Terry Gross

Forsythe plays the villain Flattop in the new Dick Tracy movie. He also appeared in the Patty Hearst biopic and Serigio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer joins Fresh Air to talk about the scientific and cultural history of the Red Planet. He advocates for robotic and human exploration of Mars -- an endeavor that would lead to greater technological innovations and international cooperation.

Spencer is known for his book Endless Love, about a teenage love affair. His new novel is called Secret Anniversaries, about the a woman's love life during World War II.

Hubert Selby's controversial, now-classic novel has been turned into a new movie, directed by Uli Edel. Selby served as a consultant on-set. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the people who inspired his writing.

Troxel founded the Olympia-based vocal group with Gretchen Christopher and Barbara Ellis in the late-1950s. The Fleetwoods have a new best-of CD on Rhino Records.

Part II of the Fresh Air interview with the legendary B-movie producer and director. Corman talks about some of the unconventional research he did before making his films, including hanging out with the Hell's Angels and taking LSD. Despite having the opportunity to work with major studios, he chose to work independently, and eventually started his own production and distribution company, New World Pictures.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says Mo' Better Blues, about a trumpet player's struggles balancing his career with his romantic relationships is at best agreeably messy and, at worst, repugnant, especially in its flagrant, anti-Semetic portrayals of Jewish businessmen.

Part I of the Fresh Air interview. Despite his reputation as a master of the low-budget B-movie, Corman cites classic Hollywood and European films as his primary influences. He is known for his prolific pace, and for introducing now-famous actors like Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, and Vincent Price. Corman has a new memoir, called "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime."

Historian William Taubman edited and translated a biography of the last years of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, as told by Nikita's son, Sergei. The book, titled Khrushchev on Khrushchev, gives new insights into the elder Khrushchev's fall from power after repudiating Stalinism, and his final days as a virtual pariah in the Soviet Union.

Fresh Air Terry Gross's most pressing question for the blues and gospel group is, Why hasn't she heard of them before? For over twenty years, the real life brothers Sherman and Wendell, along with bandmate Popsy Dixon, have performed soulful, vocal-driven music. Their new album is called In the Spirit.