The Passion and the Paradox of Marilyn Monroe / Erica Jong Talks ‘Sugar in my Bowl’

Summary: Part A: Since Marilyn Monroe's death 50 years ago, dozens of authors have tried to capture the nuances of this beloved, flawed and mysterious icon. In Marilyn, women's history expert Lois Banner may have succeeded. Banner explores Monroe's public persona but also details her darker past, including sexual abuse, 11 foster homes and multiple abortions. Banner also claims to prove "beyond a doubt" Monroe's wit and intellect, her playful side and her control — not the studios' — of creating the Marilyn Monroe we thought we knew. Part B: Decades before Fifty Shades of Grey hit the best-seller lists, Erica Jong wrote about women enjoying sex for sex's sake in her watershed novel, Fear of Flying. Jong is still actively engaged in the topic with her first anthology: articles by women writers on their sexual experiences, from first sex to no sex to sex after children to sex after 80. Prime Time Radio speaks with Jong about Sugar in my Bowl (named for a Bessie Smith blues song) and women's ongoing search for sexual - and soul - satisfaction