Terry Gross

Journalist Bruce Feiler. His new book is a history of country music: "Dreaming out Loud: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes, and the Changing Face of Nashville (Avon Books). Feiler writes regularly about American music for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other publications. He's also a frequent contributor to "All Things Considered."

Novelist Scott Spencer. His new book "The Rich Man's Table" (Knopf) is the story of a boy who discovers he is the illegitimate son of a legendary folk singer, a character said to be based on Bob Dylan. Spencer's previous novels include "Men in Black," and "Endless Love."

Singer Michael Stipe with the band R.E.M. He has a new book of photographs "Two Times Intro: On the Road with Patti Smith" (Little, Brown & Company)

Actor Andre Braugher (rhymes with "flower"). In the NBC series, "Homicide," he plays the shaved-headed Detective Frank Pembleton, a man described as "eloquent but icy." Braugher was educated at Juliard and is an experienced Shakespearean actor. His other acting credits include the film, "Glory," and the TNT special, "The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson." (REBROADCAST FROM 1/19/95)

Executive producer and writer, Tom Fontana of "Homicide: Life on the Street." The show premiered in 1993. Most recently Fontana was part of the team that put together the adult drama on HBO, "Oz," a realistic look at an experimental unit of a maximum security prison whose aim is to rehabilitate its inmates. (REBROADCAST from 3/9/93)

Former Colorado Congresswoman Pat Schroeder. She was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 24 years. She's the first woman to hold the office that long. During that time she championed causes important to women: pay equity, the Equal Rights Amendment, breast cancer research, and family leave. She also landed a coveted spot on the House Armed Services Committee. She also coined the term "Teflon president" to describe Ronald Reagan. She's written a new memoir, "24 Years of House Work. . .and the Place is Still a Mess" (Andrews McMeel)

Director James Toback. He wrote and directed his new film, "Two Girls and a Guy" about a love triangle, and an unfaithful boyfriend. It stars Robert Downey Jr. Toback's other films include "Love and Money," "Exposed," "The Pick-Up Artist," and "The Big Bang." He wrote the screenplays for "Bugsy" and "The Gambler."

Novelist Robert Stone. His new novel "Damascus Gate" is about the Middle East. Unlike most writers who write about the region, Stone is not Jewish; he's a lapsed Catholic. One reviewer writes of the book that it is "so comprehending of Israel's convoluted workings and its bifurcated culture--where the Biblical fervor of Jerusalem coexists with the disco fever of Tel Aviv--that he makes other writers on the subject seem like the breeziness of literary tourists." Stone is also the author of "Outerbridge Reach" and "Dog Soldiers."

Epidemilogist Susan Oliveria is an expert on the link between nutrition and cancer. She is one of the authors of the new book, "The Strang Cookbook for Cancer Prevention: A Complete Nutrition and Lifestyle Plan to Dramatically Lower Your Cancer Risk" (Dutton). The book includes recipes from gourmet chefs. Oliveria teaches at the Strang Cancer Prevention Center, Cornell University Medical College, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm is a leading expert on food-borne illnesses, like E-coli and toxoplasmosis. Some illnesses are less serious resulting in diarrhea, and stomach and abdominal pain. Food-borne illness is on the rise, partly because of the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables in this country, and their importation from developing countries. Osterholm is State Epidemiologist and Chief, Acute Disease Epdemiology Section, of the Minnesota Department of Health.