Terry Gross

Writer James Gavin has produced Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker. It's a biography of the jazz trumpeter and vocalist. Baker came from Oklahoma in the 1950s to become the "prince of cool jazz" on the West Coast. His death in Amsterdam in 1988 seems to have been drug-related. Gavin provides some answers to the riddle of his death. Gavin is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and other publications.

Cherry Jones is currently appearing in Lysistrata at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. Jones is a founding member of the American Repertory Theatre and has appeared in 23 A.R.T. productions. Shes won Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League awards. Jones has starred or appeared in many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Her film appearances include The Perfect Storm, Cradle Will Rock and the upcoming Signs, directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

Boxer Laila Ali. Shes the only one of heavyweight champ Mohammed Alis nine children to choose a life in the ring. Her recent bout with Jacqui Frazier was the most highly publicized female boxing event ever. Shes written an autobiography called REACH! Finding Strength, Spirit and Personal Power.

A native of Mississippi, HANNAH has been writing short stories and novels set in the South for over thirty years. His writing is described as intensely personal, frenetic and comic. Truman Capote once called him "the maddest writer in the USA" His first book, the autobiographical novel "Geronimo Rex" (published in 1972) won the William Faulkner Prize for writing. He followed that with "Airships" a collection of short stories now considered a classic.

Pakistani dancer Sheema Kermani. Her performances are rare in Pakistan, and tightly controlled by the government. She practices Indian classical dance, a sensual form of movement that goes against Islamic fundamentalist attitudes toward women and their bodies. Kermani graduated from Croydon College of Art in London and started dancing in Karachi with the Ghanshyan's Dance Troupe. She then went to India to train under several masters of Indian classical dance. She has performed all over the world. She's choreographed two major works.

Arab-American stand-up comics Ahmed Ahmed and Maz Jobrani. They've changed their routines since Sept. 11, cracking jokes about attending flight school and the like. Both have had small parts as terrorists in action films. Jobrani was in a Chuck Norris film and Ahmed was Terrorist #4 in Executive Decision. They live in Los Angeles.

He is touring the country promoting his new film, The Bourne Identity, a thriller about a man with amnesia flushed out of the Mediterranean sea, riddled with bullet holes. Damon has been in many hit films, including The Talented Mr Ripley, Saving Private Ryan and Good Will Hunting, which he co-wrote with close friend Ben Affleck.

Science writer Douglas Starr. His book, Blood: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce, inspired the upcoming PBS series Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood. The four-part production premieres June 23, 2002. Starr is co-director of the Knight Center for Science and Medical Journalism at Boston University. Starr has contributed to many publications including Time, Sports Illustrated, The Los Angeles Times and Smithsonian Magazine.

Los Angeles Lakers coach, Phil Jackson. Jackson has already won nine NBA championship rings; He led the Lakers to the championship last year, and he also won six with the Chicago Bulls. He has coached NBA greats Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant. Jackson's latest book is More than a Game, written with Charley Rosen (Seven Stories Press). This interview first aired June 12, 2001.