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09:45

How the Dying Know What's at Stake

Novelist and memoirist Susan Cheever never thought she'd follow in her father John Cheever's footsteps as a writer. Drawing on the memories of his final days, her newest book, Doctors and Women, deals with cancer patients and their families.

Interview
27:49

America's Foremost Socialist

As a young man, Democratic Socialists of America co-chair Michael Harrington worked as social worker in St. Louis -- an experience which he credits with leading him to a life of service. Fatherhood readjusted his priorities; he moved to the suburbs and felt less conflicted about earning money. He is now a writer and social commentator. His new memoir, called The Long-Distance Runner, is about his struggle with cancer.

Interview
27:24

Poet, Essayist and Activist Audre Lorde

Lorde is open about her identity as a black lesbian feminist; she hopes her visibility will help other women like her feel less alone. She joins Fresh Air to talk about her romantic relationships with men and women, and the tensions between African American and feminist communities. Her new collection of essays, A Burst of Light, deals with her experience with breast cancer.

Interview
26:39

Susan Sontag on Disease and Metaphor

The essayist and novelist's new book, called AIDS and Its Metaphors, examines the discourse surrounding the disease. Sontag is a cancer survivor; a previous book about language and sickness is titled Illness as Metaphor. She joins Fresh Air to talk about how cancer changed her thinking and made her a more compassionate person.

Interview
04:01

J.M. Coetzee Hits Hard Again

Book critic John Leonard reviews the South African author's new epistolary novel, which uses cancer as a metaphor for apartheid. Leonard says it's baffling with a terrible beauty, that spares no one -- including blacks and white liberals.

Review
14:51

How One Executive Made NBC the Top TV Network

Former president of NBC Entertainment Brandon Tartikoff was the youngest person to hold that position. While there, he was responsible for such hit series as "The Cosby Show," "Cheers," "Miami Vice," and "Hill Street Blues." Now Tartikoff is chairman at Paramount Pictures. He has a new book about his NBC years, called "The Last Great Ride."

Interview
23:05

A Surgeon on Surviving Breast Cancer

When Ursula Seinige started her surgical residency, not much about breast cancer was known. In the early 80s, more treatments were developed, like the modified radical mastectomy. Two and a half years ago, Seinige was diagnosed with breast cancer. She joins Fresh Air to discuss her own treatment, as well as her role in a support group she founded for survivors of the disease.

15:42

A Black Author on Losing His Father, Not Fitting Into American Life

Writer Alexs Pate's first novel is called "Losing Absalom." It's a fictionalized tribute to his father that chronicles end of the title character's life as his family has gathered around his hospital bed. Writer John Willimas wrote, "Losing Absalom is a powerful yet sensitive embrace with black America today." Pate grew up in North Philadelphia and lives in Minneapolis.

Interview
21:56

Dr. Susan Love on the Newest Thinking About Breast Cancer

Love is the founding member of the Breast Cancer Coalition and founding director of the UCLA Breast Cancer, which is one of the world's leading breast treatment facilities. Her book Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book (Addison Wesley) is said to be one of the most important books in women's health in the last decade. A new, updated edition has just been published.

Interview
14:48

Novelist Tim McLaurin.

Writer Tim McLaurin. He has a new novel called Cured by Fire (Putnam). McLaurin is also the author of two other novels The Acorn Plan, and Woodrow's Trumpet. He has been a Marine, a Peace Corps volunteer, and a snake handler. He currently teaches writing at North Carolina State University.

Interview
27:23

Christina Middlebrook Discusses Facing Her Own Death.

Author and Jungian analyst, Christina Middlebrook. Her new book, "Seeing the Crab: A Memoir of Dying" (Basic Books) describes how she and her family came to terms with her breast cancer diagnosis. In 1991, Middlebrook had a mastectomy and doctors told her she had a fifty percent chance of living two years. Her book honestly details the physical and emotional rigors of cancer treatment, as well as the changes it has caused in relationships with her family and friends.

44:12

Julia Sweeney Discovers Comedy in Tragedy

The former Saturday Night Live performer was best known for, Pat, the gender-ambiguous character. Sweeney took the character the big screen, but the result was a flop. When her brother was diagnosed with cancer, she took him into her home to take care of him while he was getting treatment. Her parents also moved in. Sweeney began work on a performance piece as a way to deal with the situation. Her brother eventually died, and she herself was diagnosed with cancer. She's now in remission. Sweeney's one woman show is called "God Said, Ha!"

Interview
06:08

Remembering Brandon Tartikoff.

The former president of NBC Entertainment Brandon Tartikoff died yesterday at the age of 48 from complications from treatment for Hodgkin's disease. We remember him with a 1992 interview excerpt. While at NBC, he was responsible for such hit series as "The Cosby Show," "Cheer," "Miami Vice," and "Hill Street Blues." He went on to become chairman at Paramount Pictures. He wrote a book about his NBC years, "The Last Great Ride." (Turtle Bay Books). (REBROADCAST from 10/20/92)

42:29

Fresh Air Covers Cancer: What is Cancer?

Robert Weinberg is the author of the new book "One Renegade Cell: How Cancer Begins." (Basic Books) Weinberg talks about how cancer develops and what can be done to stop it. He is Director of the Oncology Research Laboratory at the Whitehead Institute in Massachusetts. He is also a professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA. He is also author of "Racing to the Beginning of the Road: The Search for the Origin of Cancer."

34:07

Fresh Air Covers Cancer: How Patients Can Take Control of their Fight Against the Disease.

Laura Landro has written the new book "Survivor: Taking Control of Your Fight Against Cancer." (Simon & Schuster) In 1991, Landro, then a Wall Street Journal reporter, was diagnosed with leukemia. She used her journalist training to seek out the best form of treatment. She is now senior editor of entertainment, media, and marketing coverage at the Wall Street Journal.

Interview

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