Discussing the book "Blue highways: a journey into America" with William Least Heat Moon.

Discussing and reading from "Fairy Tales" and "The Saga of Eric the Viking" (both published by Schocken Press) with the author Terry Jones.

Hearing Chopin being played through the pipes of another apartment and a tale about a young girl who died and whose father froze her body in an ice house are among the stories in Stuart Dybek's book, "The Coast of Chicago." Dybek explained that although his stories may seem dream-like, he tries to come up up with stories from some place of reality.

Canadian journalist and novelist Robertson Davies discusses his new book, the second installment in "The Deptford Trilogy" titled "The Manticore." Much of the discussion also focuses on the prequel, titled "Fifth Business."

The blues and jazz are topics covered by Ralph Ellison. Ellison himself started to play the trumpet at the age of seven. Ellison said for him, when hearing classical music, he then had to go and find classical literature.

Fly fishing, relationships and people Norman Maclean has met are all apart of his book, "A River Runs Through It." Maclean's father taught Maclean and his brother the art of fly fishing. Maclean's book is semi-autobiographical with three short stories.

After having received the Caldecott Medal for "Where the Wild Things Are," Maurice Sendak knew he had to do a different kind of book. Sendak recalled his trips to Brooklyn as a child and how going out to eat was a huge treat. From there, Sendak's book, "Night Kitchen," was born.

Author Madeleine L'Engle discusses her novel "A Severed Wasp," about a retired concert pianist (Katherine Forrester, who appeared in L'Engle's first novel, "The Small Rain") who puts on a benefit concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine at the request of her old friend, Felix Bodeway. Like Katherine, L'Engle is a pianist and the interview is interspersed with Bach fugues throughout. In addition to discussing the plot, Terkel and L'Engle discuss several of the book's characters and their histories and motivations.

Author Madeleine L’Engle discusses her book “A Wrinkle in Time”, a young adult novel that wrestles with spirituality, science fiction, and fantasy. L’Engle discusses how difficult it was for publishers to see her writing as young-adult, as she was often told adolescence would not be able to handle these challenging topics. This program includes an excerpt of a 1961 interview with Madeleine L’Engle in which she discusses the difference between fact and fiction, or lack thereof, in children’s literature.

Poet and translator Kimon Friar discusses Nikos Kazantzakis and the art of Greek translation. Friar discusses the common theme in all of Kazantzaki’s works, how all of nature is set out to transform matter into spirit. Friar discusses and reads Nikos Kazantzakis’s “The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel”, Constantine Cavafy’s “Ithaka”, and Odysseus Elytēs’s “The Autopsy”. This program includes an excerpt of an interview with Eleni Kazantzakis, Nikos’s wife, where she describes how Nikos always saw the excitement in every person he met.

According to Joseph Campbell's book, "Myths to Live By," myths put people in touch with dimensions of their own being and consciousness. Dreams, Campbell explained, are private myths and myths are a public dream. Campbell also talks about how the west and the orient view myths and symbols.

As a tribute to Nelson Algren after his death, a collection of his writing is dramatized in this radio program titled "Come in at the Door."

Arthur Charles Clarke discusses science fiction and his books "Childhood's End", "Prelude to Space", and "the Deep Range".

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