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21:08

Violinist Itzhak Perlman Expands to Klezmer Music.

Internationally-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman. He celebrates his 50th birthday this year. He has several new releases, and a PBS special: "The Beethoven Triple Concert" two live concert recordings with pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, and cellist Yo Yo Ma. And "In the Fiddler's House," featuring Perlman playing Klezmer music with four Klezmer bands. There's also a PBS Great Performance special on Klezmer music featuring Perlman. (It aired nationally November 27 at 10PM. Check local listings). Both CD's are on the EMI Classics label.

Interview
12:32

Remembering Louis Malle.

French filmmaker Louis Malle in February 1988. Malle died last Thursday [11/23] of complications from lymphoma. He was 63. Malle was best-known for such films as "Atlantic City," "My Dinner with Andre," "Au Revoir, Les Enfants," and "Pretty Baby," the 1978 movie about child prostitution that made Brooke Shields a star. He was married to TV actress Candace Bergen for 15 years. They have a ten-year-old daughter, Chloe. (Rebroadcast of 02/19/1988)

Obituary
44:58

Writer and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Elie Wiesel.

Writer and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel. He's the author of over 30 books. Wiesel, a survivor of the Holocaust, is known for his work which bears witness to that tragedy. Wiesel has just published the first volume of his memoirs, All Rivers Run to the Sea. In this book Wiesel writes about his childhood before the war, the horrors of Auschwitz, and his life after the war as a Paris based journalist, and as a New York writer, who struggled with the tragedies of the past, and the commitment to not letting the world forget what happened.

Interview
20:44

Music Director and Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas.

Music director and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. This month he took over the San Francisco Symphony. He's been conducting for 25 years. At the age of 24 years old he was appointed assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony, and began filling in regularly as conductor when the musical director's health began to fail. THOMAS was mentored by Leonard Bernstein. However, Thomas's roots are in the theater: His grandparents were Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, who founded the Yiddish theater in New York. There's a new book about him, Michael Tilson Thomas: Viva Voce.

46:09

General Colin Powell: The Fresh Air Interview.

Four-star General, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell. He has a new autobiography My American Journey (Random House, written with Joseph E. Persico), and an anxious audience, waiting to see if he will declare his candidacy for President of the United States. Powell first came to the attention of the American public during the Gulf War, officiating at the televised gulf war briefings. Powell retired from the military in 1993, after 35 years in uniform.

Interview
23:16

William J. Murray On Prayer in Public Schools.

Writer William J. Murray. He was raised in the home of atheist and Marxist leader Madalyn Murray O' Hair. In 1963, at age 14, he became the focus of media attention when his mother took her anti-prayer campaign to the U.S. Supreme Court where they later banned school prayer. In 1980, Murray turned away from atheism and became a Christian. His new book Let Us Pray: A Plea for Prayer in Our Schools (Morrow) looks into his past and present religious beliefs. Murray has written other books including, My Life Without God, and The Church is Not for Perfect People.

Interview
22:39

Ralph Reed's "Contract with the American Family."

Executive Director of the Christian Coalition, Ralph Reed. The Christian Coalition is a national organization dedicated to mobilizing the religious right, for political and legislative objectives. The coalition was founded by evangelist Pat Robertson. It's "Contract with the American Family" includes calls for: school prayer; eliminating federal funding for abortions; limits on late-term abortions; restrictions on pornography on the Internet, and eliminating federal funding for the NEA and public broadcasting.

Interview
22:58

Professor of Religion Elaine Pagels on Loss

Pagels has written four books including The Gnostic Gospels (which won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award). She has a new book called The Origin of Satan, inspired in part by the loss of her husband and six-year-old son.

Interview
22:42

A Re-evaluation of Religion in Public Life

We speak with two guests about the practice of religion vis-a-vis the Constitution: Keith Fournier, Head of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). The ACLJ helped draft the Christian Coalition's Contract with the American Family, which calls on Congress to allow prayer in public places, curb pornography, and restrict abortion. On the other side of the debate, activist and preacher Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine, has started a new coalition called "Cry for Renewal." It's his alternative to the conservative agenda of the Christian Coalition.

14:04

A Documentary Filmmaker Tries to Understand a Neo-Nazi's Perspective

Director Winifried Bonengal made the film "Profession: Neo Nazi," which follows Ewald Althans, a rising leader on Germany's neo-nazi scene. Althans is different from the stereotypical neo-nazi: intelligent, successful and well-dressed. The move ignited one of the fiercest debates on documentary film making in Germany's history. It was barred from many states and the distributor was forced to withdraw it from circulation.

Interview
14:48

Geshe Thupten Jinpa: the Dalai Lama's Translator

Thupten Jinpa was a refugee in India as a child, became a monk at a Tibetan monastery, and is the translator, editor and annotator of "The World of Tibetan Buddhism," written by the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

Interview
15:02

Debunking Antisemitic Propaganda About the Death of Christ

Professor John Dominic Crossan is a native of Ireland, ordained as a priest in the U.S. (he left the priesthood in 1969), and now teaches biblical studies at DePaul University. He is a founding member of the Jesus Seminar, a group of scholars who meet to determine the authenticity of Jesus' sayings in the Gospels. Crossan's latest book is Who Killed Jesus: Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of The Death of Jesus.

14:26

Why the Way Jesus Was Killed Matters

We continue our conversation with Professor John Dominic Crossan, whose new book "Who Killed Jesus" has just been released. In this half, he talks about the historical significance of crucifixion, as well as how Crossan has practiced his faith since leaving the priesthood.

04:35

The "Definitive Edition" of Anne Frank's Diary

Fresh Air commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank. The book is a newly expanded edition of the famous text which Anne's father Otto Frank, the only survivor, published.

Review
16:04

Jim Wallis on the Moral Center of Evangelicals

Activist and preacher Jim Wallis is the editor of "Sojourners" magazine, and the author of the new book, "The Soul of Politics." In it, he asserts that "the world isn't working," and neither the liberal left nor the conservative right know how to fix it. Wallis says the solution will come from a new morality that combines social justice and personal responsibility.

Interview
21:51

Ways to Bring Lapsed Jews Back to the Faith

Editor, author, and Jewish theologian Michael Lerner is founder and editor of "Tikkun" magazine, a bimonthly Jewish critique of politics, culture, and society. In his new book, "Jewish Renewal: A Path to Healing and Transformation," Lerner presents a new interpretation of Jewish texts and history, and a new approach to God and prayer.

15:48

Galileo, the Heaven, and the Church

James Reston, Jr. has written a biography of Galileo, called "Galileo: A Life." In it, he explores how Galileo was publicly humiliated for supporting the theory that the Earth revolved around the sun. Reston recently wrote a cover story for "Time Magazine," on the comet crash into Jupiter, before the crash became national news.

Interview

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