Terry Gross

Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Omaha, Thomas E. Gouttierre. He also served on the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission to Afghanistan, and is the American specialist on Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and South Asia at the meetings of the US-Russian Task Force on Regional Conflicts.

Nigerian-born journalist Ken Wiwa writes for the Toronto Globe and Mail. He is the son of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa, one of Nigerias best-loved writers and vocal critics of the military rule. Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian military regime in 1995. Ken Wiwa has written the new memoir, In the Shadow of a Saint: A Sons Journey to Understand His Fathers Legacy.

Producer/ Director Terry Zwigoff recently directed the new film Ghost World based on the graphic novel of the same name by Daniel Clowes. Zwigoff also directed the documentary, Crumb about the life of Robert Crumb, the famous underground artist who popularized characters such as Mr. Natural, Flakey Foont and Keep on Truckin'. He also directed the documentary Louie Bluie.

Cartoonist Daniel Clowes. Drawn in 1950s pop culture style, his comics are darkly humorous satires of middle class America. His graphic novel Ghost World (first published in 1993) is the basis of the new film of the same name. His first comic book series was Lloyd Llewellyn, followed by Eightball (both published by Fantagraphics Books). Clowes was the first cartoonist to contribute a comic story to Esquire annual fiction issue.

Writer and radio personality Garrison Keillor. He is the host and writer of A Prairie Home Companion, broadcast from Minnesota and heard weekly on public radio stations nationwide. Keillor has just published two new books. One is a semi-autobiographical novel, called Lake Wobegon Summer 1956. (Viking) The other is in collaboration with photographer Richard Olsenius: In Search of Lake Wobegon (Viking Studio). It an effort to capture in words and pictures the people and places that inspired the fictional town of Lake Wobegon.

Film critic Pauline Kael died yesterday at the age of 82. We will talk with her former editor William Whitworth. He was her editor at the New Yorker from 1975 to 1980. He also former editor of the Atlantic Monthly, and currently Editor Emeritus of the Atlantic.

Author Elizabeth Gitter. Her book is The Imprisoned Guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman, the Original Deaf-Blind Girl. (FSG) Gitter came upon the story of Laura Bridgman and was fascinated by this forgotten chapter of history. Bridgman learned to read and write, but her fame was eclipsed by the more charming and attractive Helen Keller. Gitter is a professor of English at the City University of New York John Jay College. She specializes in the Victorian era.

Dancer and actress Marge Champion starred in some of the great musicals of the 1950s, including the films Show Boat and Mr. Music, as well as several stage productions and television shows, along with her partner Gower Champion. She acted in some notable films, including The Swimmer (1968). Her career spans many decades and she was most recently in a Broadway revival of Follies. Champion teaches classes at Jacob Pillow Dance Festival.

Actor Dominic Chianese plays Uncle Junior on the hit HBO series The Sopranos. He been nominated for an Emmy. He had roles in TV shows such as Kojak, Law and Order, and films including Dog Day Afternoon, and The Godfather Part II. At the age of 70, he is now launching a singing career. His new album is called Hits (Madacy Entertainment Group). He brings his guitar to the studio.

Dana Wechsler Linden and Mia Wechsler Doron, M.D., authors of the book, Preemies: the Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies. Linden and Doron are sisters, both personally interested in providing information to the public about premature babies. Ms. Linden gave birth to premature twins, and is a journalist. She is also a former senior editor at Forbes Magazine. Dr. Doron is a neonatologist at the Newborn Critical Care Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.