Terry Gross

Graphic novelist Harvey Pekar emerged from obscurity in the surprise film hit American Splendor. His new graphic novel, The Quitter, offers details of Pekar's upbringing in 1950s Cleveland.

Silverman won the Emmy for best writing for a variety special for her HBO special We Are Miracles. In 2005, she spoke with Fresh Air about her movie Jesus Is Magic.

In today's sexual politics, are women equal — and are men even needed? That's the question New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd asks in her new book, 'Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide'.