Terry Gross

Documentarian and filmmaker Frederick Wiseman's films often dissect institutions. He emphasizes that his films are biased and reflect his own point of view. He joins the show to discuss his career.

"The Power and the Spirit," is a documentary produced by Anne Bohlen and Celeste Wesson that examines the ban on the ordainment of women in the Catholic Church. The documentary features women who would like to become priests and women who favor more traditional roles and support the ban, as well as a bishop.

Robert Stone counts promises and peoples' failure to keep them, what we chose to perceive in others and how that perception can be deceptive, and the difficulty of behaving decently as themes of his novels. He describes himself as a "writer of his times," and his work often addresses topical issues. His latest novel is "Children of Light."

Art and Aaron Neville are part of the New Orleans funk and rhythm and blues band The Neville Brothers. Art has been performing since 1954 when his "Mardi Gras Mambo" became a hit. The song remains a Mardi Gras standard. Aaron had a hit in 1966 with the song "Tell It Like It Is." The brothers' latest album "Neville-lization."

R. D. Laing is a psychiatrist who challenged conventional views in the 1960s with his proposal that schizophrenia was an adaptive behavior, "a sane response to an insane world," as opposed to an illness. The counterculture embraced Laing's views, but they were controversial in academic circles. In 1965, Laing formed the Philadelphia (for brotherly love, not the city) Association, an alternative treatment center for schizophrenics.

Amiri Baraka, formerly LeRoi Jones, is a poet, playwright, essayist, and political activist who was of the first militant black writers to emerge in the 1960s. He addresses black life, music, and politics in his writing, and his works have often been seen as shocking. "The Autobiography of LeRoi Jones," Baraka's memoir, has just been released in paperback.

Jazz singer Abbey Lincoln began her career in the 1950s with a seductive image singing romantic ballads. Her image changed in the late 1950s after she met her drummer Max Roach, whom she later married, and who introduced her to modern jazz and the emerging black conscious movement. Lincoln also acted in the 1960s, appearing in movies and television. Lincoln's latest album is "Talking to the Sun."

Ellie Greenwich is a songwriter known for her pop songs of the 1960s like "Be My Baby" and "Do Wah Diddy Diddy." Greenwich worked with composers Leiber and Stoller, producer Phil Spector, and co-wrote many of her hits with her ex-husband Jeff Barry. During much of the 1970s, Greenwich wrote, produced, and performed commercial jingles before experiencing a career resurgence in the 1980s. A revue of her songs "Leader of Pack," premiered in New York and will go on a national tour.

Dennis Russell Davies is a conductor known for his dedication to performing new music and innovative programs. Davies is the co-founder and principal conductor for the American Composers Orchestra and the conductor of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center of New York, the summer home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Davies lives in West Germany and is about to assume the position of the General Music Director of the City of Bonn.

Reverend William Sloane Coffin is known for his activism in the Civil Rights and peace movements. Coffin served as the chaplain for Yale University for 18 years where he was active in leading anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. Coffin left Yale in 1976, and is currently the Senior Minister at New York 's progessive Riverside Church. Coffin's latest book is "Living the Truth in a World of Illusions."