Fresh Air with Terry Gross, February 9, 1999: Interview with Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew; Interview with Galen Cranz; Commentary on the Soft Boys.

Since its national debut in 1987, Fresh Air with Terry Gross has been a highly acclaimed and much adored weekday magazine among public radio listeners. Each week, nearly 4.8 million people turn to Peabody Award-winning host Terry Gross for insightful conversations with the leading voices in contemporary arts and issues. The renowned program reaches a global audience, with over 620 public radio stations broadcasting Fresh Air, and 3 million podcast downloads each week. Fresh Air has broken the mold of 'talk show' by weaving together superior journalism and intimate storytelling from modern-day intellectuals, politicians and artists alike. Through probing questions and careful research, Gross's interviews are lauded for revealing a fresh perspective on cultural icons and trends. Her thorough conversations are often complemented by commentary from well-known contributors. Fresh Air is produced at WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and broadcast nationally by NPR.
INT. 1: Journalists SHERRY SONTAG and CHRISTOPHER DREW. They are the authors of the new book, "Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage" (PublicAffairs). The two spent six years researching secret submarine missions like how the Navy sent submarines wired with self destruct charges into Soviet waters to tap crucial underwater telephone cables. SONTAG covered government and international affairs for the National Law Journal and has worked at the New York Times, and DREW is a special projects editor at the New York Times.INT. 2: GALEN CRANZ is a Professor of Architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. She's the author of the new book, "The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body, and Design" (W.W. Norton)REV. : Rock historian ED WARD tells us about the great lost British band, the Soft Boys.