Society & Culture

Linguist Geoff Nunberg comments on language as a source of national pride and independence.

Husseini writes for the Jordan Times, the country's only English-language daily. Her reporting on "crimes of honor" has brought to light the practice of a woman being murdered by her own relatives when it's thought the woman brought dishonor upon them. In one instance a 16 year-old schoolgirl was killed by her older brother because her younger brother raped her. Police and prosecutors have taken little notice of "honor killing" but that attitude has begun to shift because of Husseini's efforts.

New York writer Daniel Drennan has written a new collection of essays about life in Manhattan. His book "The New York Diaries: Too True Tales of Urban Tramau" is published by Ballantine Books.

Historian and author Deborah Gray White has compiled a new history of black women and their struggle against racism and male chauvinism. It's called "Too Heavy a Load: Black Women in Defense of Themselves 1894-1994" (W.W. Norton) White is a professor of history at Rutgers University and the co-director of the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis.

South African Judge Tandaswa Ndita. Her focus is family law. She's been educating rural communities about the new constitution and the new rights accorded to women. For the first time under the law, women are no longer considered household property, and have been given the status of personhood. The Judge can also be seen in the new documentary "A Woman's Place" which premieres nationwide on PBS, November 27th.

Hampton is best known for his PBS series "Eyes on the Prize" about the civil rights movement. He said his intention was to tell the story in a way in which blacks were not the "victims." HIs other highly acclaimed documentaries were "America's War on Poverty" and "The Great Depression." HAMPTON had struggled since 1990 with lung cancer. He was 58. (REBROADCAST from 2/1/90)

Bob Ortega is an investigative journalist for The Wall Street Journal. He's the author of the new book, "In Sam We Trust: The Untold Story of Sam Walton and How Wal-Mart Is Devouring America" (Times Business/Random House). The book looks at how Wal-Mart went from a tiny variety store in backwater Arkansas to one of the world's largest corporations. In doing so, Wal-Mart's business practices have been imitated by other businesses and criticized for its impact on communities, and treatment of workers.

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Hours" (FS&G), Michael Cunningham's literary tribute to Virgina Woolf.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg comments on how the internet has change the way we talk. For example, the frequent use of words like cyber, e-cash, e-mail.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg talks about the inaccuracies of automatic translation systems on the Web.

Haynes explores the world of glam rock in his new movie "Velvet Goldmine." This period included such artists as Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and David Bowie. Haynes previous film "Safe" told the story of a suburban housewife who gets a rare condition and becomes allergic to nearly everything.

Our classical music critic will read two of his poems written about his 94 year old mother who has Alzheimer's and in a nursing home. The poems are: "The Two Horses (A Memory)" and "He Tells His Mother What He's Working On."

David Remnick is the author of the new book "King of the World" (Random House) about heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Remnick was appointed editor of the New Yorker Magazine this year, and is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of "Lenin's Tomb."

Rock historian Ed Ward begins his two part series on Black and White country music.

In light of the recent beating death of gay student Matthew Shepard, a discussion of anti-gay violence with documentary film maker Arthur Dong. In his 1997 film "Licensed to Kill," Dong interviews convicted murderers of gay men and asks them "Why did you do it?" Twenty years ago, Dong himself was the victim of a gay bashing. Dong is a Peabody Award winner and Oscar and Emmy nominated independent filmmaker. His other films include "Coming Out Under Fire," and "Forbidden City, U.S.A."

Film critic John Powers reviews "Happiness," the ironically titled new film by Todd Solondz.

Film critic John Powers reviews "Beloved" the new film adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel. The film shot largely in the Philadelphia area, stars Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover.

Robert McCrum suffered a stroke in 1995 at the young age of 42. He has written in detail about his experience and his recovery. Terry Gross talks with McCrum and his wife Sarah Lyall who was key in his recovery. His new book is "My Year Off: Recovering Life After a Stroke."

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Birds of America" (Knopf) by Lorrie Moore.