Terry Gross

Writer Richard Preston talks with Barbara Bogaev about the emerging threat of biological weapons. In this week's The New Yorker magazine, Preston writes about the former Soviet Union's research into biological weapons. His new novel "Cobra" (Random House) explores the use of bio-weapons in a civilian setting. Preston also wrote the international bestseller "The Hot Zone." (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

Dr. Jonathan Tucker is the Director of the Chemical & Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Project based in California. In 1995, Tucker was a member of a biological weapons inspection team in Baghdad for the United Nations. He'll talk about obstacles facing the newest round of inspections in Iraq. Tucker has also served on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses. (Interview by Barbara Bogaev)

Iranian film maker and film professor Jamsheed Akrami will discuss film making in Iran and Iran's Fajr (FAH-jer) Film Festival which took place in February. This year's festival included a juried competition for international films and was open to Iran's independent and government sponsored producers.