Mahalia Jackson talks about her discovery of the blues and what drew her to become a gospel singer. She also discusses her tours around Europe and the U.S.

Discussing the movie "Return of the Secaucus seven" with Maggie Renzi and John Sayles.

Maggie Kuhn, founder of the Gray Panthers, discusses the elderly and nursing homes. Kuhn notes the separation we currently see of older generations from the rest of the population, often in the form of separate housing and how this only enforces negative stigmas of the elderly. Studs plays "Hello in There" - John Prine (1971) and "Me and Bobby McGee" - Janis Joplin (1971) which have been removed due to copyright.

Interviewing Maggie Kuhn of the Gray Panthers about the roles of senior citizens and the welfare of the aged in the United States. Kuhn talks about how society thinks once a person has retired, he or she is set aside or put to pasture. To the contrary, older people have a lot to offer with their wisdom, their knowledge and their experiences, says Kuhn.

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.

Newberry Award winner Madeleine L'Engle did not set out to write good literature when she wrote "A Wrinkle in Time". Children's book publisher Elizabeth M. Riley also said of L'Engle's book, it's a good story for both children and adults. L'Engle shared her experience that when she writes, often times, she'll read what she's written to her children & if they say, "get back to the typewriter and write more," she knows she's onto something good.

Now retired from singing opera, when Madame Lotte Lehmann is not traveling around Europe, she teaches, what she says, are the best students she has encountered, at Northwestern University. Lehmann explains her hope is to not only teach but to inspire singers to be larger than life and to bring out their own personalities in a song.

Lynn Caine discusses her book "Widow" and talks about the death of her husband caused by cancer. She talks about the adjustment to losing your best friend, lover and partner. She describes how grief is buried socially and ignored, and how hard it is to raise children after the death of a spouse.

Discussing his play "Orphans" and the Imagination Workshop with playwright, director and Imagination founder Lyle Kessler. The Imagination Workshop is a non-profit theater group that brings together professional artists and "at risk" children, the mentall

Lute Jerstad discusses "Everest Diary." Includes passages from Lute Jerstad.

Studs interviews Lukas Foss about his career as a classical composer and conductor. Foss talks about his work with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He reflects on how teachers influenced his career and how he learns from each orchestra that he works with. He shares his love for poetry and explains how he makes music from poems and uses "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird," a poem by Wallace Stevens, to illustrate. They discuss how Foss composes and how it is very similar to the way Jazz is composed with improvisation.

Luis Valdez, author of the play, "Zoot Suit," and editor of "Aztlan: An Anthology of Mexican American Literature," discusses the Chicano experience; music by Mexican-American artists is played and discussed throughout the program.

Discussing the book "Brown River, White Ocean: An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Philippine Literature in English" (published by University of Rutgers Press) with editor and poet Luis Francia.

Poet Lucien Stryk discusses Zen poetry and Zen philosophy. Styrk focuses this conversation on “Satori," a Buddhist term for “the awakening”, and its influence on Zen philosophy. Styrk also discusses and reads from a book edited by him and Takashi Ikemoto entitled "Zen: Poems, Prayers, Sermons, Anecdotes, Interviews." Stryk reads a poem from “Triumph of the Sparrow” by Shinkichi Takahashi. Studs plays "His Eye is on the Sparrow" - Mahalia Jackson (1958).