Terry Gross

Leonard Koren. He's written, "283 Useful Ideas From Japan," which lists innovative products and services in Japan. It includes such things as the two-headed public telephone, a combination sink/toilet, and capsule hotels. Koren has been an architect, graphic designer, and publisher. He works and lives in San Francisco and Tokyo. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Food historian William Woys Weaver. Weaver is a leading expert on the culinary traditions and cooking techniques of the 18th and 19th centuries, and he often is often consulted by restoration organizations such as Old Sturbridge Village and Colonial Williamsburg. Weaver also tracks the emergence of regional American cuisines, often focusing on what the common workers, farmers, and slaves ate. Weaver's new book, "America Eats," examines American foods as a valid form of folk art. It also features traditional recipes adapted for the modern kitchen.

Military historian John Keegan. His new book, "The Second World War," recounts the strategies and battles of the war by looking at the three major theaters (the West, the East, and the Pacific) in both the early and late years of the war. Keegan, one of today's foremost military historians, is best known for analyzing the effects of war on the individual soldier. He taught for many years at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in Britain, and is now the Defense Correspondent of The Daily Telegraph in London.

Commentator Patricia McLaughlin (mik-LOFF-lin) examines the ties that bind us to our possessions.

British film director Mike Figgis. He wrote and directed the film, "Stormy Monday," starring Melanie Griffith, and directed the new movie, "Internal Affairs," starring Richard Gere and Andy Garcia

A live concert with Yomo Toro. A native of Puerto Rico, Yomo plays the cuatro, a small guitar-like instrument with five sets of double strings. He performs the traditional form of Puerto Rican folk music called "jibaro." (HEE-bar-oh). Toro is joined by Ruben Figueroa on bass and guitar and Luis Cabrera on percussion. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Actor and Director William H. Macy. He's been associated with playwright and film director David Mamet for over 15 years. He appeared in the original productions of Mamet's American Buffalo and The Water Engine. He's appeared in Mamet's films, "House of Games," and "Things Change." Now he's directing the theatrical debut of Mamet's play, "Squirrels," at the Philadelphia festival of New Plays. One of Macy'S earliest acting roles was in the workshop production of "Squirrels" in the 1970's in Chicago.

Scientist and writer Dr. Arno Penzias (PEN-zee-us). He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1978 for his work supporting the big-bang theory of the universe. Now, as vice-president of research at AT&T he's responsible for innovation and risk-taking. Though Penzias is at the forefront of technological development, he remains aware of its human implication. His book, "Ideas and Information" is a crash course on the history of computers and communications-technology and is addressed to the general reader.

Movie critic Stephen Schiff reviews the film, "Sweetie," about an eccentric Australian family.

Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton. The University of North Carolina Press has just reissued Lifton's classic 1961 book, "Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism." That book examined what's commonly been referred to as 'brain washing' as it was practiced in Communist China. Lifton says the book has new relevancy now in light of the rise of 'cult' religions and the recent pro-democracy movements in China and eastern Europe.