Society & Culture

National Organization for Women vice president Patricia Ireland says that the cultural place and treatment of women both in Arab countries and the American military is evidence of a gender apartheid. She joins Fresh Air to explain her organization's positions.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg explores the place factoids have in our lives -- those bits of information that pass off for facts but aren't actually verifiable.

John Leonard reviews Salman Rushdie's new book, Haroun. It's an adventure-filled children's book, one Leonard wouldn't have expected Rushdie to write in exile.

Barkalow was among the first women to enter the military academy at West Point. Her new memoir, "In the Men's House," chronicles her rise from cadet to commander. She currently works in the Pentagon as a special assistant to the Army Chief of Staff.

Critic Owen Gleiberman reviews the sequel to the very popular Three Men and A Baby, which he thought was bland. The new movie might not be great, but it's got an enjoyable, clash of cultures story.

Commentator Patricia McLaughlin contemplates the suggestion by some that the November holiday be moved up so it doesn't come so close to Christmas. But maybe it's too late for such a drastic change.

Critic Owen Gleiberman reviews the home video version of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." The movie has been a cult favorite at midnight showings for nearly fifteen years. Gleiberman says it's surprisingly tame and schlocky -- but it may not have been as popular if it were a better movie.

White's books include an autobiographical novel called, "A Boy's Own Story," and the nonfiction work, "States of Desire: Travels in Gay America." White was recently diagnosed with AIDS, and is working on a biography of Jean Genet.

The African American novelist's books include Appalachee Red, which won the James Baldwin Prize for Fiction, Rosiebelle Lee Wildcat Tennessee, and Baby Sweets. He's just published a memoir, The Last Radio Baby, about growing up the fourth of ten childen in a sharecropper family in rural Georgia.

Welch is a Native American writer whose written a number of books about Indian life. His books include, "Fools Crow," "The Death of Jim Loney," "Winter in the Blood." His latest is, "The Indian Lawyer" about a Blackfeet Indian who rises to power in the White man's world who gets caught up in a blackmail scheme.

Callen's new book profiles the longest surviving people with the virus, including himself; he was diagnosed in 1982. Also an AIDS activist, he co-founded the People With AIDS Coalition and the Community Research Initiative.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the director's new film about the famous painter and his brother. Schiff says it's as much about them as it is the bond between art and commerce.

Cunningham's new novel, A Home at the End of the World, is about the friendship and sexual relationships between two men and woman. It was inspired in large part by Cunningham's own ambiguous sexuality, as well as living through the AIDS crisis.

Literary critic Denis Donogue was a Catholic who grew up in a community suspicious of Protestants. His memoir about his life in Northern Ireland, and his father's career in the constabulary, is called "Warrenpoint."

The stage and screen actor's career has spanned nearly 50 years. One of his most well-known films is the Magnificent Seven. Wallach is currently touring the country in the play Love Letters with his wife Anne Jackson, and also has a role in the upcoming film, Godfather Part III.

When writer Natalie Kusz was six years old, her family moved from Los Angeles to the Alaskan wilderness. That first winter, a neighbor's sled dog attacked Kusz, and tore off part of her face. Kusz's memoir details that event and its effect on the family.

Biographer and journalist Anthony Holden took a year off from writing to play in poker circuits around the country. It turns out he was pretty good. He documents that experience in a his new book, Big Deal.

Parks directed the early black action film, Shaft. His son, who died in 1979, was also a director. The elder Parks began his career as a photographer for Vogue and Life, and documented difficult aspects of the African American experience. He's just written his memoir, "Voices in the Mirror."

Fresh Air producer Amy Salit talks with Grateful Dead drummer, Mickey Hart. Hart's also long been involved with the drumming traditions of other cultures. Hart has a new book called "Drumming At the Edge," and a CD called "At the Edge."

The Mexican American brothers write and draw the long-running independent comic book. Their styles and storytelling draws inspiration from real-life experiences and the perspective of people living south of the border.