, and David Ossman) got their start doing a late night radio talk show, "Radio Free Oz," with the host in the persona of the Wizard of Oz. Since then, the Firesigns have done 13 comedy albums for CBS, including "Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers."

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Other segments from the episode on November 15, 1993

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, November 15, 1993: Interview with Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman, and David Ossman; Interview with Laurie Kaye Abraham; Review of Eddie Allen's album "Another's Point of View…
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15:29

The Poor and Healthcare.

Health care reporter Laurie Kaye Abraham. For her new book, "Mama Might Be Better Off Dead: the Failure of Health Care in Urban America" (U of Chicago), Abraham spent three years with a poor African American family studying the problem of lack of access to medical care. Abraham reveals how difficult it is for a poor family to make sense of Medicaid and Medicare, and the discrimination that blacks face in trying to find health care.

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