Terry Gross

It's not not surprising that Rufus Wainwright would become a musician and singer. He is the son of singer-songwriters Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle (of the McGarrigle sisters). He has just released his second album, Poses.

Eight years ago, at the age of 35, Philip Simmons was diagnosed with ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig disease. The disease is degenerative, with no cure. Simmons has lived longer with the disease than most. He written a new collection of essays, Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life (Homefarm Books). Simmons is a professor of English at Lake Forest College in Illinois.

John Cameron Mitchell wrote, directed and starred in the off-broadway hit rock musical, –Hedwig and the Angry Inch— (with songs by Stephen Trask). The play has just been made into a new film, also directed by and starring Mitchell. The film won the Audience Award for Drama and the Directing Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. The story is about Hedwig, a German immigrant living in a trailer in Kansas, the victim of a botched sex change operation. With the help of her band, the Angry Inch, she tells the story of her life.