Terry Gross

James McCloskey, founder of Centurion Ministries, Inc., which was organized to free innocent men and women from prison. Since McCloskey began his work in 1980 at least ten innocent prisoners have been freed. Just this week Clarence Chance, 42, and Benjamin Powell, 44 were freed after serving 17 and 1/2 years of life sentences. They were wrongly accused of murdering a sheriff's deputy. Witnesses who initially implicated them later told officials that they were pressured to lie.

Sheila Kuehl is now a women's rights lawyer. But most people will remember her as Zelda Gilroy on the old TV show "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." Her TV career ended when rumors began to circulate that she was a lesbian -- and those rumors were true. Now Kuehl is one of the most vocal lesbian activists in Los Angeles

Grace Paley was New Yorks's first official woman state writer. Known for writing about neighborhoods including the Bronx and Greenwich Village, Paley now lives in Vermont. Paley is known for her collections of short stories, but is also a poet. Her new book is "New and Collected Poems."

Author Adam Ulam (OO-lom) ("om" as in bomb) Director of the Russian Research Center and Gurney Professor of History and Political Science at Harvard. His new book is "The Communists: The Story of Power and Lost Illusions 1948-1991." (published byScribner's). He's also the author of "The Bolsheviks.

Punk rocker and now actor John Doe of the soon to be reunited band, "X." Since the band broke up, he went solo with his own album, and took up acting. He's now starring in a new independent film, "Roadside Prophets," written and directed by Abbe Wool, who co-wrote the punk rock movie, "Sid & Nancy."

British actress Juliet Stevenson of the Royal Shakespeare Company. She's probably best known for her role in "Truly, Madly, Deeply," a role that was written for her. She create the role of Madame de Tourvel in the original British production of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." And she's playing the role of Nora in Ibsen's "A Doll's House," which airs on PBS'S Masterpiece Theatre this Sunday (March 29).

Israeli writer A. B. Yehoshua. He's one of Israel's most acclaimed authors. His work, written in Hebrew, includes essays, short stories and novels and spans 30 years. His writing has often been compared to William Faulkner. His books include the novel, "Five Seasons," the collected stories, "The Continuing Silence of a Poet," and his latest novel, "Mr. Mani," is about six generations of a Jewish family. (published by Doubleday).

Poet Linda McCarriston. Her new book of poems is, "Eva-Mary." . Many of the poems in the book are about how her father sexually abused her and her mother. (published by TriQuarterly Book/Northwestern University). (rebroadcast. Originally aired 11/19/91)

Biographer Robert Lacey. Lacey's new book, "Little Man" is an examination of the life of gangster Meyer Lansky. (It's published by Little, Brown). Lacey and Terry Gross will discuss how the movie's portrayal of gangsters differs from reality.(Rebroadcast. Originally aired 1/9/92)

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews Michael Douglas' new thriller, "Basic Instinct." The movie has provoked controversy among gay rights groups because the one bisexual female character is portrayed as a murdering psychopath.