Terry Gross

Leavitt's writing focuses on the family lives of gay men and women. He says families can alternately be sanctuaries and dangerous communities for for them. His new book, set in the suburbs, is called Equal Affections.

Arnold Rampersad's biography of the African American poet has been called "a literary event." Despite dedicating his writing to the black experience, Hughes grew up in a largely white community. His more radical work didn't find much of an audience, which led to him adopting a more social-realist style later in his career.

Performance group Robert Kaplow and the Punsters stage a radio play with Fresh Air host Terry Gross. Elvis Presley joins the show to talk about the current direction of pop music.

Rhys Chatham is a classically-trained, minimalist composer who incorporates rock influences into his music. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his choice of instrumentation, and the evolution of his work over the years.

The playwright reads a passage from her forthcoming memoir about studying with Edward Albee and writing her Obie-winning "Funnyhouse of a Negro."

The essayist and novelist's new book, called AIDS and Its Metaphors, examines the discourse surrounding the disease. Sontag is a cancer survivor; a previous book about language and sickness is titled Illness as Metaphor. She joins Fresh Air to talk about how cancer changed her thinking and made her a more compassionate person.

The actress had her big break in John Waters' movie Hairspray, as the teen star Tracy Turnblad. Lake is larger than many of her peers, but has successfully landed roles written for skinny women. She joins Fresh Air to discuss her early influences, her post-Hairspray work, and her relationship with the late drag queen Divine.

Hesseman played disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever in WKRP in Cincinnati, and now stars as a high school teacher in the comedy Head of the Class. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about how his performances and personal experiences inform each other. Early in his career, Hesseman sold two ounces of marijuana to an undercover police officer; he later had his record expunged.

Frank Chin is critical of many other contemporary Asian American writers; their works, he says, rely too much on western forms, cater to white audiences, and misrepresent Asian culture. His new collection of short stories, The Chinaman Pacific & Frisco R.R. Co, reveals his own perspectives on the Chinese American experience.

Hines started tap dancing at the age of five, and worked in clubs with his brother and father. He made a career on Broadway, and later appeared in movies like The Cotton Club and White Knights. His new movie is called Tap.