HIV/AIDS

Television critic David Bianculli previews "Nickelodeon Special Edition: A Conversation with Magic." on the Nickelodeon network in which Magic Johnson discusses AIDS with a group of kids. (David says, don't miss it).

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Lou Reed's new album, "Magic and Loss" and Robbie Robertson's album "Storyville."

Terry Gross talks with two people who are working to spread the word about AIDS.
1) Rashidah Hassan ("reh-shee-dah heh-ssan") is the Executive Director of BEBASHI ("beh-bah-shee"), short for "Blacks Educating Blacks About Sexual Health Issues." It's a Philadelphia-based group that used down-to-earth strategies to warn people of color about AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Walter Gunn is an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. He talks to Terry about the flu season, which came early this year. Americans are battling three different strains of the virus. He also talks about whether or not it's worth getting a vaccine.

Author David Feinberg. His new novel, "Spontaneous Combustion," is the further adventures of an HIV-positive man in New York City. (It's published by Viking).

We talk with Washington Post sports writer Mike Freeman about yesterday's revelation that basketball great Magic Johnson has tested positive for the AIDS virus.

Doctor Jonathan Mann, the director of the 1992 International Conference on AIDS. That conference has already become controversial, because the site of the conference was moved from Boston to Amsterdam. That decision was made because of the U.S. government did not give assurance that people with AIDS would be able to enter the U.S. to attend the conference. Mann is a professor of epidemiology and international health at the Harvard School of Public Health, and the former head of the World Health Organization's Global Program on AIDS.

Writer and critic Doris Grumbach. In her new memoir, "Coming Into The End Zone," Grumbach chronicles the 70th year of her life, faces the specter of her impending death, as well of the deaths of several of her friends due to AIDS. (It's published by Norton).

Yesterday President Bush voiced his opposition to federally funded needle exchange programs to stop the spread of AIDS. Today Terry talks with activist Rod Sorge (pronounced like George).He's the director of PWA's (People with AIDS Working for Health, Inc.) Harm Reduction Institute, a program that runs a needle-exchange program in New York City. Giving out needles in New York is against the law and Sorge and his group have been arrested for it. Sorge runs ACT-UP's needle exchange program.

Baritone Sanford Sylvan. He portrayed Zhou Enlai in John Adams' "Nixon in China." He's a regular in Peter Sellars' repertory company, having played in "The Marriage of Figaro," and "Cosi Fan Tutte." He's playing the title role in Adams's "Death of Klinghoffer," which has its American premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in September. He also has his first solo record, "Beloved That Pilgrimage," on which he is accompanied by pianist, David Breitman. (on the Nonesuch label).

Adair's new documentary, "Absolutely Positive," profiles 11 people, including Adair himself, who are HIV positive. It airs this week on PBS.

On the eve of the 7th International Conference on AIDS, we talk with the man in charge of the previous conference, Doctor Robert Wachter. Wachter's new book, "The Fragile Coalition," chronicles Wachter's struggle to make the conference a forum for both scientists and AIDS activists.

White's books include an autobiographical novel called, "A Boy's Own Story," and the nonfiction work, "States of Desire: Travels in Gay America." White was recently diagnosed with AIDS, and is working on a biography of Jean Genet.

Callen's new book profiles the longest surviving people with the virus, including himself; he was diagnosed in 1982. Also an AIDS activist, he co-founded the People With AIDS Coalition and the Community Research Initiative.

Cunningham's new novel, A Home at the End of the World, is about the friendship and sexual relationships between two men and woman. It was inspired in large part by Cunningham's own ambiguous sexuality, as well as living through the AIDS crisis.

Medical writer Ann Giudici Fettner was celebrated by the gay community for her reporting on the AIDS crisis. She has a new book about other viral diseases called Viruses: Agents of Change.

Aldyn McKean and Tracy Morgan join Fresh Air to talk about their organization's recent efforts to advocate for better and more accessible health care for individuals with the diseases.

Journalist Randy Shilts just returned from the latest International AIDS Conference in San Francisco. He says there is a revitalized push for the development of new drug treatments and a vaccine. Yet there have been protests against the volunteer-based model of AIDS outreach and treatment. After eight years, Shilts plans to stop reporting on the disease.

Director Norman René and playwright Craig Lucas They collaborated on the film, "Longtime Companion."

Guest film critic Owen Gleiberman reviews "Longtime Companion." It's about how AIDS affected the gay community in New York in the 1980's. The film, written by playwright Craig Lucas, was originally produced for the PBS series American Playhouse.