Feminism

Near gained national attention when she joined Jane Fonda in antiwar protests. She joins Fresh Air to talk about developing her skills as a performer, her early acting career, and how she defines her sexuality. Her new memoir is called Fire in the Rain--Singer in the Storm.

After ceasing publication last November, the feminist magazine, founded by Gloria Steinem, is back on (at least some) newsstands. Book critic Maureen Corrigan praises its return and its inclusion of more diverse writers. But the changes comes at a price -- now ad free, the cost of each issue has gone up.

Journalist Elisabeth Bumiller (pronounced BUE-mill-er). Her new book, "May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons," examines the repressive life of many women in India today. It's published by Random House.

Women's health....Nancy Hawley and Esther Rome of the Boston Women's Health Collective, the authors of "Our Bodies Our Selves."

Critic Laurie Stone comments on two newsworthy comedy events from last weekend--comic Andrew Dice Clay's controversial appearance on Saturday Night Live, and the Comedy Relief special on HBO.

Biographer Deirdre Bair. Her latest book is a biography of French writer, intellectual and feminist Simone De Beauvoir. Bair has also written a biography of Samuel Beckett.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews two new autobiographies by women: "How I Became Hettie Jones," by Hettie Jones, and "Love and Other Infectious Diseases," by Molly Haskell.

Book critic John Leonard reviews Deirdre Bair's new biography of Simone de Beauvoir.

Book critic John Leonard reviews the new book by British writer Fay Weldon, "The Cloning of Joanna May." Weldon has also written, "The Life and Love of a She-Devil."

World music commentator Milo Miles explores the continuing influence of punk rock on Japanese music in the second of his two-part examination of Japanese pop music. Milo looks at two Japanese groups -- The Plastics and The Frank Chickens.

Journalist and essayist Francine Du Plessix Gray. In her latest book, "Soviet Women: Walking the Tightrope," Gray documents the lives and attitudes of contemporary Soviet women in the era of glasnost. They talk about everything from birth control to Stalin to the constant struggle to balance the demands of work and family in their lives. ("Soviet Women" is published by Doubleday.)

Film producer Gale Anne Hurd. She started out in Hollywood as an executive assistant to filmmaker Roger Corman, going on to become his co-producer. She then left to form her own production company, where she was executive producer of such films as "The Terminator," "Aliens," "The Abyss," and the current "Tremors."

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Daddy, We Hardly Knew You." It's writer Germaine Greer's memoir of her father. He spent the first 5 years of her life away in the Australian Air force during World War 2. Upon his return, and until his death in 1983, he was quiet, distant, and would never talk about the war. This book is both Greer's memories of her father's life, and her investigation into what he did during those missing five years.

South African writer Diana Russell. Russell has written several books on subjects such as rape and sexual abuse against women. Russell's new book, "Lives of Courage," profiles 24 women in South Africa who have fought against apartheid. The book also examines sex issues in South Africa. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Author Linda P. Brown is co-author of "Birthbond: Reunions between Birthparents and Adoptees--What happens After." In the 1960's BROWN gave up her own daughter for adoption. The book is based on interviews with 30 birthmothers -- from a variety of backgrounds -- who were reunited with their adult children. And it looks at the challenges these mothers face after the reunion. "Birthbond" is published by New Horizon Press, Far Hills, N.J. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Commentator Patsy McLaughlin (mc-LOFF-lin) reflects on advertising's "Breck" girl becoming the "Breck" woman. McLaughlin will speak with this year's Breck model, Pamela Chew.

British novelist Margaret Drabble. She made a name for herself in the early 60's as one of the first woman writers to make domestic life the focus of her novels. But after the publication of "The Middle Ground" in 1980, Drabble took a seven-year break from fiction to concentrate on revising "The Oxford Companion to English Literature." Since then she has published two more novels, "The Radiant Way" and "A Natural Curiosity," which reflect a shift in focus to more external, societal concerns.

Writer Valerie Miner. Her work has been praised for it's uncommon honesty and intensity. Miner focuses on a group of people she finds overlooked in American literature: the working class. Her books include "All Good Women," "Blood Sisters," and "Winter's Edge." Her new book, "Trespassing," is a collection of stories which span the globe and examine the quiet shifts in relationships or in an individual's sense of self.

Mystery writer Mary Wings. Wings' novels draw on the familiar hard-boiled detective genre, but her heroine is a lesbian-feminist detective named Emma Victor. Wings new book is titled "She Came in a Flash."

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new albums from Los Angeles groups. The first is the debut album from Mary's Danish, a band that Ken says combines the roughness of punk with a sense of melody and humor. The other is the latest solo album from Don Henley, a former member of the Eagles.