Actor Ida Kaminska discusses her role in the film "The Shop on Main Street."

Anna Deavere Smith discusses and demonstrates her unique character portrayals from her works "Fires in the Mirror" and "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992."

Studs speaks to actress Peggy Nelson, playwright Arnaud d'Usseau, and student Olivier Bernier while he is in France. [Part 2 includes Yves Montand.]

Interviewing William Gibson.

H. E. F. (Shag) Donahue and Nelson Algren discuss Donahue's book, "Conversations with Nelson Algren," a biographical exploration of Algren's life as a writer. They discuss the creative lives, successes and failures of other authors in relation to Algren's work, including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.D. Salinger, Richard Wright, and others. Includes the author reading excerpts from "Conversations with Nelson Algren."

Studs interviews Christopher Durang, playwright, about his plays. "A History of the American Film" is the highlight of the interview, which is playing at the Heron Theater in Chicago. Durang describes parts of the play and it's characters. He explains that it portrays the different eras and famous moments of movies and references real actors and actresses. Durang reads several times from the play, but all musical numbers are removed from this edited version of the original recording.

Los Gusanos

Ring Lardner Jr. discusses the writings of his father Ring Lardner, and his new book "The Lardners: My Family Remembered", discussing his family life, Mother, Father, and siblings.

E.Y. (Yip) Harburg and Studs Terkel read from the book "At This Point in Rhyme". E.Y. Harburg also discusses his thoughts on humanity, how to properly write a song, and the importance of light verse and humor as a basis for everything he creates. Excerpts of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" by the Weavers, and a Broadway recording of "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" are played in the original airing but have been removed from this version for copyright reasons.

Interviewing actor and author Michael Caine.

Woody Allen discusses his life and art, the influence of both success and failure on his work, and how he finds comedy in life’s difficulties and trials. He discusses his first screenplay, “What’s Up Pussycat?” and other comedians who have influenced the development of his own comedic work, including Mort Sahl, Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, and George S. Kaufman.

Experimental filmmaker and poet Willard Maas and his friend John Dubay discuss experimental films and filmmaking, part 2 of 2. John Dubay is featured predominantly in this part of the interview. The second part of the interview focuses less on filmmaking and more on societal ills, wealth inequality, and race relations.

Nelson Algren and Mario De Vecchi discuss the international appeal of Federico Fellini’s film, “La Dolce Vita.” In part one, Algren and Devecchi focus on the film’s main character, journalist Marcello Rubini, and his quest for identity, particularly in relation to his interactions with the film’s intellectual character, Steiner. They discuss the film’s key metaphorical images and its portrayal of the influence of media and the emotional detachment and dehumanization it can create.