Terry Gross

Levy founded the new Citadel Underground press, which has been publishing new editions of books written by individuals from the 1960s counterculture. Levy was ten years old in 1968; witnessing radical social movements emerge as he grew up shaped the person he is today.

Carlin stirred up controversy with his bit about seven words inappropriate for broadcast. He joins Fresh Air to talk about about obscenity, performance, and his past drug use.

While in his 30s -- and with no past experience -- John Mahoney gave up a career editing a medical journal to pursue acting. He became a member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and has appeared in films like Moonstruck and Say Anything.

The white anti-apartheid activist and African National Congress member survived a car bomb explosion, though the blast left him severely injured. Sachs later left South Africa for Mozambique, then England. His new memoir about the experience is called Running to Maputo.

Greg Ford and Hal Willner produced of a new album of live, orchestral performances of the composer's music, which helped defined the the classic Warner Bros. cartoons.

Film critic Stephen Schiff has no taste for the high school movies that proliferated in the 1980s. But he likes films that celebrate youthful energy and rebellion against authority, like Pump Up the Volume. The movie, about a teenage radio DJ, features an excellent performance by star Christian Slater.

Coyote was a member of the Digger, a San Francisco-based guerrilla theater collective. After a brief stint as a stockbroker, he's now a movie actor, appearing in Jagged Edge, E.T., and Outrageous Fortune. He wrote the introduction to a new edition of Emmett Grogan's autobiography, Ringolevio, about the 1960s counterculture.

Williams left high school at 16 to become a professional musician. He joined Miles Davis's band the next year, and later formed his electric fusion group, Lifetime. Williams' new solo album--a return to acoustic jazz--is called Native Heart.

Music journalist Charles Shaar Murray is the author of Crosstown Traffic, about how fans and critics have defined the groundbreaking African American guitarist in relation to white culture. The tension between black musicians and white audiences continues today, particularly with the rise of rap music.

Journalist James Traub writes about the Wedtech company in his new book, Too Good To Be True. The Bronx-based, minority-led defense firm bribed politicians in order to earn government contracts with the support of the Reagan administration.