Terry Gross

Filmmaker Robert Young. Young's new movie, "Triumph of the Spirit," tells the true-life story of a young fighter who was imprisoned at Auschwitz during the Second World War. While being held there, the Nazis forced him to box other prisoners, the loser being sent to the death ovens. The film stars Willem Dafoe, Robert Loggia, and Edward James Olmos. Young's earlier credits include "Dominick and Eugene" and "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez."

Reporter Tom Rose. Rose covered the 1988 rescue of three California grey whales that were trapped in the ice off Barrow, Alaska. The plight of those whales became an international media event. Rose has now written a book about the media hype surrounding the event, called "Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created the World's Greatest Non-Event." (Published by Birch Lane Press, division of Carol Publishing Group, NY).

Documentary Producer Henry Hampton. In 1987 he produced the prize-winning documentary series on PBS, "Eyes on the Prize." The series documented the civil rights movement from 1954 to 1965. The New York Times' Walter Goodman called the series, "a moving documentary" in which "the nobility of America's civil-rights struggle comes through with the directness and strength of a spiritual." It's sequel, "Eyes on the Prize II," is now being broadcast and covers the movement from 1965 to the 1980s.

Actor Tom Hulce. He was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Mozart in the movie "Amadeus," and for a Golden Globe for his role as brain-damaged garbage man in "Dominick & Eugene." More recently, Hulce played the black-sheep of the family in "Parenthood." Next week, Hulce stars in "Murder in Mississippi," a made-for-TV movie about the freedom summer.

Journalist John Hockenberry. For the past two years he's been National Public Radio's foreign correspondent in the Middle East, where he covered events from his wheelchair. He's also served as host for "All Things Considered," "SoundPrint," and other shows. In 1987 he won a Peabody and in 1988, a Unity in Media award. In March, he'll be hosting "Heat," a new nightly interview, performance, and call-in show over NPR.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the movie, "Stella," starring Bette Midler.

Journalist Michael Norman. Norman served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and his memoir, "These Good Men: Friendships Forged from War," he tells the stories of some of the men he served with. Norman, a former columnist for the New York Times, spent 5 years looking for his comrades, traveling from Oklahoma to London, finding out what had happened to them in the 20 years since the war and trying to understand how his own life had been changed.

Writer, producer, and director Arthur Laurents. Laurents wrote the stories for the plays "Gypsy" and "West Side Story" and the screenplays for the movies "The Way We Were" and "The Turning Point." Laurents is currently directing the Broadway revival of "Gypsy," starring Tyne Daly.

White South African writer Rian (rhymes with "neon") Malan. Malan is an Afrikaner, descendent of a family that settled in South Africa over three hundred years ago, and Malan's great-uncle was the chief architect of the Apartheid system. Malan only realized the horror of Apartheid after he became a crime reporter for a Johannesburg paper. What he learned led him to leave South Africa, and spend the next eight years in exile.

Character actor Kurtwood Smith. Smith has a penchant for playing the heavy...in "Robocop" he played a sadistic killer, in "Dead Poets Society" he played a repressive father, and in "True Believer," he played an over-zealous attorney. His next role is in the upcoming comedy, "Quick Change." He plays a mafia don.