Terry Gross

Soviet editor Vitali Korotych of the Soviet Magazine "Ogonyuk," the first magazine that reflected the Soviet Union's new openness. Despite recent governmental reforms, it still has a contentious relationship with the State.

Cisneros' first book, "The House on Mango Street," told the story of Esperanza Cordero, a young girl growing up in the Latino quarter of Chicago. Cisneros has a new collection of stories, called "Woman Hollering Creek."

Novelist Mary Gordon has a new collection of essays, "Good Boys and Dead Girls: And Other Essays." Catholicism has been a constant theme in her novels, which include: "Final Payment," and "The Company of Women." American fiction by men, Catholicism, and abortion are some of the issues she write about in her new book

Wendell's new movie is "Chameleon Street," about an imposter: a young black man who successfully passed himself off as a surgeon, a Yale Student, a Time magazine journalist, and an attorney. It's based on a true story, and won the 1990 Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Film.

Documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee and editor Marilyn Levine. He made the film, "Sherman's March," in which he set out to trace William Tecumseh Sherman's march to the sea -- but it really traces his entanglements with Southern women along the way. During the editing of that film, he and Levine fell in love. McElwee's new film, "Something to Do With The Wall," began as a story about the eternal presence of the Berlin Wall, but ended up a story of the wall's breaking down.

In 1960, Curtis starred in the film, "Spartacus," about a leader of slaves revolting against Republican Rome. A restored version of the film is being released that includes previously cut scenes, including a homoerotic exchange between Curtis and co-star Laurence Olivier.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new French film, "Daddy Nostalgia," starring Dirk Bogard as a man at the end of his life reconnecting with his daughter.

We examine how the Gulf War has changed the arms race with journalist James Adams. He's the Defense Correspondent and Associate Editor of The Sunday Times of London, and the author of "Engines of War: Merchants of Death and the New Arms Race."

Schrader's screenwriting credits include "Taxi Driver" and "The Last Temptation of Christ." His directing credits include "Hard Core," "Light of Day," "American Gigolo" and "Patty Hearst." Schrader's latest movie is the psychological drama, "The Comfort of Strangers."

Fresh Air producer Amy Salit talks with Indian writer Gita Mehta. Mehta wrote the best-selling novel, "Raj," which has just been released in paperback.