Terry Gross

An in-studio concert and interview with jazz pianist Jessica Williams, recorded at WHYY. Well hear Williams' original compositions as well as some interpretations of standards. Williams has been recording albums, both solo and with ensembles, since 1978. Her music is often featured on Fresh Air between interview segments. Williams new album is This Side Up, on the Maxjazz piano series.

Writer Andy Bellin. His new book is Poker Nation: A High-Stakes, Low-Life Adventure into the Heart of a Gambling Country. (HarperCollins) Bellin is a graduate school dropout. Hes an editor at the Paris Review and a semiprofessional poker player.

Singer, songwriter, and actor Chris Isaak. His new album is called Always Got Tonight. He's the star of the semi-autobiographical Showtime series The Chris Isaak Show, now in its second season. Isaak's 1991 hit Wicked Game still stands as his signature song.

Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote an article in the current New Yorker Magazine about Saddam Husseins 1988 chemical attacks on the Kurds . There is also new evidence of Husseins ties to al Qaeda. Goldberg has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2000. His specialty is foreign reporting with an emphasis on Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Goldberg came to The New Yorker from The New York Times Magazine, where he reported from Africa and the Middle East.

Harry Shearer wears many hats — writer, actor, director, comedian and radio host. His new film, which he wrote and directed, is called Teddy Bears Picnic. Its a satire of the goings-on at the Bohemian Grove, an exclusive retreat in the Northern California woods. The richest and most powerful men gather in the Grove. Their activities are kept secret, but a lot of drinking is involved. Shearer visited the Grove in order to write the script. Teddy Bears Picnic opens March 29. Shearer hosts Le Show, now in its 19th year on public radio.

Actor Michael C. Hall plays David Fisher, the gay brother who co-runs a funeral home on the HBO hit series Six Feet Under. The American Film Institute has nominated Hall for Best Male TV Actor-Drama for his role in the series. Hall comes to TV from the stage. Most recently, he was on Broadway as the emcee in Cabaret. Prior to that role, he was in a number of off-Broadway productions.

His new film is No Such Thing. Its about a monster and a young woman who finds him. According to the films production notes, the monster has been in existence since the dawn of time and nothing can kill him. Along comes Beatrice, a young girl who makes friends with the monster and together they seek out the doctor who can finally end the monsters life. Hartley's work includes Trust, Henry Fool, Flirt, and Amateur.

Soprano Eileen Farrell has died at the age of 82. Well listen back to a 1992 interview. Her career began in radio, with her own show on CBS, in the 1940s. In the fifties she started singing opera, and performed with every major opera company and symphony orchestra in the US, including five seasons with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Starting in the sixties, she began putting out albums of jazz standards. Her 1999 autobiography is entitled, Cant Help Singing. She was also a professor of music at Indiana University and the University of Maine.

Author Kevin Conley. His new book is about breeding racehorses. Its called STUD: Adventures in Breeding.(Bloomsbury) STUD explores the process of creating champions, from the farms of Kentucky, where stud fees command a half million a pop, to the horse auctions, where the worlds richest people compete for the top yearlings.

Actor, director, and founder of the Sundance Institute, Robert Redford. On Sunday he will receive an Honorary Achievement Award during the Academy Awards. This interview originally aired on January 12, 1998.