Lyle Lovett Is Part Blues, All Country

Hesseman played disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever in WKRP in Cincinnati, and now stars as a high school teacher in the comedy Head of the Class. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about how his performances and personal experiences inform each other. Early in his career, Hesseman sold two ounces of marijuana to an undercover police officer; he later had his record expunged.

Frank Chin is critical of many other contemporary Asian American writers; their works, he says, rely too much on western forms, cater to white audiences, and misrepresent Asian culture. His new collection of short stories, The Chinaman Pacific & Frisco R.R. Co, reveals his own perspectives on the Chinese American experience.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg believes the book, on its surface, is the ideal medium for presenting text. But it has its limitations: books take up space, wear out, and impose linearity on the information they contain. While technological advancements may render some books obsolete, Nunberg says that nothing can match the pleasure of reading ink on paper.