Terry Gross

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone reviews two plays currently in production which reflect contemporary anxieties about sex. While As Is strips sex of pleasure, Les Liaisons Dangereuses revels in "pornotopic" eroticism.

Film director David Lynch has collaborated with Alan Splet on all of his movies. Splet joins Fresh Air to discuss how he helped Lynch create an unsettling atmosphere in movies like Eraserhead and Blue Velvet.

The jazz pianist blends traditional forms with avant-garde harmonies. A favorite of the Fresh Air staff, he was commissioned to write and perform the program's theme song. He is joined by tuba and bass player Ralph Hamperian.

Blues singer and guitarist Homesick James can't remember how he got his moniker. He says it's a misnomer -- though he hails from Chicago, he doesn't call any place home. He performs two songs for Fresh Air.

Michael Crichton gave up a medical career to become a science fiction author and film director. His newest book, Sphere, deals with an alien encounter and a growing fear of computers.

While some reviewers think River's Edge could become the Blue Valentine of 1987, film critic Stephen Schiff says the film suffers from a weak message and poor casting.

Music publicist Derek Taylor was the press agent for the Beatles; he also ghost wrote the memoir of their manager, Brian Epstein. His new book, about 1967 -- when he started working for Apple Records -- is called It Was Twenty Years Ago Today.

The novelist's new nonfiction book is a meditation on the violent, intense sport, which her father exposed her to when she was a child. Despite her interest in boxing, Oates finds it difficult to watch live fights.

Comedian Emo Phillips revels in awkwardness. He's known for his appearances on Letterman and HBO and bizarre fashion sense.

Each of the photographs in Abigail Heyman's new book documents weddings from across the country. Guests were often confused by her presence -- she was never the official wedding photographer.