Terry Gross

Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Garry Wills. His new book is "A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government" (Simon & Schuster). Wills is also the author of "Lincoln At Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America." And he's written other books on Nixon, Reagan and Kennedy, as well as a look at the relationship between politics and popular culture via celebrity, "John Wayne's America: the Politics of Celebrity."

Actor, director, writer Tim Robbins talks about his new film *The Cradle Will Rock*. It is the first film written and directed by Robbins since the Academy Award winning Dead Man Walking. The Cradle Will Rock is based on the events surrounding the production of a 1937 labor musical, directed by Orson Welles. The play was shut down by a government injunction for the cast's alleged left-wing politics. Robbins is known for his roles in such films as Shawshank Redemption, The Player, and Bull Durham.

Writer Ann Bannon (her pseudonym) has written a number of books of lesbian pulp fiction, including "Odd Girl Out," "I Am a Woman," and "Journey to a Woman." Bannon went on to become a college dean, and has kept her identity a secret.