Terry Gross

David Johansen was a member of the early 1970s glam-punk band the New York Dolls. They often wore both makeup and leather as they played a raw, aggressive style of rock. The group's influence spread far beyond its two studio albums, as it paved the way for rough-riding bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. This year, the singer Morrissey asked the New York Dolls to reunite for his UK Meltdown festival. A CD and DVD came out of the performance, called The Return of the New York Dolls: Live from Royal Festival Hall 2004.

Also we remember mystery novelist Joseph Hansen, who we just learned died last month at the age of 81. He created one of the genre's first gay protagonists, the private eye Dave Brandstetter.

Suketu Mehta's new book is Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. It's an exploration of Mehta's hometown, where he returned after a 21-year absence. Born in Bombay, one of the world's most populous areas, Mehta still believes it's the city of the future.

Mehta now lives in New York. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Conde Nast Traveler and The Village Voice. He co-wrote a Bollywood movie called Mission Kashmir.

Actor Hank Azaria stars in the new Showtime series Huff, about an urban psychiatrist with troubles of his own. Azaria does the voices of Apu the convenience store owner, Moe the bartender and Chief Wiggum, among others, on The Simpsons. He directed and starred in the film Nobody's Perfect, and has acted in many other movies, including The Birdcage, Eulogy, and Shattered Glass.

A new documentary from filmmakers Calvin Skaggs and David Van Taylor describes the emergence of evangelical Christianity as a powerful political force. With God on Our Side: George W. Bush and the Rise of the Religious Right is being broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Van Taylor and Skaggs run the documentary company Lumiere Productions.

The latest book by Israeli author Amos Oz is A Tale Of Love And Darkness, a memoir of growing up in Jerusalem in the turbulent 1940s and '50s, when a war-torn Israel was achieving statehood. Oz's home life was as intense as the world outside.

The book follows Oz through his mother's suicide to a growing interest in politics and writing. Along the way, he chooses a new name for himself — Oz, the Hebrew word for strength — over his family's name, Klausner.

We remember the gay journalist who was the founder and first president of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. He died Sunday at age 70. He worked at The Washington Post for 14 years, with posts as bureau chief in New York and Los Angeles.

The new biopic Kinsey takes on the story of scientist Alfred Kinsey, who pioneered research in human sexuality in the 1940s and 1950s. For the project, director Bill Condon — who also wrote the script — interviewed many of the scientist's colleagues.

The film stars Liam Neeson and Laura Linney as Alfred Kinsey and his wife, Clara McMillen, along with Peter Sarsgaard and John Lithgow. The researcher's life — and American society — were forever changed by his 1948 book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male.

We remember fireman turned writer Larry Brown. He died last week. He was 53. At the age of 29, Brown decided to become an author, and taught himself fiction writing. He moved from short stories for motorcycle magazines to critically acclaimed works in literary journals to a novel, Dirty Work.

The complete 45-episode series of the TV show Pee-Wee's Playhouse is now out on DVD. Reubens originally created the Pee-Wee character at the Los Angeles improv group called The Groundlings. Pee-Wee's Playhouse went on the air in 1986. It ran on CBS for 5 years, garnering 22 Emmys.