Terry Gross

The Car Talk guys talk with Terry about their first garage and more.

Richard Bernstein has served as Time Magazines Beijing Bureau Chief as well as the New York Times National Cultural Correspondent and now, book critic. He has published several books including –From the Center of the Earth,— a book on modern China and –Dictatorship of Virtue,— which examines multiculturalism. His newest book is –Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk Who Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment.— In it, Bernstein traces the monk Hsuan Tsangs legendary journey through seventh century China and India.

We learn about caves from journalist and caver Michael Ray Taylor. His new book is called Caves: Exploring Hidden Realms (National Geographic Society). He has written for the Discovery Channel Online, Audubon, Sports Illustrated, Reader's Digest, and many other magazines. He'll talk about the geology of underwater caves and ice caves, and the secret microbial life flourishing in caves.

Irish writer Nuala OFaolain. Her first novel, My Dream of You, (Riverhead Books) has just come out in paperback. Her critically acclaimed 1998 memoir, Are You Somebody? The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman was on the New York Times bestseller list. OFaolain is also a columnist for the Irish Times; she has been at the paper for over 12 years.

Joan Cusack has received two best supporting actress Oscar nominations — in 1988 for her role in Working Girl, and in 1997 for her role in In and Out. Her other movies include Broadcast News, Grosse Pointe Blank, Arlington Road, The Cradle Will Rock, Runaway Bride, and High Fidelity, based on the novel by Nick Hornby. She has a new sit com on ABC called "What About Joan." It airs Tuesday nights.

Spy novelist John Le Carre. His novels, almost every one of which is considered a masterpiece of the genre, include "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold," "A Small Town in Germany," "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "The Little Drummer Girl." Several of his works have been made into movies. The new film "The Tailor of Panama" is based on his book.

Record producer and songwriter Neil Innes (IN-ess). He is a founding member of the comedy-rock group "The Bonzo Dog Band." He's also a member of "The Rutles," the band which he and Eric Idle of Monty Python, created as a spoof of the Beatles. INNES is also considered the "seventh Python" player because he provided and performed comedy music for the Monty Python troupe. The Rutles first came to the attention of the public in 1978 when their spoof documentary "All You Need is Cash" aired.

Probably best known for his mystery writing, Sallis is the author of the new highly anticipated biography of African American mystery writer and realist Chester Himes. Himes wrote several books in the late 50s like The Real Cool Killers, and Cotton Comes to Harlem. Sallis has also published several science fiction stories as well as the Lew Griffin mystery series. His book about the lives of noir writers Difficult Lives, came out last year.

His new film Memento, is about a man who is unable to make new memories since the violent murder of his wife. Now without a short term memory, he seeks to avenge her death. The movie stars Guy Pearce, with Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano. The script for Memento was based on a short story written by Johnathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan's brother. Memento is Christopher Nolan's second feature film; his first was the critically acclaimed 1998 film Following.

Cookbook author and food writer Jack Bishop. His latest book is called Vegetables Everyday (Harper Collins). BISHOP writes about food for the New York Times, and Cooks Illustrated and Natural Health Magazines. His other cookbooks include Pasta e Verdura, The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook, and Lasagna.