Feminism

Dr. Jane Hodgson, an abortion rights activist, and Dr. Ed Sullivan, a practicing obstetrician in Media, Pennsylvania, join Fresh Air to discuss their opposing views on abortion. Listeners call in with their questions and comments.

Historian Philip Foner recently returned from a stint in China, where he lectured on the current state of civil rights, labor and women's movements in the United States. He shares his impressions of Chinese views on recent American history, as well as the current state of Chinese social conditions.

Researchers Katherine Whitlock and Regina Pfeiffer teach women how they can gauge various biological signs to determine when they are most likely to conceive.

The iconic author of The Feminine Mystique believes that the women's movement needs to move toward what she calls "the second stage," which focuses on cultural and policy changes which foster a greater balance of work and home life.

Anthropologist Sheila Kitzinger has studied childbirth in cultures around the world. Her research suggests that better models of childbirth exist beyond what is practiced in British and American hospitals. Fresh Air host Terry Gross invites listeners to call in with their questions.

Shere Hite is a sex educator and feminist who is the author of "The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study on Female Sexuality." She recently wrote the follow-up, "The Hite Report On Male Sexuality." In the introduction to the report, Hite states that intercourse is both a "beautiful" and "oppressive" act. This segment contains frank discussion of sexual attitudes and practices. (PARTIAL INTERVIEW)

Ellen Willis is a writer for the the New Yorker. Her collection of essays, "Beginning to See the Light: Pieces of a Decade," covers many of the social and political issues of the last ten years. Feminism, rock music, 60s counter-culture and the backlash against it, the changing definitions of "family" amongst the left, religion, and abortion are covered. She also discovers her reconsidering of Judaism and God in general, after a her brother became Orthodox. She joins the show to discuss the book and its subjects.

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

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.

Novelist Joyce Carol Oates delivers a talk at the Free Library of Philadelphia on the topic of "Women in Twentieth Century Literature." Oates traces women in the imaginations male writers of the era including John Updike, William Faulkner, Norman Mailor, William Styron, and D. H. Lawrence.

Novelist Richard Price is the author of "Bloodbrothers," "The Wanderers," and "Ladies' Man." All of his novels have been or will be made into films. Price joins the show to discuss his work.

Deirdre Bair is known for her biography of playwright Samuel Beckett, "Samuel Beckett: A Biography." She is now the "designated" (not "official") biographer for French feminist and writer Simone de Beauvoir. She recently interviewed de Beauvoir for the first time in Paris, and joins the show to discuss their conversation.

Madelon Bedell has just published the first in a two-volume biography of "Little Women" writer Louisa May Alcott and the Alcott family, "The Alcotts: Biography of a Family." She discusses not only the Alcotts, but also the social movements and philosophies that surrounded the family.

Holly Near is a folk musician, actress, and activist. He joins the show to discuss her life career, and politics.

Author Elizabeth Janeway explores how power structures create social divisions between the men and women both in U.S. and abroad. She considers what cultural and legal changes can be made to elevate the status of women from all backgrounds.

Fresh Air broadcasts a lecture by sociologist Ann Beuf, who looks at how patriarchal traditions have led to a strict division of gender roles within marriage and the family, the legal disenfranchisement of married women, and men's sometimes violent displays of power.

Selma James and Wilmette Brown are members of the group Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics (COYOTE), which advocates for the decriminalization of prostitution and protections of sex workers. This is part one of their interview.

Actress Linda Lovelace discusses her terrifying history of sexual abuse, assault and exploitation--often at the hands of her ex-husband Chuck Traynor--which led to her to star in pornographic films like the iconic Deep Throat. Her new memoir is called Ordeal.

The United Way's Southeastern Pennsylvania branch recently rejected Women's Way petition for membership because of the latter's support for abortion rights and services. In light of this development, representatives of the three philanthropic organizations explain to host Terry Gross and Fresh Air callers different models of fundraising for charities and other groups working for social change.