Terry Gross

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Truth or Dare," the new documentary about pop singer Madonna. He says it reveals a lot about her carefully cultivated image, which finds power in sexuality.

Writer Nicholson Baker. His new book, "U and I," is a quirky look at how writer John Updike has shaped Baker's life

Samir al-Khalil is the pen name of Kanan Makiya. His book "Republic of Fear" became a best-seller during the Gulf War. Now he has a new book about how the regime of Saddam Hussain used public monuments as another tool to keep in power. The book's called "The Monument: Art, Vulgarity, and Responsibility in Iraq."

Cooper just won PEN's Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award for a first work of fiction for his collection of personal essays, "Maps to Anywhere."

The American artist is credited with reviving the art of lithography in this country. In 1960, Wayne founded the Tamarind Workshop in Los Angeles. She's considered one of the prominent lithographers in this country. Throughout her career, she's had to contend with sexism which impugned her professional status.

Heimel writes about the perils of being a single woman in the 90s for both The Village Voice and Playboy. There's a new collection of her columns out, titled "If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?"

Mapfumo is known as "The Lion of Zimbabwe," for his outspoken political stance during his home country's struggle for independence. Mapfumo and his band, The Blacks Unlimited, have a new album, called "Chamunorwa."

Film critic Owen Gleiberman reviews the new home video release of "Tune in Tomorrow," based on Mario Vargas Llosa's novel "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter."

The African American novelist's books include Appalachee Red, which won the James Baldwin Prize for Fiction, Rosiebelle Lee Wildcat Tennessee, and Baby Sweets. He's just published a memoir, The Last Radio Baby, about growing up the fourth of ten childen in a sharecropper family in rural Georgia.

Broadway composer John Kander of the songwriting team Kander & Ebb. They wrote the music for "Cabaret" and such songs as "New York, New York," and "And the World Goes 'Round."