Terry Gross

Comedian Chris Rock. Rock's a cast member on Saturday Night Live. He also played the junkie in the movie "New Jack City."

Elvis Costello's former bass player, Bruce Thomas. He was with Elvis Costello and the Attractions, from 1977-1987. Thomas has just written a journalistic book about touring with a band based on his own experiences, "The Big Wheel: Rock & Roll and Roadside Attractions." (published by Faber & Faber).

Comic book artist Diane Noomin. She's the editor of (and a contributor to) a new collection of underground comics drawn by women. It's called "Twisted Sisters." It's published by Penguin.

Business consultant and professor Graef (rhymes with "waif") Crystal. Crystal spent many years telling CEOs of major corporations how to get bigger salaries. Now he's taking the exact opposite tack, speaking out against the astronomical salaries many executives receive, whether or not their companies do well. That's the subject of his new book, "In Search of Excess."

Co-founder of the 1970s rock group Steely Dan, Donald Fagen. Their hits included "Rikki, Don't Lose that Number," "Deacon Blues," and "Josie." Since then he's issued a solo album and some singles, and worked at film scoring. He's just come out with a new all-star album, "New York Rock & Soul Revue -- Live at the Beacon," featuring Fagen, Michael McDonald, Phoebe Snow and Boz Scaggs. (Giant Records).

Ambassador Max Kampelman. He was head of the U.S. delegation to the Geneva negotiations on nuclear and arms reduction. He also headed the U.S. delegation at the Madrid East-West Conference on Human Rights. Though a moderate Democrat, he worked for the Reagan and Bush administrations. And he was a pacifist until the end of World War Two when he realized that nuclear weapons changed the way wars would be waged. He's written a memoir, "Entering New Worlds: The Memoirs of a Private Man in Public Life." (HarperCollins Publishing).

Film director Peter Medak. Medak's new movie, "Let Him Have it," is the true-life story of two London teenagers who shot a policeman in 1952. What makes the case controversial is that the boy who actually pulled the trigger was a minor, and therefore couldn't get the death penalty. The other boy was put to death, even though there's evidence that he was trying to surrender.

Author David Feinberg. His new novel, "Spontaneous Combustion," is the further adventures of an HIV-positive man in New York City. (It's published by Viking).

Medical anthropologist Andrea Sankar. She's written a new book that explains how to take care of a dying loved one at home. It's called "Dying At Home: A Family Guide for Caregiving." It's published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.

Actor Alan Rickman. Rickman stars in the new drama, "Close My Eyes." In recent years, he's played a couple of great bad guys...the suave terrorist Hans Gruber in "Die Hard," and the Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."