Terry Gross

Jerry Strahan is the author of the memoir "Managing Ignatius: The Lunacy of Lucky Dogs and Life in the Quarter" (Louisiana State University) about his 20 years managing Lucky Dogs, Inc., a fleet of hot dog carts in New Orleans, French Quarter. Strahan writes that he works among panhandlers, prostitutes, pimps, con artists, drifters, transvestites, and more.

Brother Victor-Antoine D'Avila-Latourette cooks and tends garden at Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery near Millbrook, New York. He's the author of several bestselling cookbooks including: "From a Monastery Kitchen" (Triumph Books), "Twelve Months of Monastery Soups" (Broadway books), as well as his introductory book to the Monastic Life: "A Monastic Year: Reflections from a Monastery" (Taylor Publishing). (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane).

A talk with The New York Times' Youssef Ibrahim who is in Baghdad where he's been reporting on the situation in Iraq. Meanwhile, U.S. Military forces remain in the Middle East, waiting for the United Nation's weapons inspections to begin in Iraq. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Dean Hamer is Chief of Gene Structure and Regulation at the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Biochemistry. He's the co-author of "Living with Our Genes: Why They Matter More Than You Think" (Doubleday). The book is about Hamer's research looking at how specific genes are linked to our behavior, traits like anxiety, thrill-seeking, and homosexuality. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Neil Jacobson is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Washington, and a pioneer in the scientific study of marital therapy. He is co-author (w/John Gottman, author of "Why Marriages Succeed or Fail") of "When Men Batter Women: New Insights into Ending Abusive Relationships" (Simon & Schuster). The book is based on their decade of research with 200 couples in which they observed the arguments of severely violent couples. Their research shatters a couple of myths: that women batter too, and that women often provoke men into battering them.

First-time author, Irene Vilar. Her book "The Ladies' Gallery: A Memoir of Family Secrets" (Vintage) is now in paperback. This memoir chronicles three generations of self-destructive behavoir: in 1954, her grandmother was imprisoned for opening fire at the U.S. House of Representatives; in 1977, her mother lept to her death from a speeding car; and in 1988, she was committed to a psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide.

This year (April 9) marks the centennial of the birth of singer and political activist Paul Robeson. This week he was also given a lifetime achievement award at the Grammy Awards. We'll hear from his biographer Martin Duberman. He was selected by Paul Robeson Jr. to write a biography of his father Paul Robeson. (REBROADCAST from 2/24/89)

Actor and singer Harry Belafonte. This week it was announced that he will be the first recipient of the International Marian Anderson Award, for his contributions as an artist and as a humanitarian. (It will be given to him during a ceremony on Saturday June 27th in Philadelphia) Belafotne was born in Harlem and raised in the hills of Jamaica where he absorbed the song and music of the island life around him. Belafonte's first love was theater, however: he wasn't convinced that popular singing would take him as far emotionally as Shakespeare did.

Novelist Denise Giardina has written a historical fiction on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer -- a German pastor and theologian who, along with a group of German government and military officials plotted to assassinate Adolf Hitler and topple his regime. Giardina's new book is "Saints and Villains" (Norton). Giardina is a former Episcopal deacon, who renounced her ordination vows for active lay ministry. She's also the author of the books "Storming Heaven" and "The Unquiet Earth." (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Simon Beaufoy wrote the screenplay for the film "The Full Monty" which has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay and Best Picture. It was his first feature film credit. Previous to this, Beaufoy produced several short dramas, a documentary, and written a play. He's currently writing the new feature film "The Darkest Light" for his own company Footprint Films. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)