Terry Gross

Tucker wrote Brown's memoir, The Godfather of Soul, which was recently reprinted. He joins Fresh Air to talk about Brown's rise as a soul singer, the evolution of his stage persona, and his recent conviction and imprisonment, a punishment which Tucker believes is too severe based on the charges.

Rather than spend minutes setting up elaborate jokes, Wright comedian delivers one-liners in a deadpan, stoic manner. He has a new HBO comedy special coming up, and also appears in movies. Wright won an Academy Award for the short the Appointments of Dennis Jennings.

Lurie's music is influenced by the soundtracks of classic noir films. He is also an actor, appearing recently in The Last Temptation of Christ and Wild at Heart. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his career, balancing practicing with performing, and his new, self-released album with the Lounge Lizards, Village of Chunk.

New-wave, Tex-Mex polka band Brave Combo joins Fresh Air for a live concert.

Near gained national attention when she joined Jane Fonda in antiwar protests. She joins Fresh Air to talk about developing her skills as a performer, her early acting career, and how she defines her sexuality. Her new memoir is called Fire in the Rain--Singer in the Storm.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says the adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel features exceptional performances and a plot that's just the right level of scary. It's also the best movie by director Nicolas Roeg since the Man Who Fell to Earth.

Fierlinger's movie And Then I'll Stop won the best film award from the International Association of Animators. It's the first animated documentary to explore alcoholism.

Cohen founded the organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). Contrary to the popular belief in a liberal media, Cohen's analysis of recent journalism reveals a conservative bias, especially in the selection of guests on television news programs.

Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Tim Weiner reports on national security issues. In 1988, he won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles on secret Pentagon spending on advanced weaponry and defense technology. Weiner argues that the lack of transparency is unconstitutional -- a point he argues in his new book, "Blank Check: The Pentagon's Black Budget."

Badalamenti composed the music for David Lynch's Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, and Wild at Heart. Before writing film scores, he had a workaday musician's life, arranging and playing piano in bands.