Terry Gross

Sociologist Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot has written a new book about the Black middle class, called "I've Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation." She follows the lives of six middle-aged, African American people on the "necessary losses" they paid for their privilege. Her book was written, in part, as a response to the 1957 book "Black Bourgeoisie," by the black sociologist Franklin Frazier.

Columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer Steve Lopez. He's just written his first novel, "Third and Indiana" about the hard life of North Philly. The origin of the story was a two-paragraph item Lopez read in the paper about a 14-year-old boy shot and killed on a drug corner. He was disturbed by the casualness and brevity of the report. Terry talks with Lopez about his new book, and about his popular columns.

Legal journalist Stephen Adler. He is legal affairs editor of "The Wall Street Journal." He's written a new book about what's wrong with the jury system and how it can be fixed: "The Jury: Trial and Error in the American Courtroom," Adler looks at the history of the jury system and how our attitudes about juries have changed over the years.

Former First Lady, Barbara Bush. She's written her memoir, which she describes as a story of a "life of privilege." The book chronicles her early life, her marriage to George Bush during World War Two at the age of 19, and the political path that took them to the White House. She also writes about a depression she fell into in the mid-1970s in which she wept each night in the arms of her husband, and had thoughts about crashing her car into a tree or oncoming auto. The depression finally lifted on its own.

Jonathan Mann, M.D. talks about the connection between health and human rights. Mann is the director and one of the founders of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center For Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health. He was the founding director of the World Health Organization's Global AIDS Program from 1986-1990.

Conway grew up in a remote sheep station in the Australian outback, and later became the president of Smith College. Her girlhood memoir, "The Road from Coorain," was a bestseller, In her new book, "True North," she continues her story, writing about organizing for women's rights on campus, and creating a marriage in which she and her husband are equal partners. Conway was the first female vice president of The University of Toronto, and from 1975 to 1985 was the president of Smith.

Cartwright took over Blaine Elementary School in a run-down, drug-infested neighborhood in North Philadelphia. One of her first acts when she took over the school was to get down on her hands and knees and scrub the foul-smelling children's bathroom.

Mary Previte is the great granddaughter of missionary pioneer Hudson Taylor, and grew up in China with her missionary parents. During World War II, she and her fellow students and teachers spent three years in a Japanese concentration camp. Previte credits the structure her teachers' created with making the horrific experience bearable. For the past twenty years, Previte has run the Camden County (NJ) Youth Center, a holding center for boys and girls charged with serious crimes.

Psychiatrist and novelist Roderick Anscombe. He oversees a psychiatric ward at a hospital outside of Boston, and has written a new novel that retells the Dracula myth, called "The Secret Life of Laszlo: Count Dracula." Anscombe says he wanted to "humanize" Dracula by making him more a man than a monster. In writing the book, Anscombe drew on his previous experience working with the criminally insane.

In the 1980's, Mould pioneered alternative rock with the band Husker Du, making what was described as "angry, self-hating music." Mould went solo for a while after the band fell apart. Now he's with the band "Sugar" and they've released their third album, "File Under: Easy Listening." One reviewer writes of the new release that it "shows Mould near the peak of his power-pop form and harbors a few prominently catchy songs."