Terry Gross

Broderick is making his singing and dancing debut in the revival of the Frank Loesser musical. He plays J. Pierrepont Finch, an ambitious window washer who climbs the corporate ladder by "fawning, brown-nosing, sucking up and a touch of backstabbing." Broderick is best known for his acting, in such movies as "Torch Song Trilogy," "War Games," and "The Freshman."

Keneally is best known for his novel, Schindler's List which was put to film, by director Stephen Spielberg. His new novel, A River Town, is based on the story of his grandfather who left Ireland for Australia at the turn of the century. But in Australia he became the outsider. Keneally has written over 20 novels. He is a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine.

Former president of the public affairs non-partisan lobbying group Common Cause, Fred Wertheimer. As president of the organization, Wertheimer led the charge for campaign finance reform, the banning of special-interest honoraria for members of Congress, and a lobby disclosure law. Wertheimer stepped down earlier this year after 14 years as President. He's been called "the capital's most vocal crusader for reforming the political system" by The Wall Street Journal.

Banks' new novel is Rule of the Bone. It's been compared to Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because of it's young first-person narrator, and use of comedy to convey grim realities. Bank's narrator is 14 year-old Chappie from upstate New York who wears a nose ring and Mohawk. He steals from his parents to pay for dope, is kicked out of the house, and sets off on a low-life adventure.

In this 1995 interview, poet and countercultural activist talks about caring for his mother, who suffered from mental illness. His poem "Kaddish" is about her.

Haggard has been on the country music scene since the early sixties and has more number one hits than any country music star except Conway Twitty. We replay part of our interview with him recorded earlier this year. (Rebroadcast)

Tan's first novel, The Joy Luck Club, is the story of four Chinese women who gather to gossip and play mah jong, and of the rebellious ways of their Americanized daughters. The story parallels Tan's own life. Her mother left China in 1952, and Tan grew up torn between her mother's culture of the past and her American surroundings of the present. (Rebroadcast)

In celebration of Mother's Day, we replay select clips of past interview with guests talking about their mothers, including comedian Jimmy Tingle; filmmaker Paul Mazusky; author Robb Forman Dew, and writer Gary Paulsen.

We'll hear from Iqbal Riza, Assistant Secretary of General for Peace Keeping Operations for the United Nations. He talks about the UN's role in Rwanda.

Alison Des Forges is a consultant to Human Rights Watch Africa. Last month, the Rwandan Patriotic Army opened fire at a refugee camp. Human Rights Watch says 2000 people were killed. Des Forges visited the camp following the massacre. Des Forges is also the Co-Chair of the International Commission on Human Rights Abuse in Rwanda. She is a professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo.