Terry Gross

U.S. Senator James Jeffords of Vermont. Last May he shocked his fellow Republicans when he defected from the party and became an Independent. Stating that he could no longer reconcile his beliefs with the party, he switched allegiences. In doing so he deprived the Republicans of their trifecta: control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. He explains how he came to make the decision in the new book, My Declaration of Independence

Gerald Early is Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also a former commentator for Fresh Air. Early is the editor of the new book, The Sammy Davis Jr. Reader: The Life and Times of the Last Great Hipster (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). The book includes writings about him by his friends, as well as profiles, reviews and interviews. Early also edited The Muhammad Ali Reader.

Actress Angie Dickinson. She played an undercover cop in the TV series Police Woman from 1974-78. Her film roles include Dressed to Kill, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Pretty Maids all in a Row, and Ocean Eleven which she made in 1960 with the rat pack: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr.