Crime

We finally know who killed Laura Palmer. Or do we? Television critic David Bianculli has some thoughts on this week's episode of "Twin Peaks." He recommends sticking with the show over the new ABC mini-series, "It," based on the Stephen King novel.

Film critic Stephen Schiff review the new film, in which the muscled actor plays a cop who goes undercover as a teacher to capture a drug kingpin. Schiff says the movie tries to be all things to all people, but it somehow works.

We talk about United States' newest Middle East ally's involvement in the international drug trade with Philadelphia Inquirer reporter David Zucchino. Zucchino covers the drug war for the paper, and has spent two years in the Middle East. He also won a Pulitzer for his coverage of South Africa.

Stephen Schiff reviews the new film starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. He says that, despite its macabre premise, the movie is oddly comforting and fairy-tale like.

National Affairs Director of the National Black Police Association, Officer Ron Hampton, has been a policeman for 19 years. He's gotten a reputation for speaking out against the misuse of power in the police force, which Hampton says is distressingly common. He'll discuss the beating of Rodney King by LAPD officers.

Peebles is the son of the legendary director Melvin Van Peebles. His film New Jack City is set in Harlem, and features a grim, gritty, and violent world of crack dealers and users.

Investigative journalist Marc Reisner's new book, "Game Wars," chronicles the work of undercover agents trying to stop the illegal hunting and sale of endangered species. According to Reisner's research, this work is more dangerous than being a city cop.

Martin ("Mar-teen") Sánchez-Jankowski, a professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, lived among ethnically diverse street gangs in New York, Boston and Los Angeles from 1978 to 1988. His observations are contained in his new book, Islands in the Street: Gangs in American Urban Society (Univ. of Cal. Press).

Journalists Jon Alpert and Maryann De Leo. The two have filmed wars, crimes in progress, and homeless families living in garbage dumps. Their latest documentary, "Rape: Cries from the Heartland," will be shown on PBS.

Journalists Katie Hafner and John Markoff Their new book "Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier" (Simon & Schuster) is about the growing importance of computer networks, and the growing importance of computer crime.

Terry talks about crime watch groups with:
(1) Former chief justice and current judge on West Virginia's Supreme Court, Richard Neely. His new book, "Take Back Your Neighborhood," is about how ordinary citizens throughout the country have come together to protect their communities.
(2) Founder of the Mt. Airy Crime Watch Group in Philadelphia, Mark Hartsfield Two years ago he co-founded the group after witnessing and stopping crime in his neighborhood.

Time magazine reporter Jonathan Beaty He was covering the BCCI bank scandal months before it erupted, and gives the background on the scandal.

Mystery writer Sue Grafton. She's known for her "alphabet series" with female detective Kinsey Milhone, "A is for Alibi" through "G is for Gumshoe." Grafton's latest mystery is "H is for Homicide." (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Computer programmer Richard Stallman. Stallman's a genius, he's been called "the best programmer who's ever lived", and he received one the MacArthur Foundation's so-called "Genius Awards," but he's become more widely known for his push to make computer programs freely accessible to everyone. Instead of software companies charging hundreds or thousands of dollars for programs and forbidding the purchasers from giving copies to other people, Stallman wants an unrestricted exchange of programs, and thereby the creativity that they represent.

Writer Stephen Pizzo. Pizzo's the co-author of "Inside Job: The Looting of America's Savings and Loans." Last month he testified before Congress, saying that the proposed further deregulation of the banks will lead to a further banking crisis. He'll discuss that testimony today. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Yesterday President Bush voiced his opposition to federally funded needle exchange programs to stop the spread of AIDS. Today Terry talks with activist Rod Sorge (pronounced like George).He's the director of PWA's (People with AIDS Working for Health, Inc.) Harm Reduction Institute, a program that runs a needle-exchange program in New York City. Giving out needles in New York is against the law and Sorge and his group have been arrested for it. Sorge runs ACT-UP's needle exchange program.

Jury selection for the Noriega trial starts today. Los Angeles Times reporter Douglas Frantz (FRANZ) has been following the Noriega story and will review events leading up to the trial. Frantz will also tell us about Noriega's BCCI connection.

Private eye Hal Lipset. Lipset's the subject of Patricia Holt's new book, "The Bug In The Martini Olive." That title refers to Lipset's ability to plant secret listening devices just about anywhere. He also photographed adulterous couples and worked for everyone from the Senate Watergate Committee to cult leader Jim Jones. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Journalist David A. Vise, deputy financial editor for "The Washington Post." He's the co-author of "Eagle on the Street," the story of the Securities and Exchange Commission's influence on Wall Street and how it contributed to the 1987 crash. The book is based on their Pulitzer Prize-winning series that ran in "The Washington Post." (published by Scribner's).

Fresh Air producer Amy Salit talks with Wall Street Journal reporter James B. Stewart. Stewart won the Pulitzer Prize for his work on the stock market crash and the inside trading scandal. He's expanded on the insider trading story in his new book, "Den of Thieves." (Published by Simon and Schuster).