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Poet, writer, and teacher NANCY MAIRS. She's a Catholic feminist, who started out Protestant, and who late in life became a feminist. She calls herself, "the connoisseur of catastrophe." She's known for writing honestly about her struggles with multiple sclerosis, depression, and the life-threatening illness of her husband, also about being a woman, a mother, and a wife. Her newest book of personal essays is "Ordinary Time," (Beacon). One revewier calls it, "a small miracle of honesty mediated by dignity and humor." (REBROADCAST. Originally aired 7/19/93).

Classical music critic LLOYD SCHWARTZ reviews a new recording of the opera "Lord Byron," (Koch International) by American composer Virgil Thomson. It's the first complete recording of the opera. The librettist is JACK LARSON (an interview with LARSON follows): Librettist, poet, playwright JACK LARSON. Though, he got his career start as an actor: Jimmy Olsen, the cub-reporter on the original "Superman" TV show. One of his poems "The Relativity of Icarus" was part of a Joffrey Ballet." He's also written a couple of versed plays, "The Candied House," and "Cherry, Larry, Sandy, Doris, Jean, Paul." He's also been a film producer.

2: Singer/Songwriter ELVIS COSTELLO. In the late 1970s he burst out of Britian's pop-music scene with a sound and attitude never seen before. He was the angry young-man with a fresh sound. He's known for making connections between different musical communities. He's collaborated with Paul McCartney, Ruben Blades, Aimee Mann of "'til Tuesday," David Was of "Was (Not Was)," and T. Bone Burnett. On his new release, "The Juliet Letters," (Warner Bros.) he's working with the Brodsky Quartet (known for its interpretations of music by Haydn, Schubert, Beethoven and Bartok). The compositions on the new album are based on a correspondence addressed to Juliet Capulet of "Romeo and Juliet."

Jazz critic KEVIN WHITEHEAD pays tribute to Ella Fitzgerald who turns 75 this Sunday. He uses music from: "The Harold Arlen Songbook," (Verve), "75th Birthday Celebration," (Decca/GRP), "First Lady of Song," (Verve). The Decca and Verve recordings are both new.

2: Actress and dramatist ANNA DEAVERE SMITH. She performs excerpts from her one-woman show, "Fires in the Mirror," which is currently played to sold out audiences at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in New York. It's about racial and ethnic tensions between African Americans and Hasidic Jews in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The show will air over PBS's "American Playhouse," this Wednesday (April 28). The interview is a rebroadcast from 7/28/92.

Rock critic Ed Ward on the troubles of shopping in Berlin.

DR. DEAN ORNISH. He, along with other researchers, has developed a "lifestyle" program for reversing heart disease. Working with a group of heart patients, ORNISH, has reversed the disease, thru diet, moderate exercise, and stress reduction. He recommends the program for everyone, not just those at risk for heart disease. ORNISH relies on data from seven years of study on this group of patients. Recently the "lifestyle" program qualified for reimbursement by a major insurance company. It's the first time such a program has qualified. ORNISH also has a new book, "Eat More, Weigh Less: Dr. Dean Ornish's Life Choice Program for Losing Weight Safely While Eating Abundantly." (HarperCo

2: GERALD EARLY is Director of African American Studies at Washington University, and author of several books. His newest book is a memoir about raising his two daughters, "Daughters: On Family and Fatherhood," (Addison-Wesley). One reviewer wrote, "a powerful reminder of the complexity and mystery, and abiding love that exists in families. . . this narrative. . is also suffused with the glory and pain and generational patience of black culture in America."

2: Singer-songwriter-poet-performance artist MAGGIE ESTEP. ESTEP calls herself "an angry, sweaty girl." As a teenager, she settled in New York City, and she's been in rock bands since the age of 17. Her current back-up band is called "I love Everybody." She was the cover girl on the February 1994 issue of "High Times" magazine; the article inside called her "the leader of the spoken word pack." She recently had a sold-out one-woman show at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Her debut album is called "No More Mr. Nice Girl." (NuYO Re

2: LIONEL DAHMER interview continues.

ROGER CONNOR is founder and Executive Director of the American Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities (AARR), a legal organization aimed at making individuals more responsible for their communities. CONNOR and the AARR have been active in helping communities enact anti-panhandling laws. His group recently drafted a law making it illegal for panhandlers to step in someone's path, or to panhandle in subway stations or at ATM machines. CONNOR talks today about how panhandling affects communities, and what individuals and governments can do to solve the problems of homelessness and poverty

Musician and record producer, RON LEVY. He was asked to played in B.B. King's band, when he was just out of high school. He went on to form "Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom, and recorded with the "luminaries" of the late seventies blue wave revival: Kim Wilson and Jimmie Vaughan and others. He started producing for Rounder Records and ended up working with old blues legends on Rounder's Blues label. LEVY has long championed the Hammond B-3 organ which has come back into vogue. And he has a new Wild Kingdom release, "B-3, Blues and Grooves." (Ro