Terry Gross

Lincoln Chafee, former U.S. senator from Rhode Island, was often called the most liberal Republican in the Senate. In office, he bucked his party on a number of hot-button issues, including same-sex marriage and the war in Iraq. His book Against the Tide challenges the Republican Party on its rightward drift.

It's been four years since Gene Robinson was consecrated bishop of a rural Episcopal diocese in New Hampshire. He's faced challenges and controversies as that denomination's first openly gay bishop — and he's written about them in a new memoir, In the Eye of the Storm.

With both the cost of and demand for oil rising, nations with large energy reserves are redrawing political and military alliances, and oil-rich countries like Russia and Venezuela are enjoying greater influence. Michael Klare, author of Rising Power, Shrinking Planet, calls it the "new international energy order."

On Friday, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Philip Roth is being honored at Columbia University in commemoration of his 75th birthday. The National Book Foundation is celebrating the event with an online exhibit of Roth's work. Roth, a frequent guest on Fresh Air, talks with Terry Gross about his celebrated career.

While on assignment in Sudan, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Paul Salopek was captured by pro-government militias, then charged with spying and imprisoned for 34 days. He writes about his experience in April's edition of National Geographic.

The band R.E.M. has released its first album in four years, Accelerate. Critics have been describing the disc as a "comeback," saying it's the band's best album in ages. Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills join Terry Gross for a conversation.

As chief of high-value targeting for the Pentagon, Marc Garlasco helped plan the targets of laser-guided bombs during the invasion of Iraq. Now a senior analyst with Human Rights Watch, Garlasco visits war zones where he assesses the damage being done to civilians by bombs and lobbies for greater deliberation in the use of air power.

Julie Andrews has spent her life in the public eye, but she's never had much to say about her life before stardom — until now. The Sound of Music star joins Terry Gross to discuss her new memoir.

Academy Award-winning actor Charlton Heston died Saturday at the age of 84. Heston, who starred in epic films such as Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments, later made a name for himself as a conservative activist.