Terry Gross

Writer Kurt Andersen is a columnist for The New Yorker, and was co-founder and editor of Spy magazine. He's just written his first novel, "Turn of the Century" (Random House) a sprawling, satirical, futuristic novel of sorts set in February 2000.

Niall Ferguson is the author of "The Pity of War: Explaining World War I." (Basic Books) Ferguson is Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Jesus College, Oxford. (England) His other books include "Paper and Iron," and "The House of Rothschild." Ferguson talks about why W.W.I was the century's worst war and why he blames Great Britain for prolonging the war.

Singer, songwriter, pianist Ben Folds of the piano-bass-drum trio, Ben Folds Five. They're best known for their hit "Brick" a ballad about an abortion, in which the word "abortion" is never used. The band, from North Carolina, has been in existence since 1994. It includes drummer Darren Jesse and bassist Robert Sledge.