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2: WU NINGKUN (WOO NING-kwun), author of a new personal and political memoir, A Single Tear, about surviving three decades of Communist rule in China. Wu was born in China and received his college education in the United States. He left a promising academic career in this country to return to China in 1951 with hopes that the new Communist regime would benefit his country. Instead, he was labeled counter-revolutionary for teaching works by Western authors and was sentenced to serve time at various labor camps and prisons. He now lives in the United States with his family. (Atlantic Monthly Press).

Poet LLOYD VAN BRUNT (pronounced like "grunt"). He grew up poor and white in Oklahoma. He writes, in the The New York Times magazine section, "To be poor in a country that places a premium on wealth is in itself shameful. To be white and poor is unforgiveable." (March 27, 1994). BRUNT says poor whites have no defenders ("white trash" they are called) and they are made to feel ashamed of themselves because of the assumption that they "should" be able to make a success of themselves. BRUNT's father abandoned the family, his mother died when he was 8. BRUNT spent years in foster homes and orphanages where he was abused. BRUNT has written several volumes of poetry. His latest is "Poems New and Selected 1962 - 1992," (The Smith, Brooklyn). He's currently working on his memoir, "I fall in Love with Nancy Drew: Tales of Childhood.

2: Actor and director KENNETH BRANAGH (rhymes with "Savannah"). BRANAGH and his wife, Emma Thompson are currently starring in the film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." This interview was recorded and originally broadcast (8/29/91) at the time of the release of their movie, "Dead Again," a psychological thriller. In 1989, Branagh made a film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry the Fifth;" he played the title role. That movie was nominated for an Oscar as best film. Branagh studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and spent two years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as acting, managing, and directing other groups, and working on several BBC productions.

2: Peru's eminent novelist and former presidential candidate MARIO VARGAS LLOSA (pronounced YO-sah). LLOSA is the author of many books including "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter," (which was made into a movie, based on his own relationship with his 32-year old aunt, who he married at the age of 19), "The Storyteller," and "In Praise of the Stepmother." A London Times writer says of LLOSA's novels that they are "among the finest coming out of Latin America." LLOSA lived for many years in Europe. He said of his country, "Peru is for me a kind of incurable disease, and my feeling for her is intense, bitter, and full of violence that chracterizes passion." In 1990 he ran an unsuccessful bid for the Presidency of Peru. Running on a reformist platform, LLOSA was threatened by the Shining Path guerillas whose "violent terrorism" LLOSA pledged to thwart. LLOSA has a new memoir about his personal and political life, "A Fish in the Water." (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux).

2: Novelist STEPHEN WRIGHT. He's written three novels, all described by one critic as creating a "bleak vision of America haunted by Vietnam, desperate with boredom, eager to kill, gaga over flying saucers, addled by drugs, lobotomized by television." WRIGHT'S latest novel is "Going Native," (Farrar Straus Giroux) about a serial killer who seems to come from out of nowhere. In fact, he emerges out of a suburban neighborhood, steals a car, and heads for California. WRIGHT says the inspiration for his new novel was the stories he's seen on "America's Most Wanted."

Physicist JAMES TREFIL (pronounced "TRUFF-el"). His new book, "A Scientist in the City," (Doubleday) is a exploration of how the laws of nature and technology came together to make our cities. TREFIL starts by looking at cities as natural ecosystems, and then looks at the key scientific discoveries that made cities possible. TREFIL has written more than ten books on science, including, "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Science." TREFIL is also a regular commentator for NPR, and he teaches at George Mason University.

TV critic, DAVID BIANCULLI, reviews new prime-time cartoon series, "The Critic," created by a team of three writer-producers from "The Simpsons." "The Critic" is about New York film reviewer and single father, Jay Sherman.

Actor PETER COYOTE. It was once said of him that he "came from nowhere and was working his way back." COYOTE was active in San Francisco street theater during the 1960's, and was part of the diggers, a group who ran a free store and gave out free meals in Golden Gate Park. He was Chairman of the California Arts Council for eight years and returned to acting in films during the 1980's, ("Jagged Edge," "E.T.," and "Outrageous Fortune." ) Lately, COYOTE can be seen in films from Europe: Roman Polanski's "Bitter Moon" and Pedro Almodovar's "Kika." REBROADCAST FROM 9/6/90.

2: PART TWO, interview with LUIS RODRIGUEZ and his son, RAMIRO. In addition to his new book, RODRIGUEZ has written two volumes of poetry, "Poems Across the Pavement," and "The Concrete River."

Rapper and actor ICE-T...one of the most popular of the "gansta" rappers. Although he does not often get his songs played on the radio, all five of his albums have gone gold. Greg Knot of The Chicago Tribune has written that "ICE-T is that rare gangster rapper who leads with his brain instead of his gun or his crotch." ICE-T's 1992 song "Cop Killer," landed him at the center of a controversy about gansta rap--is it a legitimate form of expression or is it incendiary hate-mongering. ICE-T has also starred in films "New Jack City," "Trespass," and "Ricochet." He's written a new book called "The Ice Opinion" (St. Martin's Press). In it he offers his opinions on such topics as racism, drugs, poverty, the L.A. riots. His latest album is "Home Invasion," and he's co-starring in the new film "Surviving the Game." (REBROADCAST from 2

2: British-Asian film-maker GURINDER CHADA (Gur-IN-der CHA-da) is making her feature-film debut with the new comedy-drama, "Baji (BAH-gee) on the Beach," a movie in the British social realist tradition, about three Asian women on a day trip to a working class resort in England. CHADA is of Indian descent; she was born in Kenya, but has lived in Britian most of her life. She formed her own independent production company, Umbi Films, in 1990 which produced three documentaries for television. "Baji on the Beach," has recently made the round of film festivals