Terry Gross

Film critic Stephen Schiff calls the new biopic wrongheaded; Stone's version of the sixties, Schiff says, is both trite and incoherent.

Shawn co-starred in and co-wrote the movie, "My Dinner With Andre," and also appeared in "Manhattan," "The Princess Bride," and "Radio Days." Now Shawn is performing a one-man monologue called "The Fever," about a well-to-do man coming to grips with the world's poverty.

Journalist Nicholas Lemann's new book, "The Promised Land," is an account of the American black migration; between the early 1940s and the late 1960s more than five million blacks left the Deep South and headed north, looking for a better life.

Journalist James Ridgeway has a new book on the rise of the white supremacy movement in the United States called "Blood In The Face." Ridgeway also co-produced a documentary film on the subject, also called "Blood On The Face."

Two interviews in this segment. First, Charles Tripp discusses the the stability of Saddam's government, and the current civil war in Iraq. Tripp's a lecturer at. the University of London. Next, we discuss Syria's role in the post-war Middle East with Patrick Seale, the author of "Asad: The Struggle for The Middle East."

In the new thriller, Hopkins plays Doctor Hannibal Lecter, a brillant psychiatrist turned sociopath killer, who also holds the key to the identity of another crazed killer. He tells Terry how he developed the character, including his distinctive voice. Earlier in his career, Hopkins was a stage actor.

Professor R.K. Ramazani is a professor of Government and Foreign affairs at the University of Virginia. He'll discuss the current uprisings in Southern Iraq, and whether the U.S. should worry about the rebels being backed by Iran.

Terry talks with NPR's Vice-President for news and information programs, Bill Buzenberg, about the disappearance of NPR reporter Neil Conan. Conan is among about 26 journalists that disappeared while on the way to cover the uprisings in Basra.

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Steve Lopez talks about his recent columns on the war, and the local reaction to them. He was against the war from the start -- a position which earned him a lot of criticism.

Stoppard wrote the award-winning plays "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," "The Real Inspector Hound," and "The Real Thing;" and the screenplays for "Empire of the Sun," "Brazil," and "The Russia House." He's just made his debut as a film director in the movie adaptation of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead." During his early life, he lived in India and Singapore.