Terry Gross

Record producer and folklorist Chris Strachwitz. In 1960, Strachwitz started Arhoolie records as a leading outlet for many types of music that were disappearing or outside the mainstream. Today, the label has hundreds of titles, featuring blues, cajun, country and bluegrass, Tex-Mex, and many other styles. Strachwitz has just received a NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award, the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Strachwitz also has a new CD anthology of his Arhoolie recordings. (ORIGINAL BROADCAST: 2/22/90)

Washington Post reporter Peter Baker. He’s the journalist who co-wrote the story breaking the news about Monica Lewinsky, and he’s just written a book about that episode of the Clinton presidency, called “The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton.” (Scribner) He writes, “For all the titillation about thongs and cigars, the story… was not so much about sex as it was about power.”

Publisher Andre Schiffrin director of The New Press, and former head of Pantheon books, talks about the New York publishing world from the business side. He’s just written “The Business of Books,” (Verso) described as part memoir, part history of contemporary publishing.

Former presidential speechwriter Michael Waldman. His new book is called “POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words that Defined the Clinton Presidency.” (Simon and Schuster) From 1993 to 1999, Waldman was a special assistant and then chief speechwriter to Bill Clinton. During that time, he worked closely with the president to write or edit nearly two thousand speeches, including four State of the Union addresses and two inaugural addresses. Previously a public-interest lawyer and writer, Waldman is the author of “Who Robbed America?

Professor Michael A. Bellesiles on the history of gun culture in America. His new book, “Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture” (Knopf) looks at our country’s obsession with guns. Historically, he says it began around the civil war. Before that, there was virtually no access to firearms. His research refutes the conventional lore that Colonial families were armed, and that the gun was the symbol of the frontier. Bellesiles is a Colonial historian at Emory University, and the Director of Emory’s Center for the Study of Violence.

Writer F.X. Toole. At age 70, he’s just published his first book. It’s a collection of short stories about boxing called “Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner.” (ECCO/HarperCollins) For twenty years, he’s been a cut man, stopping the bleeding so fighters can go on to the next round. Toole has been writing for 40 years, but it was the publication of his first story last year in a small literary magazine that caught the attention of a book agent.

Novelist David Leavitt. His new book is “Martin Bauman; or, A Sure Thing.” (Houghton Mifflin) It is a look at the Manhattan publishing scene as viewed through the eyes of 19-year-old Martin Bauman. Leavitt’s own first book, “Family Dancing,” was published when he was just 23. Leavitt’s other books include “The Lost Language of Cranes,” “Equal Affections,” and “While England Sleeps.”

Film critic Henry Sheehan has a review of the re-release of the horror classic “The Exorcist.” Some new scenes have been added. Actress Mercedes McCambridge, who chilled audiences in the 1970's as the voice of the Devil in "The Exorcist". She won an Academy Award for her first film role -- in 1949 for "All the King's Men". She also starred with Joan Crawford in Nicholas Ray's western, "Johnny Guitar.” (3/18/94, originally 1981)

Actress and model Isabella Rossellini talks about her famous parents, actress Ingrid Bergman and filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, and her own career. She stars in the new film “Left Luggage” with Maximillian Schell. It opens this weekend. She has acted in numerous T-V shows, and her film credits include "Blue Velvet," “The Impostors,” and “Big Night.” She is also the spokesmodel for Lancome cosmetics. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW.) (6/12/97)

Gossip columnist Liz Smith. She’s just written a memoir called “Natural Blonde” (Hyperion) about her dealings with the rich and famous throughout her career. Smith boasts that she’s the highest paid print journalist in the world. He bylined column has appeared daily since 1976 and is syndicated to millions of readers in over 70 newspapers. She was recently named a “Living Landmark” by the Landmarks Conservancy of New York.