Terry Gross

Frontline correspondent and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Gates hosts a Frontline segment called "Two Nations of Black America" which airs Tuesday night on PBS. Today, America has the largest black middle class in its history, yet half of all black children are born into poverty. (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

New York Times Science Correspondent Sheryl Gay Stolberg talks about the comeback of the drug Thalidomide. In the 1960s the drug was banned worldwide after it produced a generation of babies with missing and stunted limbs. But it is now showing promise in treating leprosy and several other ailments including AIDS. (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

Writer Cari Beauchamp is the author of "Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood" (Scribner). Marion was the highest paid writer, male or female, for three decades, and was also the first woman to win an Academy Award twice for screenwriting. (Originally aired 7/14/97)

In the movie "Titanic," the band's last song is "Nearer My God To Thee." But Ian Whitcomb says it's not true. Whitcomb is an expert on early 20th century pop music. His new CD "Titanic" features some of the songs performed by the band on the Titanic, with the same arrangements they used.

Singer and pianist Bobby Short. This year marks his 30th-Anniversary performing at New York's Cafe Carlyle. Telarc records has just put out a CD called "Bobby Short and His Orchestra Celebrating 30 Years at the Cafe Carlyle. Short has appeared as himself in several movies including Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters". (Originally aired 10/1/85)

Writer Susan J. Miller talks about her new book "Never Let Me Down: A Memoir" published by Henry Holt. Her story recounts how at the age of 21 years-old her whole sense of self was changed when her father revealed he had been a heroin addict for 15 years. Miller lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Excerpts from her memoir have appeared in Harper's and Granata. This is her first book.

Former Police Commissioner of New York City and Boston William Bratton. When taking over as New York's commissioner in 1994 he publicly vowed to bring the crime rate down. His new memoir is about how he accomplished his goal," "Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic." (w/Peter Knobler, Random House). (

Photographer David Plowden. He's spent forty years chronicling the changing face of America. His new book "Imprints: A Retrospective" (Little, Brown & Co.) encompasses that work. Plowden's work is at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian and The Library of Congress.

Lawyer Sara Horowitz is the executive director of Working Today, an membership organization group for independent workers. Its roster includes independent contractors, the self-employed, freelancers, and part-timers. The group provides services (like health insurance group rates), education, and advocacy. (Working Today is located in New York City, tel: 212-366-6066, e-mail working 1@tiac.net; website: www.WorkingToday.org.

Writer Eddie Little is making his debut with the semi-autobiographical novel, "Another Day in Paradise" (Viking) about a 14 year old boy who gets caught up in a world of drugs and theft. Little himself is a former heroine addict, who spent time in prison for armed robbery and grand larceny. He also helps run We Care, a Los Angeles organization that provides assistance to house bound people with AIDS and elderly shut-ins.