British religious scholar Karen Armstrong. Her new book, a bestseller in England, is "A History of God" (Knopf). "All religions have been designed to help us touch the God in each other" Armstrong says of her research, which traces 4000 years of Monotheism in the form of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The author, a Catholic nun for seven years in the 1960's, left the order to take a degree at Oxford, and now teaches at the Leo Baeck College for the study of Judaism.
How did a second tier New York department store called Bloomingdale's --where the city's domestic help bought their uniforms in 1950-- evolve into "the most celebrated store in the world": the pinnacle of designer fashion and self promotion? The answer can be found in Marvin Traub, the former chairman of Bloomingdale's for forty years. His new memoir is called "Like No Other Store..." (Times Books).
Filmmaker John McNaughton whose first film was the cult hit of 1990, "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer". "We all have the murderous urge," McNaughton says of his main character in that film, who as an anonymous everyman, kills many people without recognition nor retribution from society at large.
Senator Paul Simon. He's been spearheading the campaign in Congress against TV violence. Simon has given the networks and cable a January 1st deadline to come up with a way of regulating themselves, or face regulation by Congress.
Senator Paul Simon. He's been spearheading the campaign in Congress against TV violence. Simon has given the networks and cable a January 1st deadline to come up with a way of regulating themselves, or face regulation by Congress.
Marjorie Heins is the director of the ACLU Arts Censorship Project. She's also written the new book, "Sex, Sin and Blasphemy: A Guide to America's Censorship Wars." (The New Press)
Terry continues her discussion about television violence with the former president of NBC Entertainment, Brandon Tartikoff and then with TV critic David Bianculli.
French film legend Jeanne Moreau. She's best known for her work in the French New Wave films (between 1958 and 1962), working with such directors as Francois Truffaut, Louis Malle, and Jean-Luc Godard. She's probably best known for her role in Truffaut's "Jules et Jim" about a complicated ménage à trois. Moreau has led an admittedly unconventional life, from her choice of movie roles, to her succession of love affairs. She's now 65, and starring the new film, "The Summer House."
Independent film director Abel Ferrara. He's been described as a film maker who has a quest to "confront issues of salvation, grace and dignity within a context of extreme depravity." His films include "King of New York," (a "stylish(ly). . .contemporary gangster movie,"), and the cult classic "The Bad Lieutenant," starring Harvey Keitel. He also directed a couple of TV's "Miami Vice" episodes. His lesser known films include "Ms.
Writer Annie Proulx. She just won the National Book Award for Fiction, for her second novel, "The Shipping News," (Scribner's). Proulx describes herself as "incautious, heedless, reckless, stupid." Her characters are often compared with Dickens', and her books are rooted in a particular landscape: "The Shipping News" takes place in a barren Newfoundland. It's been called, "a strange book, a stunning book, full of magic and portent." (Boston Globe).
There are 100 million land mines in place around the world, left over from wars and conflicts. They continue to kill and maim thousands of civilians each year. Human Rights groups are calling for the banning of land mines. Terry will talk with two individuals about this: Eric Stover, Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights. He's one of the authors of "Land Mines: A Deadly Legacy," a study about the medical and social consequences of land mines in Cambodia. And with Stephen Goose, Washington director of the Arms Project, a division of Human Rights Watch.
Moroccan sociologist and Koranic scholar, Fatima Mernissi. Her new book explores how the sacred texts of Islam are used both by feminists and defenders of democracy as well as the violent fundamentalists which oppose them: "Islam & Democracy" (Addison-Wesley). An earlier book, "The Veil and the Male Elite" (Addison-Wesley) was a feminist interpretation of Women's rights in Islam. Her new book, due out in the summer of 1994 is "Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood".
Comedienne Carol Leifer. She's been a longstanding regular as a stand up on Late Night With David Letterman, and a writer for Saturday Night Live. This year, she writes for comedy pal (and former boyfriend) Jerry Seinfeld -- some say the character of Elaine is based on Leifer. Last year she produced "Gaudy, Bawdy & Blue", a fictional recreation of the great "Blue" comediennes of the sixties: Belle Barth, Pearl Williams, and Rusty Warren (who's XXX-rated "Knockers Up" album sold six million copies in 1960).
Science fiction writer Octavia Butler. Because she is black and female, she's considered an atypical science fiction writer. She's won the Hugo and Nebula Awards, science fiction's two most prestigious awards. Butler often describes her work as "speculative fiction" rather than science fiction. She says, "Science fiction, extrasensory perception, and black people are judged by the worst elements they produce." Her main characters are usually black women, and the fictional world they inhabit are racially diverse. Butler has written nine novels.
