French film director Laurent Cantet. He's made two feature films, both of which focus on the world of work, and the toll that work can take on our lives. His first film, made in 1999, was Human Resources. His newest film Time Out is about a middle-aged, mid-level executive who loses his job, but doesnt tell his family. The film has just been released here and has received critical acclaim.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews an installment of the legendary Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts, produced by Norman Granz. This particular show comes from Carnegie Hall in 1949, and was recently released on CD.
Ugandan Aids activist Noerine Kaleeba. She works with UNAids, a United Nations organization in Geneva. Shes also on the Ugandan committee on Aids, and founded The Aids Support Organization in Uganda. Kaleeba lost her husband to the disease; four of her siblings are HIV positive as are a number of their children. Kaleeba is also author of the book, We Miss You All: Noerine Kaleeba - Aids in the Family (Women & Aids Support Network).
Through his first band, La Perfecta, labeled "the band with the crazy roaring elephants," Palmieri was credited with originating Latin jazz's trombone sound in New York during the sixties. In 1994, Palmieri's lobbying culminated in the announcement of a new Grammy Award category for Afro-Caribbean Jazz.
Writer Daniel Harris. His new book is A Memoir of No One in Particular: In which our author indulges in naive indiscretions, a self-aggrandizing solipsism, and an off-putting infatuation with his own bodily functions. (Basic Books) Harris is the author of Cute, Quaint, Hungry and Romantic, as well as The Rise and Fall of Gay Culture. He written for Harpers, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times.
Actor and comedian Denis Leary. He currently starring in the ABC comedy series, The Job. He also known for his work in films such as The Thomas Crown Affair and The Ref. Leary has completed over 20 feature films, several cable specials, a book, a CD, and he has an international hit song. He got his own production company, Apostle.
Sociologist Cheryl Benard is the author of the book, Veiled Courage: Inside the Afghan Women's Resistance. Under the Taliban, the group known as RAWA (The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan), educated girls and women in underground schools, ran small businesses and secretly photographed Taliban beatings and executions. Benard has worked with the organization for ten years. She is also the wife of an Afghan refugee who is one of President Bush's key Afghanistan advisors.
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Inhabiting the Ball the third album by Chicago singer-songwriter Jim Roll. It features collaborations with novelists Rick Moody and Denis Johnson.
Surgical resident and staff writer on medicine and science for The New Yorker, Atul Gawande. His new book, Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on An Imperfect Science, is based on his experiences and "how messy, uncertain and also surprising medicine turns out to be."
Last fall, Attorney General John Ashcroft challenged the Death with Dignity Act using the Controlled Substances Act. A federal judge blocked enforcement of Ashcrofts order, and is expected to rule on it sometime this month. We talk with palliative care consultant, Dr. Paul Stull, of Astoria, Ore., who opposes physician-assisted suicide.
Five years ago, Oregon voters passed into law the Death with Dignity Act, legalizing physician-assisted suicide. We talk with oncologist Peter Rasmussen of Salem, Ore., who has prescribed lethal doses of medication for dying patients.
Actress, writer, comic Ellen Degeneres is soon to begin a stand-up tour. Her five-year sitcom Ellen won an Emmy for her much-anticipated coming-out episode. At the same time Degeneres' character realized she was gay, the entertainer revealed her own sexual orientation. Degeneres talks about coming out, her former relationship with actress Anne Heche, and why she resists becoming a lesbian role model. Degeneres is the author of the book, My Point... And I Do Have One.
Actor, writer, comedian Andy Richter. For seven years he was Conan O'Brien's sidekick on Late Night. Now he has his own sitcom on FOX, Andy Richter Controls the Universe. Richter could be seen in the movies, Scary Movie 2, Dr. T & The Women, Big Trouble and Run, Ronnie, Run.
