Terry Gross

Israel's first ambassador to the United Nations and the United States Abba Eban. In 1948 he was elected to Israel's Knesset and worked in the cabinets of many Israeli leaders. Eban served with the British in the Middle East during W.W.II. He has been president of the Weizmann Institute of Science, a professor at Columbia University and worked with the Center for Advanced Studies at Princeton. His latest book, "Personal Witness," is a political memoir about the past five decades of Israel.

Journalist and professor Fred Halliday teaches international relations at the London School of Economics, and has written extensively on the Cold War and the Third World for "The Nation," and "The Middle East Report." Today he talks to Terry about international hotbeds of chaos -- the former Yugoslavia and Somalia, as well as problems in the Middle East.

Kramer is considered the "voice of articulate rage," railing against the government for its indifference to AIDS. His plays include, "The Normal Heart," and the new "The Destiny of Me."Kramer founded the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) and the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC). Terry will talk with him about being a writer, an activist, and a person with HIV.

Director of Harvard's International AIDS Center Jonathan Mann is also a member of The Global AIDS Policy Coalition which has just come out with it's first annual "AIDS in the World" report. Mann will talk with Terry about the findings in the report.

Psychologist Bernard Rimland is the director of the Autism Research Institute and is recognized by many as an authority on the treatment of autism and hyperactivity in children. He has first-hand experience: his son is autistic. Rimland was also an advisor on autism for the movie, "Rain Man." He wrote the forward to Donna Williams' autobiography.

Williams grew up in an abusive family; they didn't know she was autistic. Williams has been labeled "deaf," "retarded," and "crazy." She ran away from home at a young age, lived on the streets, and managed to put herself through college. When she was 25, she learned the word "autistic," and set out to articulate to others her experience living in "a world under glass." Her autobiography is called "Nobody Nowhere."

We broadcast a song from Vernel Bagneris and Morten Gunnar Larsen's November 12th performance of selections from their biographical musical. Because of time constraints, this tune never made it on air -- until now.

The stage and screen actor's career has spanned nearly 50 years. One of his most well-known films is the Magnificent Seven. Wallach is currently touring the country in the play Love Letters with his wife Anne Jackson, and also has a role in the upcoming film, Godfather Part III.

Hoskins starred in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" in which he acted opposite a cartoon bunny. We rebroadcast a portion of an earlier interview where he talks about his accidental start as a stage actor.

Cartoonist and Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Terry interviewed him in 1989, before the television comedy launched on prime time. Groening also draws the comic strip, "Life In Hell," which appears in many alternative and college newspapers.