Society & Culture

Film critic John Powers reviews Peter Greenaway's new film "The Pillow Book."

Garfield has reported on the oddities of America for "All Things Considered" and in his syndicated column. His new book "Waking Up Screaming from the American Dream" (Scribner) is a collection of stories about the bizarre measures people have taken to live the American dream.

Ingrid Labarbiera is the mother of Amy Barbiera, the subject of the HBO documentary "Heart of a Child." The film documents a year in the life of four year old Amy, who at such a young age had a heart/double lung transplant, and then seven months later another double lung transplant. Amy later died. The film's producers are Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon. "Heart of a Child" airs Thursday, June 12 at 8 PM on HBO.

Berliner has focused much of his work on the dynamics of families. His newest film "Nobody's Business" is a documentary about his father, Oscar Berliner. This critically acclaimed film reveals the ongoing conflict between Alan Berliner, who obstinately works to complete the film, and his father, who is scornful of the project. It will premiere on PBS on June 3, as a part of the Tenth anniversary season of "Point Of View."

Radio producer David Isay and reporters LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman. The new book "Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago," (Scribner) is compiled from interviews by Jones and Newman conducted at the Ida B. Wells housing project in Chicago, where they live. These are the same two boys who worked with Isay on the acclaimed documentaries, "Ghetto Life 101" and "Remorse: the 14 stories of Eric Morse."

Bill Ayers is probably best known as a leader of the 1960's radical group the Weatherman. It was the militant arm of the Students for Democratic Society movement. But now Ayers focuses his efforts to reform the nation's schools and its juvenile court system. His latest book "A Kind and Just Parent" (Beacon Press) is a close look at Chicago's Juvenile Court system. Ayers is a professor at University of Illinois at Chicago.

Frank Capra, Jr. and Tom Capra, the sons of film director Frank Capra, whose films include "It Happened One Night," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," and "It's a Wonderful Life." The two have produced a new documentary about their famous father, "Frank Capra's American Dream." This year marks the 100th anniversary of Frank Capra's birth.

Moody's work has been compared to Cheever and Updike. His latest novel is "Purple America" (Little, Brown & Co.). His previous novel "The Ice Storm" has been made into a film which just won the best screenplay adaption award at the Cannes Film Festival.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the the last episode of Roseanne -- which is vying for viewers with a special Mad About You episode.

Rap vocalist Darryl McDaniels of RUN-DMC talks about the group's success. McDaniels is the "DMC" of the group. They were the first rap group to earn gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums. Their most recent album is "Down with The King" released in 1994. But RUN-DMC is expected to release their next album later this year. The group is credited with bringing new fashions, new dances, and new language to popular culture.

The Harvard Law School professor's new book examines race and the criminal justice system, "Race, Crime, and the Law." In his research, Kennedy, finds that African-Americans have suffered more from being "left unprotected by law enforcement authorities than from being mistreated as suspects or defendants."

Chess master Garry Kasparov may have lost to Deep Blue, but linguist Geoff Nunberg says there are some areas where humans will beat computers -- at least for now.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "Down by the River," by Edna O'Brien.

Gottman talks about what are some of the key factors that lead to either a good or bad marriage. He has studied hundreds of marriages, and found common behaviors that happy couples share. Gottman is author of "Why Marriages Succeed or Fail," "What Predicts Divorce" and "The Heart of Parenting." Gottman is a professor of psychology at the University of Washington.

Writer and commentator Dagoberto Gilb talks about his experience with trying to track down a psychic. While he never did get see her, a message telling his fortune did find its way to him.

TV critic David Bianculli previews the "Ellen" episode that's been talked about for months: the one in which she comes out as a lesbian.

Former major baseball league scout John Young. He is currently special assistant to the general manager of the Chicago Cubs. In 1988 he began a program in south central Los Angeles to get inner city kids playing baseball. Known as RBI ("Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities"), the program has since expanded to include 51 cities and 40,000 youth.

Film critic John Powers reviews Paradise Road and Daytrippers.

In this excerpt from the award-winning NPR program, host Ira Glass features a 1967 "letter on tape" which was found in a Salvation Army Thrift Store. It features the father, mother and daughter of a Michigan family who's interactions on the recording reveal much about their relationships with one another.

Film critic John Powers reviews the new Canadian movie, which tackles the taboo subject of necrophilia.