Sex

Writer Gay Talese. His new book, "Unto The Sons," is the story of the immigrant experience in America, and also the chronicle of Talese's own Italian ancestors coming to this country. Talese's previous works include the best-sellers "The Kingdom and the Power," "Honor Thy Father," and "Thy Neighbor's Wife."

June Reinisch the Director of the Kinsey Institute, and the principle author of "The Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex." In it, she debunks many myths Americans have about sex, and she discusses what she calls the "sexual illiteracy" of many Americans. (It's published by St. Martin's Press).

Anthropologist Richard Parker went to Brazil a decade ago to do field work. He's written a book about the fluid ideas of gender and sexuality in that country, called "Bodies, Pleasures, & Passions."

Television critic David Bianculli reviews the newest installment of the documentary series, "The Koppel Report." It presents a savvy, unexpected, and often sad picture of sexuality abroad.

The feminist scholar looks at how women in dual-career partnerships are often responsible for most of the unpaid domestic work. Hochschild joins Fresh Air to discuss why men don't share this labor equally with their partners, and the toll this inequity takes on working women.

Contrary to many other feminist activists, Bright believes that the anti-pornography movement discourages women from exploring their sexuality and developing what she calls an "erotic literacy." She edits the S&M-themed magazine On Our Backs, which revels in fantasies that are at once controlled and dangerous.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone says that recent advertisements, TV shows, and theater betray a cultural shift toward a new traditionalism that debases feminism and expects women to return to conventionally feminine roles.

Estelle Freedman co-author of Intimate Matters, A History of Sexuality in America. Among the principal observations Freedman makes in her book is that sexual puritanism was never as all-encompassing as most historians state when chronicling the mores of the 19th and early 20th Century. The book charts the liberalization of sex as value in itself, independent of reproduction. Freedman is a professor of history at Stanford University.

Stand-up comic Reno. Her routines lampoon current sexual politics.

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg discusses whether it's possible, or even desirable, to eliminate gender bias in language.

Guest critic David Marc looks at the growing popularity of 1950s TV sitcoms. He thinks the trend reveals a troubling desire for an idealized suburban culture where whiteness and paternal authority ruled.

Bob Guccione, Jr.'s father ran Penthouse magazine. The younger Guccione worked for the family business for years before launching Spin, a rock and roll-themed magazine.

Joyce Johnson became a part of the circle known as the Beat writers: Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac, when she broke away from her middle class Jewish family life and joined the bohemian Greenwich Village crowd. Johnson met Kerouac in 1957 and was in a romantic relationship with him for two years. Her new memoir, "Minor Characters," discusses not only her experiences but also the role of women in the Beat generation. Johnson is also an editor and novelist.

Shere Hite is a sex educator and feminist who is the author of "The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study on Female Sexuality." She recently wrote the follow-up, "The Hite Report On Male Sexuality." In the introduction to the report, Hite states that intercourse is both a "beautiful" and "oppressive" act. This segment contains frank discussion of sexual attitudes and practices. (PARTIAL INTERVIEW)

Deirdre English is a journalist. She delivers a talk on violence and women in pornography and television.

Author John Rechy has made a career writing novels and nonfiction about gay men, particularly their sexual behavior. While critical of sadomasochism, he views promiscuity as a revolutionary act which signals a radical break from mainstream heterosexual behavior.

Edmund White traveled the United States to learn about the conditions of gay communities across the country. He talks about masculinity and sexual practices amongst gay men, as well as the rise of sadomasochistic culture.

Scott Tucker of the Lavender Left, director of the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force Rita Addessa, and Women Against Violence Against Women Member Peggy O'Donnell address the controversy behind William Friedkin's film Cruising, which stars Al Pacino as an undercover cop infiltrating the gay S&M scene in New York. The guests take a close look at the film's exaggerated and dehumanizing portrayal of gay people and discuss their planned protests. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions and comments.