Terry Gross

Leonard Cohen is a singer-songwriter, whose unpolished voice is described as "intimate." His folk music was popular in the 1960s and his songs have been recorded by many artists. Before becoming a musician, Cohen was already a novelist and poet best known for his novel "Beautiful Losers."

Nat Hentoff writes about jazz and civil liberties, but describes his profession as "being a troublemaker." Hentoff began collecting jazz records and hanging out in jazz clubs as a young adult, and later hosted a jazz radio show and edited a magazine before co-founding the Jazz Review, a journal of criticism. Hentoff currently writes a column for the Village Voice and his subjects are often the First Amendment or civil liberties, and he is a staunch defender of free speech. His latest book, "Boston Boy," is a memoir about growing up in Chicago and Boston.

Poet, memoirist, and activist Maya Angelou discusses her life, career, and time spent living in Ghana.

Vito Russo, author of The Celluloid Closet analyzes how gays have been portrayed in films.

Author and illustrator Maurice Sendak discusses children's literature and his own childhood.

Albert Race Sample's autobiography "Racehoss: Big Emma's Boy" describe his experiences growing up as the son of a black prostitute and gambler and one of her white clients. Sample later ended up in "Retrieve" a unit of the Texas Prison System, which Race describes as sadistic.

Novelist and screenwriter Richard Price is inspired by comedians, singers, television, and movies. He published his first novel, "The Wanderers," when he was 24 years old. He began writing screenplays after being disappointed by the film adaptations of his first two novels. His most recent novel was 1984's "The Breaks." Since then he has been writing the screenplay for Martin Scorsese's upcoming film sequel to "The Hustler," "The Color of Money."

Internationally acclaimed conductor Lorin Maazel is in town to conduct a performance at the Spectrum. Maazel joins the show to discuss his life and career.

Comedienne Phyllis Diller joins the show to describe how she got into comedy at the age of 37, after working as a housewife, reporter, copywriter, and in press relations.

Philadelphia Ed Hermance is named as a co-conspirator in an obscenity trial in England for smuggling "obscene" materials to London's prominent gay bookstore Gay's the Word. Hermance is the co-owner of Philadelphia's Giovanni's Room, a gay and feminist bookstore, and he believes the trial represents discrimination.