Terry Gross

The master of funk, George Clinton. He began his musical career as a teenager when he formed The Parliaments. But in the early 70s, Clinton put together a second group, "Funkadelic," that became enormously influential on the pop music scene. Their 1970 album, "Osmium," set the tone for Clinton's wickedly eclectic style; songs ranged from metaphysical gospel to country and acid rock. But their big hit came with the album "Mothership Connection." In songs like "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker," "Get Up on the Downstroke" and "Think!

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new movie "The Firm," which stars Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris and Holly Hunter.

In Bosnia, Cambodia, Somalia, and other countries, the role of U.N. peacekeeping forces is being redefined. Brian Urquhart, former U.N. Under-Secretary General, talks about what these forces are up against and what they can reasonably achieve.

Bassett recently had the intimidating job of playing the legendary singer in the new film, "What's Love Got to Do with it." Her performance has been widely praised. Bassett's other roles include the mother of a troubled teenager in "Boyz N the Hood," and the wife of the black Muslim leader in Spike Lee's "Malcolm X."

Johnston has four albums to his credit. The latest is, "Unlucky." His previous album, "Can You Fly," brought him to attention of many critics and garnered him much acclaim. Despite his love of hard rock, Johnston's songs have been described as "post-punk honky-tonk. . . performed by a lonely, heartbroken wiseass."

Kristin Clark Taylor worked in the Bush administration, and was the first African-American woman in history to hold that post. She's written a new book about it, "The First to Speak: A Woman of Color inside the White House."

Media and Political Correspondent for The L.A. Times, Tom Rosenstiel. During the 1992 Presidential campaign, he followed the ABC news team to see how the news media and the candidates affected each other and the campaign. His new book is "Strange Bedfellows: How Television and the Presidential Candidates Changed American Politics, 1992."

Harris starred in "The Right Stuff," "The Abyss," and David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross." He's now starring in the new film, "The Firm," based on the best-selling thriller by John Grisham.

Kim Rich has written a new memoir, "Johnny's Girl," about growing up in Anchorage, Alaska during the oil boom years. Her father was a notorious underworld figure in the city who operated illegal gambling houses and massage parlors all over the city. He was eventually murdered.

An author at the pinnacle of the espionage genre, Le Carre has written such classics as "Smiley's People", "Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy", and "The Russia House". Le Carre has shifted his gaze to the Gulf War and international arms dealers in his new novel "The Night Manager."