Terry Gross

For six years, Joseph Pistone worked undercover for the FBI to investigate the Mafia. His testimony helped convict over one hundred people, including those involved with the Pizza Connection heroin operation. His new memoir is titled Donnie Brasco -- the name he used when working with crime families.

Gordon's band, founded in 1981, recently released the critically-acclaimed double album Daydream Nation. Gordon joins Fresh Air to discuss her experience as a woman rock musician in a male-dominated scene, playing concerts, and her desire for a larger audience.

Feminist scholar Barbara Katz Rothman says that feminists must confront the cultural shift toward privileging the unborn fetus over the pregnant women. New technologies and the rise of paid surrogacy, Rothman argues, have contributed to this change.

Thomas started working professionally at seventeen. The 1970s were difficult for her career: a hurricane devastated the scene around New Orleans, where she often performed. Changing musical tastes kept her from getting gigs in her new home of Los Angeles. Now, Thomas is back with a new album, called The Way I Feel.

Almendros worked on "Sophie's Choice," "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Days of Heaven," for which he won the Academy Award. He got his start making propaganda films in Cuba, but had a falling out with the Castro regime. Almendros later returned to make a documentary about the country's human rights violations.

Public health expert Ronald Bayer says that the AIDS epidemic is forcing medical professionals to rethink issues of privacy and mandatory screening. Complicating the matter is the fact that the disease disproportionately affects vulnerable communities like homosexuals, people of color, and intravenous drug users. Bayer says one of best ways to deal with AIDS is to change the sexual climate of the country, wherein individuals become more forthright about communication and protection.

In an effort to identify a body, Philadelphia police once dressed and photographed the corpse, then distributed the photo to the public. This macabre act inspired Shubin's latest novel, Never Quite Dead.

Lewitzky is based in Los Angeles where, early in her career, she danced in a number of motion pictures. Her choreography for the stage conveys simplicity of movement, divorced from any suggestion of narrative. Lewitzky performed until the age of 62.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone reviews a performance of the frequent Tonight Show guest host. She says that Leno's stand-up has some social consciousness, but avoids addressing specific policies or politicians. Leno also sidesteps sexuality; when the topic does come up, Stone says Leno is lewd and misguided.