Television

Historian Erik Barnouw's new book looks into how the dawn of trick cinema and depictions of magic in films undermined the popularity of live magic shows. He later talks to Terry Gross about the pressure television broadcasters experience from boycotts and sponsors to highlight or remove certain kinds of content.

Deirdre English is a journalist. She delivers a talk on violence and women in pornography and television.

Michael Arlen is the television critic for The New Yorker. Arlen is also a writer. His latest is "The Camera Age," a collection of essays, and his book "Thirty Seconds" was recently released in paperback. He joins the show to discuss his work, television as a form of visual communication, his opinion on its "dangers,"an the perception of the medium as low brow.

Larry Gross is an academic and professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. The focus of his research is largely television. He delivers a talk on violence in the medium.

Garrett Brown is a cinematographer and the inventor of the Steadicam. He won an Academy Award for his invention in 1978. He joins the show to discuss the films he's worked on.

Film critic Leonard Maltin has two new releases. The first is an updated and revised edition of his "T.V. Movies," an index of films shown on television. The second is about silent cartoons and animations and is titled "Of Mice and Magic." He joins the show to discuss both.

Jan and Stan Berenstain are the creators of the "Berenstain Bears" and the writers and illustrators of the children's books about the bear family. They have been creating animated holiday specials about the Berenstains for NBC, including an upcoming Thanksgiving special. Their most recent Berenstain Bears book, "Bears Christmas Tree," is an adaptation of their animated Christmas special. They have also written a new book geared towards parents, "How to Teach Your Children About Sex Without Making a Fool of Yourself."

Film critic Amos Vogel is a journalist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of "Film as a Subversive Art." His new television series "Reel Philadelphia: An Unusual Film Series" will highlight Philadelphian filmmakers.

Former Saturday Night Live writers Al Franken and Tom Davis are touring the country with their own show. They join Fresh Air to discuss comedy and writing.

Film critic Bill Van Wert joins the show with a review of the film "Rockers."

Actress Mary Stuart has starred as "Joanne" on the television soap opera "Search For Tomorrow" since 1951. Stuart's autobiography is titled "Both of Me." Stuart joins the show to discuss her career and life.

Media consultant Elliott Curson helped shape the public persona of President Ronald Reagan through television advertising. He discusses his opinions of other political campaigns.

The actor portrays Jonestown leader Jim Jones in a new television movie about the infamous mass suicide. Boothe talks about the difficulties of making the film, as well as the research that went his portrayal of the cult leader.

Documentary filmmaker Robert Drew has revolutionized the genre by dispensing with narrators and adopting a more dramatic, theatrical approach. His best known movie, Primary, follows the presidential run of John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey.

Scholar and writer Erik Barnouw discusses how advertising and demographic targeting has influenced television programming.

Billy Crystal is a comedian currently enjoying success on television. He also grew up around jazz musicians due to his father's business; Billie Holliday was his sometime-babysitter. Crystal joins the show to discuss his career and jazz memories. (INTERVIEW WITH DAVID KARPOFF)

Garrett Brown invented the Steadicam, a technological innovation which earned him an Oscar. He tells Terry Gross about its effect on cinematography as well as his brief tenure in the folk band Brown and Dana, and his career in advertising.

T.V. critic David Bianculli gives his analysis of "Dateline NBC," the new newsmagazine show hosted by Jane Pauley.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Groban and Meryl Streep are just a few of the artists featured in Take Me to the World, a tribute to the iconic Broadway composer and lyricist.