Terry Gross

Brazilian actress Sonia Braga starred in the 1985 independent film Kiss of the Spider Woman (with William Hurt and Raul Julia). The film is currently being re-released. Braga is also a guest star in the HBO comedy series Sex and the City. And she plays Jennifer Lopezabused mother in the film Angel Eyes. Her other films include Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, and The Last Prostitute.

Historian and civil rights activist Roger Wilkins has written a new book Jefferson Pillow: The Founding Fathers and the Dilemma of Black Patriotism (Beacon Press). Wilkins considers our founding fathers and their conflicting attitudes toward race and how it affects his own sense of patriotism. Wilkins is a professor of history at George Mason University, a Pulitzer-prize winner, and former Assistant Attorney General under President Johnson.

John Lithgow is one of the stars of the animated hit movie, Shrek. His comedy TV series Third Rock From the Sun just finished its run on NBC. Lithgow also writes children's books. He's just published the book Marsupial Sue (Simon and Schuster), and he has released a new CD of music for children called Farkle and Friends (Watershed Records). Lithgow is currently performing his children's material live in concert.