Terry Gross

Poet and Professor of English at Yale, Wayne Koestenbaum explores the affinity of gay men for opera in his new book: "The Queen's Throat: Opera, Homosexuality and the Mystery of Desire" (Vintage). Koestenbaum traces the art-form back to its origins in The Camerata, a 16th century group of Florentine gentlemen, who studied ancient Greek musical theory. A self proclaimed "Opera Queen", Koestenbaum explores this rarely examined territory with what one critic has called "a brilliantly obsessive and funny memoir".

Rapper and actor Ice-T...one of the most popular of the "gangsta" rappers. Although he does not often get his songs played on the radio, all five of his albums have gone gold. Greg Knot of The Chicago Tribune has written that "Ice-T. is that rare gangster rapper who leads with his brain instead of his gun or his crotch." IIce-T.'s 1992 song "Cop Killer," landed him at the center of a controversy about gangsta rap--is it a legitimate form of expression or is it incendiary hate-mongering. Ice-T.

Dr. Sherwin Nuland is a surgeon, and he teaches surgery and the history of medicine at Yale. In his new book, "How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter," (Knopf), he writes that few of us have an understanding of the way people die because 80 percent of Americans die in the hospital, and, for the most part their deaths are concealed. Nuland's new book is an attempt to "demythologize" the process of dying and he presents death in its biological and clinical reality.

Singer, actress, dancer, Ann-Margret (no last name necessary) has written her autobiography, "Ann-Margret: My Story," (with Todd Gold, Putnam). In the book she writes about her relationship with Elvis Presley, her battle with alcohol abuse, and the stage accident that almost ended her career. Ann-Margret has appeared in the movies, "Bye Bye Birdie," "Carnal Knowledge," "Tommy," and others.

Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations and former Director of European Affairs on the National Security Council in the Clinton White House. He'll discuss the political motivations of the European players in NATO's ultimatum to Bosnian Serb forces. The Bosnian Serbs must withdraw artillery and mortars from their stranglehold positions on Sarajevo by February 21st or face NATO air strikes.

Shanghai-born author, Anchee Min. She grew up in China during the last years of Mao's Cultural Revolution. In her memoir, "Red Azalea" (Pantheon), Min recounts her experiences as an 11-year old leader in her school's Little Red Guard, then as a laborer at a work camp where she became the secret lover of her female commander. When Madam Mao began her reform of China's film industry, Min was chosen from 20,000 candidates to become a screen actress because she had a face that was thought to represent the working class.

War surgeon Dr. Chris Giannou, who recently worked through the devastating civil war in the East African country of Burundi. In the ensuing ethnic and political conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi peoples there, at least two hundred thousand people were been killed, oftentimes not with guns, but with machete knives and spears. Giannou has spent over 12 years working in the world's hotspots: Somalia, Lebanon, Cambodia.

Emmy-Award winning documentary filmmaker and producer, Thomas Lennon. His newest documentary examines the interaction between the tabloid press and the mainstream media: "Tabloid Truth: the Michael Jackson Scandal" (which airs on PBS stations February 15th). By watching the story of alleged sexual abuse swell from verifiable news to national spectacle, Lennon questions the state of American journalism, as CNN fights for the same stories once relegated to the National Inquirer.

Caryl Phillips, author of five novels, a work of nonfiction and many scripts for film, theater, radio and television. His new novel,"Crossing the River" (Knopf), tells stories of slavery and the relationships forged by and among some of its perpetrators and victims. Phillips takes liberties with time in following the lives of three African children sold into slavery by their desperate father -- one freed and sent back to Africa as a missionary, one searching for her lost husband and child in the American wild west and one, a World War II GI stationed in Yorkshire, England.

Gregory Alan-WIilliams, Emmy Award winning actor, author and playwright. He has written "A Gathering of Heroes, Reflections on Rage and Responsibility," a memoir of the Los Angeles Riots (Academy Chicago Publishers). On April 29, 1992, Alan-WIilliams, an African American, heard that violence had erupted in South Central L.A. and chose to walk into the heart of the riot. He ended up risking his own life to rescue a Japanese American man who was being brutally beaten by some in the angry crowd.