Terry Gross

Since 2004, journalist Huda Ahmed has been covering the war in Iraq for the McClatchy (formerly Knight Ridder) News Service. This spring, she was awarded the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship by the International Women's Media Foundation. The fellowship is named for Boston Globe reporter Elizabeth Neuffer, who was killed while on assignment in Iraq. Ahmed has written about the issues of women and children in a war zone, human rights abuses and the struggle of women in a Muslim society, and will discuss the particular dangers of covering the war in Iraq.

Timothy Egan is the author of the book The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. Now out in paperback, the book was awarded the National Book Award for nonfiction. Egan is a national enterprise reporter for the New York Times, and was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for a series on race in America.

Journalist Stephen Kiernan's new book is Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life from the Medical System. Kiernan writes that doctors are not well-trained in end of life procedures, and that half of those who die in hospitals suffer untreated pain, while those in nursing homes risk abuse and personal bankruptcy. Based in New England, Kiernan has written for the Boston Globe, the Burlington Free Press and other publications. He received the George Polk Award for medical reporting and the Joseph Breckner Center's Freedom of Information Award.