Terry Gross

DiCillo's new film is a strange comedy about a untalented musician and housepainter with a ridiculously high pompadour, and a love for Ricky Nelson. Docillo created the character for a one-man show he performed in New York. Before that, he was cinematographer for two of Jim Jarmusch's early films, "Stranger Than Paradise," and "Permanent Vacation."

Executive Director for the human rights group Asia Watch, Rakiya Omaar, will talk to Terry about the situation in Somalia where war and famine are killing thousands of people. Omaar has just returned from visits at refugee camps in Somalia and Ethiopia, where resources and services are scarce.

Journalist Andres Oppenheimer is the senior foreign correspondent for The Miami Herald. He spent more than five months in Cuba researching his new book, "Castro's Final Hour," which looks into how the country has been affected by the collapse of Soviet Union, which had provided ample material support to Castro's government.

Feuer co-produced the original "Guys & Dolls" on Broadway, which is currently in revival. He also produced 11 other Broadway musicals with Ernest Martin, including "Can-Can," "The Boyfriend," and "Silk Stockings." They also produced the film versions of "Cabaret," and "A Chorus Line."

Commentator David Gurevitz shares his thoughts about the different perspectives athletes must cultivate while traveling the world to compete in the Olympics.

When the hit rap song "The Message," by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, came out ten years ago, many rappers were inspired by its political message. Now "The New Message," an updated version has been released. Melle Mel was featured on both songs. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the direction of rap music today.

When he was 3 years old, Roach was taken from his Aboriginal family and placed with a white family, as part of an Australian assimilation program intended to dilute the aboriginal population. The policy, common practice until 1964, was neither publicized nor explained. At 14, he ran away to find his natural family, and spent ten years on the streets, mostly in Melbourne. He sang first for friends, and then was invited to sing in clubs and on radio. "Charcoal Lane," his acclaimed debut album, has just been released.

Since 1975, Rideau has been the editor-in-chief of "The Angolite," the prison newsmagazine of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, where he's serving a life sentence for murder. An eighth-grade dropout, he was convicted of murder in 1961 and spent eleven years on death row at Angola, where he taught himself to write. "The Angolite" has highlighted issues of execution and prison rape. For his writing, Rideau won the Sidney Hillman Award in 1981, the George Polk award in 1980, and the Robert F.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new film, "Death Becomes Her," directed by Robert Zemeckis, who also made "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?". Schiff says when Zemeckis tries to write for adults, it just comes across as childish.

Anders' new film is "Gas Food Lodging," about a single mother and her two teenage children living in a trailer. Anders herself was a single mother on welfare with two teenage daughters. Previously, she collaborated on the film "Border Radio."