Singer Susannah McCorkle performs a tribute to composer Irving Berlin, who turns 100 on May 11. McCorkle will perform tributes to Berlin each week at this time throughout the month.
Biologist Daniel H. Janzen's dream is to create a tropical forest in the northwest of Costa Rica. Janzen is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)
Ken Tucker pokes fun at the notion that the video cassette revolution would spawn legions of avid movie collectors. Increasingly, he argues, the movies available for home rental are either teen comedies or movies you can see on late-night TV.
Novelist and theater and film director Elia Kazan. He directed Marlon Brando in "On the Waterfront," and James Dean in "East of Eden." He was a member of the Group Theater and co-founded the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg.
John Rothchild. His new book, A Fool and His Money is a personal account of his adventures as an average investor trying to figure out the complexities of the stock and commodities markets.
Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Babette's Feast," a Danish film based on a story by Isaak Dennison. The film won the Oscar this year for Best Foreign Film.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording that features the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Sir Charles Mackerras performing Mozart serenades.
Rock star, teen throb and matinee idol Rick Springfield. Springfield, who starred in the popular daytime soap "General Hospital," has a new album, his first in three years.
Poet Mark Halliday. He'll read "Memory Sampler," a poem he composed in an attempt to dispose of a whole series of troubling past experiences. Halliday is an English professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His first volume of poetry is titled Little Star.
Israeli novelist Amos Oz. He lived on a kibbutz for many years and is a veteran of the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973. His books include A Perfect Peace, In the Land of Israel and his new book, Black Box.
Comic and actress Danitra Vance. She appeared on "Saturday Night Live" during the 1985-86 season. From there she landed a part in the revue "The Colored Museum," at Joseph Papp's Public Theater. She played everything from a stewardess on a slave ship to a talking afro wig. She's currently reviving the part at the Mark Taper Theater in Los Angeles. She can also be seen in the upcoming movie "Sticky Fingers," starring Melanie Mayron, Helen Slater and Christopher Guest.
Rock historian Ed Ward profiles one of the most eccentric rock groups from the other side of the Atlantic - the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (circa late 1960s). They infused their music with a typically British brand of humor, such as that associated with Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Cabaret singer Wesla [sometimes Weslia] Whitfield. Ten years ago, she was paralyzed after she was shot in the back during a hold-up. She has since established herself as one of San Francisco's most popular cabaret singers.
Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Twilight Dreams," the third album by Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy. With the exception of drums, the band consists entirely of brass instruments.
Television Critic David Bianculli previews the CBS remake of the 1954 film classic "The Caine Mutiny," based on Herman Wouk's acclaimed novel. Brad Davis stars as Commander Queeg, the role Humphrey Bogart made famous in the original film. Other actors include Jeff Daniels and performance artist Eric Bogosian. The performance is directed by Robert Altman.
J. G.Ballard, the author of the largely autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun, which film director Steven Spielberg made into a movie of the same name last year. Ballard was born in Shanghai and was interned by the Japanese during World War II. He has written 19 books.
Tony Auth, political cartoonist for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Auth's single-frame cartoons appear in more than 100 papers around the country through syndication. A new collection of his cartoons has just been published. It's titled Lost in Space: The Reagan Years.
