Terry Gross

This summer, at age 53, Texas singer James Hand released his debut album, The Truth Will Set You Free. Hand has been singing and playing for nearly four decades, but he performs mostly in small-town dives. When he's not singing, Hand works as a horse trainer. He has been compared to Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell. (Original airdate: 6/20/06)

Country music singer and songwriter Willie Nelson's newest book is The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart. Nelson, who has been performing for more than 50 years, has recorded 250 albums and appeared in 25 films. (Original airdate: 5/25/06)

Singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver's life has been a rough road. Shaver became famous in the 1970s as the songwriter for the so-called "country music outlaws," including Waylon Jennings. This interview originally aired July 13, 2005.

Singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver's life has been a rough road. Shaver became famous in the 1970s as the songwriter for the so-called "country music outlaws," including Waylon Jennings. This interview originally aired July 13, 2005.

A compelling father-and-son story, country musicians Wayne and Darrell Scott inspire each other. Darrell Scott's most recent CD is The Invisible Man. And last year, he persuaded his father, Wayne Scott, to record his own debut album of original songs — at age 71. It's called This Weary Way. (Original air date: July 3, 2006)

We kick off our series on country music in time for the Labor Day holiday with Martie Maguire, Emily Robison and Natalie Maines. They are considered the biggest-selling female band in history, but found themselves boycotted in 2003 when Maines made an off-the-cuff remark about President Bush on the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In June, they released their first CD in three years, Taking the Long Way. (Original air date: June 6, 2006)

Foreign policy expert Joseph Cirincione is senior vice president for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. He s been called a nonproliferation guru. His soon-to-be-published book is called Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons.

Conservative thinker Michael Ledeen holds the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute, but prefers the term "democratic revolutionary" to "neoconservative." He discusses the current and future U.S. policy toward Iran, arguing that the United States should encourage change from within the country, rather than launching an all-out attack.

Disaster science specialist Ivor Van Heerden is the cofounder and deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center and director of the Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes. His new book is The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina -- the Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist.

Monsignor Doug Doussan and Sister Kathleen Pittman discuss the status of their church and the surrounding neighborhood, one year after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Doussan is pastor and Pitman is pastoral associate at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church in New Orleans.