Terry Gross

Mercer Ellington is a trumpeter, composer, and band leader. He is also the son of jazz legend Duke Ellington. Mercer Ellington is the conductor for the musical based on Duke Ellington's work, "Sophisticated Ladies." Mercer Ellington joins the show to discuss the musical and his father.

Carlos Fuentes is writer whose work often deals with Mexican history. His most famous work is the novel "The Death of Artemio Cruz," and he's recently published a collection of short stories, "Burnt Water." Fuentes has worked as a diplomat, and is also a professor. He is known for his left-of-center politics and criticism of U. S. intervention in Latin America. He joins the show to describe his career, life, and Mexico.

Joe Klein has written a biography of folk musician Woody Guthrie. He joins the show to discuss Guthrie's life, career, and family. His book is titled "Woody Guthrie: A Life."

Rebecca Sinkler is the editor of the Sunday Book Page at the Philadelphia Inquirer. She recently published an article about the best books of 1980. Sinkler joins the show to discuss the trends of the year (a merging of fact and fiction, biography, and historical fiction), putting together a newspaper page, and the experiences that led her to criticism.

Angela Lansbury is an actress who is currently starring in the tour of "Sweeney Todd," playing now in Philadelphia. "Sweeney Todd" is a musical with music by Stephen Sondheim based on the legend of "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," a barber whose quest for revenge leads to murder. Lansbury stars as his accomplice, and won a Tony for the role. She joins the show to discuss the musical and working with Sondheim, singing, and acting.

Italian journalist and novelist Oriana Fallaci is known for her interviews with controversial political figures. Her latest work is about her former lover Alexandros Panagoulis, infamous for an attempt to assassinate a Greek dictator. Her book "A Man" covers his life and torture in prison, his enemies, and his death, which she believes to be a politically motivated murder. The book is partly fictionalized.

Film critic Leonard Maltin has two new releases. The first is an updated and revised edition of his "T.V. Movies," an index of films shown on television. The second is about silent cartoons and animations and is titled "Of Mice and Magic." He joins the show to discuss both.

Minnie Pearl is a country comedian and star of the Grand Ole Opry. She joins the show to discuss her life, career, and new memoir, "Minnie Pearl, an Autobiography."

Madelon Bedell has just published the first in a two-volume biography of "Little Women" writer Louisa May Alcott and the Alcott family, "The Alcotts: Biography of a Family." She discusses not only the Alcotts, but also the social movements and philosophies that surrounded the family.

Writer and humorist Roy Blount's new book is "Crackers," a book of "impressions" about Southerners, Northerners, Jimmy Carter, and a fictional Carter family. Blount joins the show to talk about his book, Carter, the 1980 election, and the current political climate.