Terry Gross

Film critic Stephen Schiff review the new film, in which the muscled actor plays a cop who goes undercover as a teacher to capture a drug kingpin. Schiff says the movie tries to be all things to all people, but it somehow works.

Writer Frank White's book "The SETI Factor," looks at the ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence. In 1992, NASA will begin a comprehensive scan of the heavens for radio signals from other solar systems. White says, as a result of that search, it's quite likely that within the next 25 years we'll finally know if we're alone in the universe.

Film historian Kevin Brownlow is best known as the man who reconstructed the silent movie masterpiece Napoleon. His new book, Behind the Mask of Innocence, is an examination of how pre-World War One filmmakers, contrary to popular belief, addressed social issues of the day.

Misrach has been photographing the American West since the mid-70s. His new collection, "Bravo 20," is a photo essay on a region of the Nevada desert that has been illegally used as a bombing range by the Navy for the past 30 years. He hopes that the site can eventually be turned into a national park.

Gray has a new piece called Monster in a Box, about the wending process of writing an as-yet unpublished, 1600 page novel, titled Impossible Vacations. He says that his autobiographical writing distances him from his real life, including his experience of pleasure.

Maceo Parker was a member of James Brown's horn section. Parker was hired along with his brother, but soon made a name for himself. His new album is a straightforward jazz record, called Roots Revisited.

Cropper is a white musician who fell in love with black music. As a guitar player, he preferred working in the studio rather than on the road, and later became part of the house rhythm section for Stax Records. He's best known for his playing with Booker T & the MGs and Otis Redding.

Brenner has written a new book about the pitfalls of traveling, called If God Wanted Us to Travel. He talks about his family's history in the entertainment industry, and how their Jewish faith affected their careers.

Fresh Air producer Amy Salit interviews filmmaker Stephen Frears about his new film "The Grifters," based on the novel by writer Jim Thompson. Frears earlier films include "My Beautiful Laundrette," "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid," "Prick Up Your Ears," and "Dangerous Liaisons."

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews what he says is Coppola's best movie since the last Godfather. He says it's not perfect, but it's better than anything else in theaters right now.